Background Checks for Guns

The U.S. Senate will begin debating gun control legislation this week.  But, sadly, the likelihood that any measure will pass Congress remains a long shot.   

Last Thursday sixty-eight Senators voted to allow debate to begin on the legislation, heading off threats of a filibuster.   They had responded to increased pressure from families of victims and strong public support, according to polls.  But a vote to allow debate is not a vote for gun control.  And many Republicans, and some Democrats, remain opposed to any such legislation, including background checks.

Senators Patrick J. Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania, and Joe Manchin, Democrat of West Virginia, have lobbied their colleagues to support their bipartisan bill that would expand background checks to gun purchases online and at gun shows.  Appearing on CNN Sunday, Senator Manchin said, "Law-abiding gun owners will like this bill."  Even though they have picked up some support, they still face an uphill battle.

Opposition to extending background checks, which are currently only required on purchases from licensed gun dealers, is driven by several key issues.   Opponents say that not enough is being done to enforce the gun control measures that are already in place.  They also say that criminals will be able to obtain guns illegally regardless of any background checks.  And they are spreading fear among gun owners that background checks will make it easier for the government to take guns away from "law-abiding" citizens.     

While background checks are supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans, those who oppose them are passionate and are likely to turn out on Election Day.  And organizations opposed to gun control, like the NRA, are likely to support candidates in primaries to run against incumbents seeking reelection who support the measure.  Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, is already fighting a defensive battle in her reelection bid because she has said she will vote for background checks.  

Each year there are about 30,000 deaths by guns in America, and more than 11,000 are homicides.  Since the tragic mass murder last December in Newtown, Connecticut, more than 3,000 gun related homicides have occurred.  Many of the victims are young.  It is estimated that there are 310 million guns in America, not counting the military.  That is one gun for every American.  

Forty per cent of the guns sold in this country each year are not subject to background checks.  This nation's city streets are awash in illegal guns.  Gun violence is this nation's greatest plague, just ask the citizens of Aurora, Tucson, Blacksburg and Newton.  Congress must have the courage to pass the Toomey/Manchin measure on background checks.  To defeat the bill would be to ignore the wishes of the overwhelming majority of American people.   

A Gun Control Victory

Normally a Democratic Congressional primary would attract little national attention.  But the contest Tuesday in Illinois' Second Congressional District pitted two political giants against each other, the National Rifle Association and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. 

Democratic candidate Robin Kelly, a strong gun control advocate, handily won Tuesday's primary, which had a low turnout in part due to a winter storm.  “Robin Kelly couldn’t have been clearer about her position on gun safety,” said Stefan Friedman, a spokesman for Independence USA. “This sends an enormous message to the N.R.A.”

Independence USA is Mayor Bloomberg's super PAC, which he set up to spend money on candidates that share his views on issues he cares about.  Bloomberg's PAC spent more than $2 million on ads attacking Kelly's opponent, former Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson, who had previously been "A" rated by the N.R.A.

The Second Congressional District includes Chicago's South Side as well as some southern suburbs. The city has been plagued by gun violence, much coming at the hands of street gangs.  Already this year gun deaths are running 16% ahead of last year's tragic total.  Citizens from all walks of life are touched by the problem. 

The Congressional seat came open because of the resignation of Jesse Jackson Junior, whose career came to an end in scandal.  The district is overwhelmingly Democratic, so the winner of the primary is virtually assured of winning the seat in the April 9 general election. 

Ms. Halvorson had opposed bans on assault type weapons and high capacity magazine clips, while supporting universal background checks for gun buyers.  The N.R.A. spends millions of dollars on electing members of Congress who will stand up to gun control efforts.  But Bloomberg's blitz tapped into a growing national sentiment that something has to be done about senseless gun violence. 

Last month, 15 year-old Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed on a Chicago street one week after she traveled to Washington D.C. to participate with her high school band in President Obama's inauguration.  "As usual, the bad guy aims, but he never hits the other bad guy... He hits the one that hurts the most to lose," Chicago Police Officer Damon Stewart, Pendleton's godfather, told the Chicago Sun-Times. 

The head of the N.R.A. said, following the mass shooting in Newtown Connecticut, that a good guy with a gun is the best way to stop a bad guy with a gun.  So Hadiya should have had a gun too?  The N.R.A. considers any reasonable steps to curtail gun violence, like background checks, tougher restrictions on gun sales, bans against semi automatic weapons and high capacity ammo clips, as an assault on the Second Amendment.

But, the numerous mass gun murders , from Newtown to Tucson, Arizona, from Aurora, Colorado, to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, have become a call to action for many members of Congress.  And now a gun safety advocate from Chicago is one step closer to being elected to Congress, hopefully in time to vote yes on a historic piece of legislation that will be an important first step in making America's streets safer.     

Obama's Inaugural Address

“As times change, so must we,” President Barack Obama said in his eloquent and inspiring inaugural address, delivered to several hundred thousand witnesses gathered in front of the U.S. Capitol.  He continued, “Fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action.”

Mr. Obama’s address marked the beginning of his second term as president.  The remarks fell on Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and focused heavily on civil rights, equality and fairness for all.  “We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal,” he said, “just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall.”   

The president, citing and end of a decade of war, and the nascent economic recovery, said, “America’s possibilities are limitless.”  He then gave the nation a clarion call, “My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together. “

House Speaker John Boehner and Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who were seated on the platform near President Obama, showed no emotion during the address.  But the president delivered a message intended for his opposition.  “The commitments we make to each other – through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security – these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us.  They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great. “

And, in reference to the partisan divisiveness that has created great turmoil in the halls of Congress for the past four years, Mr. Obama said, “We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate.”

Yet some of the issues the president highlighted, in his nineteen-minute address, are sure to meet resistance from Republicans in Congress.  Mr. Obama devoted a paragraph to climate change, which wasn’t even debated during the presidential campaign.    Speaking of gun control, the president said, “Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm.” 

Mr. Obama took on criticism of his handling of Iran’s nuclear program, “We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully – not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear.”

In many ways, President Obama’s speech was a continuation of his campaign to engage women, gays, immigrants and the middle class.  “For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it.  We believe that America’s prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class.”  But he warned of tough choices ahead to reduce health care costs and the deficits.  Nonetheless, he said,  “But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future.”

The president spoke confidently, with clarity and purpose.  His speech laid out a progressive agenda, yet it was grounded in the values and intentions of America’s Founding Fathers.  “Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life,” he said, “Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time – but it does require us to act in our time.”

As President Barack Obama entered the Capitol building, following his address, he turned and looked out at the crowd, and the Washington Monument in the distance.  He then smiled.