\nOur country has been long overdue in passing essential gun safety\nlegislation. Columbine was an early\nwarning and then after the atrocity of Sandy Hook we would surely address\nrising gun violence. So too would the\nParkland murders be the final straw. \nInstead, there has been an increase in mass shootings across the country\nin schools, places of worship, stores, movies, concerts, and other facets of\neveryday life. Hundreds of innocent\npeople have been senselessly and mercilessly slaughtered. It is unconscionable and a violation of their\nresponsibility in office that Congressional Republicans continue to block\nsensible gun safety legislation demanded by the overwhelming majority of\nAmericans. They remain wholly under the\nabsolute control of the NRA, paralyzed with fear of losing NRA support, and displaying\ncallous indifference to the safety of innocent civilians. Nobody wants any more thoughts and prayers,\nthey demand action. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nRepublicans continue to sound the cry of mental health. This is their carefully crafted excuse for\ninaction on gun safety; simply a distraction from the real issues, a shiny ball\noff in the corner. It is true that we have\nmental health components to our nation\u2019s overall health care challenge and we\nneed to address that. That is not the\nsolution for the epidemic of gun violence across the country. Simply writing off gun violence as a mental\nhealth issue defies logic and reason. It\nis safe to argue that overall these assailants would be mentally competent to stand\ntrial. Some may not have satisfactorily\npassed background checks, but that is fall from a real solution to the\ncrisis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nThe commonality in almost every case is that the assailant used a\nmilitary assault style weapon with high capacity magazines. Improved background checks may have hindered\naccess to these weapons in some cases, but not in all. Improved background checks, including closing\nthe gun show loophole, are imperative to solving the gun violence crisis, but\nit is not enough by itself to make us safe. \nCongress must address the issue of military assault weapons and high\ncapacity magazines. As a military\nveteran who has handled these weapons, I join the chorus of knowledgeable and\ncredible individuals who inform this debate. \nThe sole purpose of these weapons is to wage war \u2013 to immediately and\nbrutally kill human beings in large numbers. They serve no purpose whatsoever in hunting or\nrecreation. They are not necessary for\nhome defense; in fact, they may be too much firepower for that purpose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nThe NRA and their Congressional Republican drones hide behind the Second\nAmendment to fool People into believing it provides an absolute right to\npossess any weapon without any restrictions. \nEven though the framers wrote at the time they passed the Constitution and\nBill of Rights that the Second Amendment pertained to state militias, not\nindividual rights, we are bound by Supreme Court interpretation that provides\nfor an individual right to possess firearms for the purposes of defending home\nand family. As Justice Antonin Scalia, a\ngun rights champion, wrote, this right is not absolute and reasonable safety\nrestrictions are permissible. Military\nassault weapons bans are permissible under this analysis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nThe NRA and Republicans stand alone in their extremism in stark contrast\nto the all-time high approval rating by the American people for gun safety legislation. Most Americans, even NRA members, support\nimproving the background check system. \nThat appears to be a limited area of safe space for the President and\nCongressional Republicans to support gun safety legislation. However, they are purposefully vague in the\nexact provisions they would support. For\nexample, it is unclear whether they would support closing the gun show or\nprivate sale loophole. Assuming the\nPresident and Congressional Republicans would agree to such legislation, it is\nnot enough. Anyone who cares to stop the\nscourge of gun violence across the country should not support this sorry excuse\nfor a response. It is little more than a\npretext for Republicans to say they did something and escape the looming\nconsequences of inaction on gun safety. If\nthis minimal measure passes, Republicans believe they can block any other\nprovisions and effectively argue to voters they acted on gun violence. Don\u2019t give them an easy way out that\neffectively kills any meaningful effort on the remaining, critical issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nDemocrats must stand tall and demand to include military assault weapons\nand high capacity magazines in any legislation. \nThere is also the issue of high-volume ammunition purchases that could\nevidence intent for mass murder. Most Americans,\nincluding Republican voters, support a ban on military assault weapons and high\ncapacity magazines. They recognize that\nwhile there is no recreational use for these weapons, they pose a substantial\nthreat to our everyday safety, especially children in school and families out\nshopping. These measures must be\nincluded with improved background checks in any gun safety legislation or the\nlegislation should fail. Red flag laws allow\nlaw enforcement to temporarily secure weapons from individuals that display\ncertain behavior deemed to indicate they pose a threat to themselves or others. These laws have proven effective in many\ncommunities, including in Florida, where they were enacted after the Parkland\nmassacre. Congress knows what must to be\ndone \u2013 make them do it. Lives depend on it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The NRA tries to scare members and rally support by claiming for decades that Democrats plan to confiscate all personally owned firearms. There has never been such legislative proposal by the Democratic leadership. The courts would strike down any such plan in the unlikely event it passed. However, if there were a ban on military assault weapons, would it apply only to new purchases or would it also require individuals to sell or properly dispose of previously owned military assault weapons? In either case, a voluntary buy-back of these weapons by the government could be essential. Many military assault weapons owners recognize the acute danger they pose, understand the vital safety interests we have in protecting society, and would support the ban in the interests of protecting children in school and innocent families going about their business. Therefore, Congress needs to engage in a serious process to evaluate and ultimate enact reasonable gun safety measures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Compromise is often the key to success and that is how Congress works or works best. Compromise allows the parties to build consensus behind legislation, which may prove critical when passing sweeping or controversial bills and bills with a huge impact on society. Generally, I would not favor a \u201cscorched earth\u201d approach to legislating that demands 100% of one side\u2019s goals while offering no concessions to get there. It leads to stalemate and stagnation, not to mention resentment and a \u201ctit for tat\u201d sequence. However, Democrats cannot accept a compromise on gun safety legislation that only includes background checks. This will not have enough positive effect on the gun violence crisis plaguing the nation. Any viable, impactful solution must include a ban on military assault weapons and high capacity magazines. Banning them will have the greatest impact in reducing these mass shootings and deaths therein. Democrats, along with Republicans who support gun safety, need to stand fast and reject the easy way out and demand a real solution. Keep fighting to ban military assault weapons \u2013 nothing less will work. Our lives, our children\u2019s lives, depend on it. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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