Ethics & Religion
Column #1,884
October 5, 2017
After Las Vegas: Gun Control?
By Mike McManus
Rep. John Lewis, stood on the Capital steps Wednesday, asserting, "The
Congress has failed the American people. As in Newtown and Aurora and
Charleston and Orlando, now in Las Vegas, how many more must die? A
hundred? A thousand? 10,000? A million?
"What is your blood price? How many more must die?" Lewis asked. "But
there's no number, is there? There's no amount of blood or pain or death
or suffering that would move this Congress to act."
He's right. Congress holds moments of silence, but as he said, "It's all
a show, a placeholder until people forget."
Lewis recalled that Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed by gun violence,
as was Sen. Robert Kennedy, and his brother, President John Kennedy. Two
members of Congress were seriously wounded in mass shootings - former
Rep. Gabby Giffords and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise.
Rep. Giffords came to the Capitol with her husband, Mark Kelly, the
former astronaut, to plea for Congress to pass gun control laws. Kelly
said he and his wife are "heartbroken" and angry about the killing of 58
people in Las Vegas and the wounding of more than 500 others. It was the
worst slaughter by one man in American history.
That's why Kelly said the "thoughts and prayers" being offered at the
White House and by Members of Congress "are not enough."
"Your thoughts and prayers aren't going to stop the next shooting,"
Kelly asserted. "Only actions and leadership will do that."
Kelly and his wife founded the gun-control organization Americans for
Responsible Solutions. He acknowledged that their past pleas have
yielded little. However, he noted Congress was "going in the wrong
direction." He pointed to a bill the House was considering this week
that would allow gun silencers to be made more widely available.
Hillary Clinton asserted, "The crowd fled at the sound of gunshots.
Imagine the deaths if the shooter had a silencer, which the NRA wants to
make easier to get."
In one year, 33,880 Americans were killed by guns. That included 11,564
who were murdered and a stunning 21,037 who committed suicide! Another
81,114 people survived gun injuries.
Such massive numbers are hard to absorb. Consider this: every day, 46
children and teens are shot in murders, suicides and by accident. And
seven children die daily.
Can laws make a difference? Yes! In 1993 Congress passed the Brady
Handgun Violence Prevention Act named after Jim Brady, the press
secretary of Ronald Reagan. Brady was shot in the head when the
President was shot and nearly killed. Brady survived, but was paralyzed
from the waist down.
The Brady Bill required background checks of all handgun purchases of
federal licensed firearm dealers. It blocked the sale of guns to two
million people considered too risky due to their criminal records or
mental instability. That law undoubtedly saved thousands of lives.
Unfortunately, Congress let it expire in 2004, and it's not been
reinstated.
It should be reconsidered by Congress, and should include all gun sales,
not just those by federally licensed dealers. About 22% of guns are
bought at gun shows which have never required background checks - except
in nine states such as California and New York, which require universal
background checks. Also, guns can be bought on line.
Secondly, a new federal law should prohibit sales of killer rifles like
the AR-15 and an attachment that can be bought on line called a "Bump
Stock" that enables the rifle to fire 90 rounds in 10 seconds. Stephen
Paddock had such a device on 12 of the 19 guns he used to murder people
in Las Vegas. That's how he was able to kill and wound so many in 11
minutes.
Third, a federal law should ban the manufacture and sale of gun
magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds. Such guns have no
other purpose than to kill as many people as possible.
Congress must act. As Gabby Gifford said outside of the Capitol this
week, "The nation's counting on you."
Finally, action must be taken by 100 million Americans with guns in
their homes to reduce deaths. First nearly 1.7 million children live in
a home with an unlocked, loaded gun. I nearly killed myself at age 10
with my father's loaded gun.
Second, every day 58 Americans commit suicide with a gun - including two
children daily. How can 21,000 suicides a year be prevented?
My answer is do not have a gun in your home. A depressed person in your
family is less likely to commit suicide if your home has no deadly
weapon.
Let's stop the carnage!
___________________________________
Copyright (c) 2017 Michael J. McManus,
President of Marriage Savers and a syndicated columnist. For previous
columns go to
www.ethicsandreligion.org. Hit
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