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 Gun Reform

President Barack Obama moved quickly to respond to the "epidemic of gun violence" in America, which results in 30 thousand deaths each year, by signing 23 executive orders and calling on Congress to pass specific proposals, including universal background checks and a ban on military style assault weapons.  But he also acknowledged that getting Congress to act "will be difficult."

The president's heartfelt announcement came barely a month following the horrific mass murders by a lone gunmen in Newtown, Connecticut, at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.  "In the month since 20 precious children and six brave adults were violently taken from us at Sandy Hook Elementary," the president said, "more than 900 of our fellow Americans have reportedly died at the end of a gun -- 900 in the past month."

Vice President Joe Biden and four young children, who had written the president following the shooting, joined President Obama.  The president read excerpts from their letters, including one from a boy named Grant, “I think there should be some changes. We should learn from what happened at Sandy Hook. I feel really bad.”  

The president had asked Vice President Biden to lead a task force and make recommendations to curtail gun violence.  Those recommendations were submitted to the president earlier this week, and the president used them as the basis for his announcement.   

President Obama called on Congress, "to require a universal background check for anyone trying to buy a gun."  Currently, there is a law that requires licensed gun dealers to do background checks.  But gun buyers can avoid a check by purchasing a weapon at a gun show or from a private seller. 

The president asked Congress to "restore" a ban on military-style assault weapons, and a 10 round limit for magazines.  Mr. Obama pointed out that a gunman using an assault weapon was able to shoot 70 people in "a matter of minutes" at an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater last July, and killing 12.  "Weapons designed for the theater of war have no place in a movie theater" he said.  He also called on Congress to, "get tougher on people who buy guns with the expressed purpose of turning around and selling them to criminals."

The executive orders he signed are all focused on giving local officials and organizations the tools they need to reduce gun violence.  "We will help schools hire more resource officers if they want them, and develop emergency preparedness plans," the president said.  "We will make sure mental health professionals know their options for reporting threats of violence."  He also said he will direct the Center for Disease Control to study the cause of gun violence, and asked Congress to, "fund research into the effects that violent video games have on young minds."

In his remarks, Mr. Obama said, "I believe the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms. I respect our strong tradition of gun ownership and the rights of hunters and sportsmen. There are millions of responsible, law-abiding gun owners in America who cherish their right to bear arms for hunting or sport or protection or collection."  

Saying that with rights come responsibilities, the president shifted his argument from the rights of gun owners. "That most fundamental set of rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, fundamental rights that were denied to college students at Virginia Tech and high school students at Columbine and elementary school students in Newtown; and kids on street corners in Chicago on too frequent basis to tolerate; and all the families who never imagined they’d lose a loved one to -- to a bullet, those rights are at stake." Mr. Obama said,  "We’re responsible."

In advance of President Obama's announcement, the National Rifle Association posted a video on its web site that criticized the president as an "elitist hypocrite" for opposing its proposal to put armed guards in every school.  It said that the president's daughters have Secret Service protection.    This is an indication just how far the NRA will go to stop any gun control efforts.  The NRA and gun manufacturers make large political donations to members of Congress, and they will use this as leverage against reform.  

But Mr. Obama anticipated his critics: "There will be pundits and politicians and special interest lobbyists publicly warning of a tyrannical all- out assault on liberty, not because that’s true, but because they want to gin up fear or higher ratings or revenue for themselves."  He even cited President Ronald Reagan's support of a 1994 ban on military assault weapons.  But Rep. Tim Huelskamp, of Kansas, later responded by criticizing the Obama administration, "Apparently public safety matters only when there’s political gain to be had. How can we expect them to act on new laws if they cannot even enforce the ones that currently exist?”

President Obama should be applauded for taking quick action to reduce the plague of gun violence in America.  It will take strong and persistent leadership from the White House to get Congress to act on any of his proposals.  While polls indicate a majority of Americans supports action, many congressmen represent districts that strongly oppose any gun legislation.  The president recognized this in his remarks, "We’re going to need voices in those areas and those congressional districts where the tradition of gun ownership is strong to speak up and to say this is important."  

Perhaps they can start by reflecting on the words of young Julia, “I’m not scared for my safety, I’m scared for others. I have four brothers and sisters, and I know I would not be able to bear the thought of losing any of them.”

 

NRA Nonsense

"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."  Using this rationale, Wayne LaPierre, the National Rifle Association's CEO and executive vice president, announced that the NRA's solution for stopping school shootings is to station armed guards in every one of the nation's schools by January.

Simply put, the NRA's answer to gun violence, one of the greatest plagues facing America today, is more guns. 

"How many more copycats are waiting in the wings for their moment of fame from a national media machine that rewards them?" he asked.  "I call on Congress, today, to act immediately to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed police officers in every single school in this nation," LaPierre urged.  He then announced that the NRA is launching a "National School Shield" training program to help -- for free -- schools train security personnel and develop security plans.

Mr. LaPierre's remarks came at a Washington news conference that was disrupted twice by anti-gun protestors.  One protestor held up a sign that read "NRA Killing Our Kids," before being escorted out by security.  David Keene, the NRA's president, introduced LaPierre, saying they would take no questions until next week.

The NRA news conference followed by one week the tragic school shootings in Newtown, Conn., which left 27 persons dead, including 20 young children.  The horrific mass muder created a huge outcry across the country against semiautomatic assault weapons and high capacity ammunition clips.  On Wednesday, President Barack Obama appointed a commission, headed by Vice President Joe Biden, to come up with meaningful recommendations to stem gun violence.  He also announced an aggressive timetable to enact such legislation. 

The NRA has more than 4 million members, and it is one of the most powerful lobbying groups in Washington.  LaPierre explained the timing of the NRA news conference: "Out of respect for those grieving families, and until the facts are known, the NRA has refrained from comment. While some have tried to exploit tragedy for political gain, we have remained respectfully silent."

In the wake of the Newtown massacre, one of several that has occurred over the past few years, some commentators had felt that the NRA might support some form of gun control.  They were wrong.  Instead, LaPierre blamed computer games, violent movies and music.  "In a race to the bottom, media conglomerates compete with one another to shock, violate and offend every standard of civilized society by bringing an ever-more-toxic mix of reckless behavior and criminal cruelty into our homes -- every minute of every day of every month of every year," he said.

LaPierre blasted the national media, their corporate owners, and their stockholders, "as silent enablers, if not complicit co-conspirators."  He continued, "Rather than face their own moral failings, the media demonize lawful gun owners, amplify their cries for more laws and fill the national debate with misinformation and dishonest thinking that only delay meaningful action and all but guarantee that the next atrocity is only a news cycle away."

LaPierre concluded his remarks with a plea: "For the sake of the safety of every child in America, I call on every parent, every teacher, every school administrator and every law enforcement officer in this country to join us in the National School Shield Program and protect our children with the only line of positive defense that's tested and proven to work." 

As a parent of a high school girl, I am personally opposed to guns in my daughter's school.   I find the LaPierre proposal to be ridiculous and highly flawed.  The National School Shield Program calls for retired military and police to be armed, trained and assigned to schools in a few weeks.  Who will screen these "volunteers"?  What will they be instructed to do?  What sort of weapons will they have?  Exactly what kind of training will they receive from the NRA, target practice?  And the questions go on and on.

Gun violence is a complex problem.  There are many complicated factors that may contribute to each incident, including easy access to weapons, mental health issues, computer games, violent movies and television programs. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg bluntly reacted to the NRA press conference in a statement, "The NRA's Washington leadership has long been out of step with its members, and never has that been so apparent as this morning. Their press conference was a shameful evasion of the crisis facing our country."

A few days after the horrendous mass murder in Newtown, the NRA put out a statement that said they were "shocked, saddened and heartbroken," and would help make sure it would never happen again.  Instead, the NRA embarrassed themselves to the shock and sadness of most Americans.  If the NRA truly respects the grieving families, it should do something meaningful and worthy of respect.