I was deeply saddened by the recent horrific shooting in Aurora, Colorado. I was also reminded that such horrific events are unfortunately all too common in our country. And while we mourn our loss as a national community, we must also be reminded that such events provide cause to stop and contemplate what can be done to stop them.
However, that's not what is happening in Congress as the nation recoils from the recent Colorado gun violence. The 71 killed or wounded are the latest in a pattern that happens repeatedly, predictably, with overall loss of life in the tens of thousands over the years and yet we refuse to do anything about it.
Worse than our inaction however, is the fact that we continue to allow political bullies to intimidate us from even researching the facts and studying the causes of, and potential solutions to, gun violence. There has never been a threat in this country that sportsmen will not be able to hunt or target shoot, yet the gun lobby has so successfully pushed this narrative that there is virtually no gun control at all in the United States.
This political intimidation, combined with a lack of willpower in Congress, has made it impossible to even close the gun show loophole where individuals can purchase unlimited amount of guns without a reasonable background check. The NRA is also at work to make sure that even people suspected to be terrorists and are on the "no-fly" list can purchase guns.
There are some who argue that all we need is for existing gun laws to be enforced. But these same individuals and groups then systematically set about to dismantle the laws we have and then defund even the most feeble enforcement efforts. Because we have not fought them hard enough, we now live in a country where the populace is increasingly armed with military-grade weapons that are designed only to kill people.
We must push back against the false messages and fear-mongering. Having a thoughtful and rational conversation about gun safety is not an assault on our rights; rather it is an important conversation about public health and safety. We know that a gun is used in over 60 percent of all murders, and that a handgun is used in over 40 percent. We know that hundreds of people die from gun accidents every year and that there are currently 90 guns in America per 100 citizens. We know that automatic weapons are available over the counter and that they come with enormous magazines capable of facilitating killing sprees that serve no purpose in sports or target shooting.
It is time to recognize these realities and for politicians, gun owners, American business and the health community to come together to deal with an epidemic of gun violence the way we would treat any other threat to the safety of our families and communities.
We can start by passing sensible gun legislation, such as:
• H.R. 308, the Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act. This would ban large capacity magazines that can hold dozens of rounds of ammunition, prohibiting these armor-piercing bullets from being sold like tic-tacs.
• H.R.591, the Gun Show Loophole Closing Act of 2011, which would close the gun-show loophole where guns are sold often without any background check.
• H.R. 1781, the Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011, which would also eliminate the gun-show loophole by requiring a background check for every gun purchased, as well as the strength the existing background check system.
• H.R. 1506, the Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2011, which would prohibit the sale of firearms or explosives to individuals determined by the Attorney General to be engaged in terrorist activities. Currently the "no-fly" list data cannot be shared between ATF and Homeland Security.
There is no time to sit idly while we wait for the next tragedy to happen. Congress and the American people must start taking a long, hard look at ourselves and the country we want to live in, and move forward on researching and implementing solutions that will work to stop this terrible epidemic.
Follow Rep. Earl Blumenauer on Twitter: www.twitter.com/repblumenauer
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"...automatic weapons are available over the counter..." Really? Go try to buy one, bring a BIG wallet. You'll be the better part of 8 months, I'll wait............................
"...prohibiting these armor-piercing bullets from being sold like tic-tacs." Um, armor-piercing rounds have been unavailable for civilians for decades. Do you even look into an issue before you speak?
"...which would prohibit the sale of firearms or explosives to individuals determined by the Attorney General to be engaged in terrorist activities." There's a little problem with that. See, we have this Constitution thing, you know, rules for our government to operate under? Yeah, that Constitution doesn't allow you to infringe on anyone's rights without due process of law. In layman's terms, it means unless they've been tried and convicted of a crime, they retain all the rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights, including the right to keep and bear arms.
Keep telling those lies. Somebody might believe them.
Thank you, Congressman Earl Blumenhauer. Your are my representative and I'm very proud of you.
You're right representative. We should use a list created without any due process or transparency whatsoever, a list that the citizen has no real recourse to be removed from, as a basis for denying constitutional rights.
As far as limiting large capacity magazines goes, well it sounds fine now. But you have to consider what happens next. When that limitation causes no appreciable impact on the amount of gun violence what are you going to come after when the next tragedy occurs? And when that measure has no impact what'll be after that? Thanks but I will continue to support those that keep the fight at the margins of my rights before it gets to the core of my rights.
As far as the gun show loophole is concerned you close that by forcing all individuals to perform background checks when selling or transferring a gun all the time. That is a bit onerous for the parent giving a gun to a child or a friend selling another friend one of their old shotguns, but maw well be worth it.
The meat of the gun violence problem lies in criminality and poverty. How about we look at treating the disease instead of the symptom?
This is not about their Rifles.
It's about Their,
Weapons of Mass Destruction.
A magazine and a bullet aren't the same thing. And the current way "armor-piercing" bullets are classified is extremely flawed.
I count my blessing every day I wake up in Portland, Oregon.
"But now," he said, "take your money and a traveler's bag. And if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one!" (New Living Translation).