Forty-nine murdered in Orlando, 32 murdered at Virginia Tech, 26 murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School, 14 murdered in San Bernardino, 9 murdered in Charleston and 6 murdered in Tucson.
What has been the response from Congress to these mass murders? Moments of silence, floor speeches, thoughts and prayers all come in their turn but beyond that, no action has been taken. Let’s call this what it is: Political cowardice in the face of opposition from the gun lobby.
Hundreds more people were killed or wounded physically and emotionally in these and other mass shootings over the last 10 years in America. More than 32,000 people die from gunshots every year in our nation. Every time another mass shooting takes place, our elected officials run to their respective political corners and nothing gets done to prevent more gun violence. Too many of them are intimidated by the blunt force tactics of the gun lobby.
As a survivor of the Tucson shooting, I understand that behind all of these numbers are real human beings, their families and friends. I know the grief and the numbness that follows the notification that your loved one is either dead or in the hospital recovering from their wounds. Lives are changed forever and dreams are destroyed for the living as well as the dead.
We know that communities respond in unity with compassion, love and support but the pain lasts and the questions remain unanswered. Why did this happen and what are we going to do to prevent another tragedy?
We turn to those we have elected for answers but the same political theater plays out once again and we move on waiting for the next horrific shooting.
We look into the shooter’s background and try to find out why anyone would commit such a savage act. The motives are many but there is one thing most of these tragedies have in common: a killer with a weapon that has magazines filled with as many as 30 or even 100 bullets ensuring the maximum amount of damage in the shortest amount of time. It is also true that many of the shooters have serious mental health issues that may have contributed to their decision to murder and maim.
Hate is a major force behind mass shootings. This is certainly true in the horror that descended on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. It appears that the shooter chose that location because he hated people in the LGBTQ community. We must not forget that this community has faced discrimination, persecution, and murder over many decades in America. But it is a community of strong people, of activists, of national and local leaders who are pushing our country toward social justice for everyone.
What must we do to prevent more gun violence? First and foremost, we must stand with the victims, the survivors and their families.
After Orlando, it is particularly important that we stand shoulder to shoulder with the LGBTQ community, which is dealing with unspeakable loss and shock. While we have made some progress in advancing equality for LGBTQ Americans, we have much more work to do. The hateful homophobic rhetoric that was sent out this week on social media reminds us that there are still people, including so-called faith leaders, who have condemned the victims and not the perpertrator. There have also been too many highly placed elected officials who chose not to describe the victims as LGBTQ Americans. We need to call this out for what it is, bigotry.
Bold action is needed from the U.S. House and Senate. And there will be an opportunity in the days ahead to pass legislation that could begin to make a difference. The gun lobby is busy reminding members of Congress what will happen to them if they pass these bills.
I am not optimistic that the Senate will take action to increase the safety of Americans in places of worship, schools, theaters and clubs where people gather for friendship and fun. The chances are even less likely that the U.S. House will step up to its responsibilities.
This work should be a bipartisan effort but, sadly, it is not. A few courageous Republicans are willing to support commonsense legislation but for the most part the Republican Party does the bidding of the gun lobby.
But our fight goes on where ever we cast our votes. In this campaign season, we must hold candidates accountable and press them to take positions in support of legislation that could make a difference.
So what do we want?
The vast majority of Americans want comprehensive background checks, they want a ban on assault weapons and large magazines and they want to make sure that people on the terrorist watch or no-fly list cannot purchase a weapon. These are commonsense actions that would go a long way to reducing gun violence in our country.
Americans understand that we have to address the need for more readily accessible mental health services so that people can be identified, diagnosed and treated before they commit an act of violence. That said, we cannot fall into the trap that has been set by the gun lobby.
They say we don’t need to further restrict access to guns by people who under current law are prohibited from possessing a gun. They simplistically put it down to a mental health problem. It is not! Less than 5 percent of people living with mental illness ever commit an act of violence. They need services as early as possible but this cannot substitute for action to ensure that people who purchase a weapon on the Internet or at a gun show go through a background check.
Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords addressed the U.S. Senate in 2013 and the words she spoke then are even more pertinent today. She said: “It will be hard, but the time is now. You must act. Be bold. Be courageous. Americans are counting on you.”
To Congress I say: Are you listening?
Ron Barber represented Arizona’s Congressional District 2 in Congress from 2012 to 2014.
This article appears in Jun 23-29, 2016.
First guns and before you know it it could be bulldozers neither of which have an operator.
Assault weapon. Another gun expert who has no idea which end of the barrel the round comes out of.
Not going to happen. Insecure gun nuts love their guns. Even simple common sense regulations are always opposed.
I’ve been meaning to talk to you for years. How about some logic… and some gratitude, Ron?
How does passing laws affect the behavior of those who pay no attention to the law?
Your shooter was known to the Pima County Sheriff as having mental issues and being prone to violence. He had assaulted someone and had issued a death threat in two separate incidents at Pima College within the year prior to your shooting. The father had given up on him and the son carefully maintained a skull-shrine to death with candles in his back yard. One other pertinent fact: his mother was a Department Director in Pima County Government and a good friend to Pima County Sheriff for at least twenty years.
Remember how Sheriff Dupnik hypocritically raged against guns and Republicans that next morning?
Your shooter had a firearm that would be considered “lawful” under all your proposals. The existing law was not followed in issuing your shooter a firearm and the shooter’s obvious mental health problems were all ignored by County Law Enforcement.
Your solution to your shooting would not have changed anything except making it harder for lawful people to protect themselves (and you) with other firearms.
How does all your politically correct nonsense even peripherally connect to your shooting?
And why won’t you spend just one moment in print and thank the man who saved your life?
I’ve been wondering for years when you were going to acknowledge the heroism of John Roll, who died to save your life? He covered you with his own body and took at least two bullets that were aimed at you. He was my friend; he was appointed a County Prosecutor on my recommendation.
You are a foolish man full of empty words that supposedly fulfill an obvious political agenda.
That is without a doubt the post of the year William. Thank you so much for saying it.
When AG Lynch spoke Tuesday about solving this with love I shuddered to think that I have a government that is now espousing love (under what definition and auspices?). This government has blended their authority into a quasi religion of sorts as love has no place in a discussion about terrorist attacks on US citizens.
I have to believe that it is more than just a political agenda. This is pure crazy.
Thanks so much Ron. Just look how your thinking aligns with his:
“The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow
the subject races to possess arms. History shows that all
conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms
have prepared their own downfall by so doing.”
Adolph Hitler
What I expect next is outlawing cars if those folks get their way.
Normally I don’t respond to inaccurate posts but Bill Heuisler’s post today cannot go unanswered. It is full of misinformation and exaggerations. I was there and conscious in the aftermath of the shooting and I saw what happened throughout. You don’t know what you are talking about. What you say is just plain wrong about how the shooting went down. The Pima County Sheriff did not have knowledge of the shooter prior to the shooting. I suggest you stay out of commenting on issues about which you clearly are ignorant. One of the solutions to gun violence is to reduce the size of magazines. The shooter on Jan. 8 had four magazines…two with 30 rounds and 2 with 15. Had it not been for the bravery of three citizens the shooter would have killed or wounded many more. Please don’t insult those of us who were wounded or those whose loved ones were murdered by posting false information. Ron Barber
“Jared Loughner has been making death threats by phone to many people in Pima County including staff of Pima Community College, radio personalities and local bloggers. When Pima County Sheriff’s Office was informed, his deputies assured the victims that he was being well managed by the mental health system. It was also suggested that further pressing of charges would be unnecessary and probably cause more problems than it solved as Jared Loughner has a family member that works for Pima County.”-Jim Holt
Read more at http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=229_1294705669#MOJR6vuisIKDCsYs.99
, , as this is Tucson, AZ, Pima County, we know who’s bread is buttered and on which side. . . and, as for Ron Barber’s outrage, come on man; you got yours for two-years and now have the advantage of gifting the region forever.
I am confused by your statements Mr Barber.
“Less than 5 percent of people living with mental illness ever commit an act of violence. They need services as early as possible but this cannot substitute for action to ensure that people who purchase a weapon on the Internet or at a gun show go through a background check.”
Yet what % of violent crimes are committed by people with mental illness? They commit three times the national average.
You then claim PCSO did not know Loughner, yet that doesn’t seem to square with the truth. They were aware of all the threats and problems at PCC. Didn’t he give a life threatening note to Ms Giffords in 2007?
It appears that the way Sheriff Dupnick mishandled the information, Mr Loughner would have easily passed a background check and purchased a firearm. And he did.
The killer in Orlando was removed from the FBI watch list as have been many Muslims.
You held office overseeing a government that sold weapons to the Mexican drug cartel, that ultimately cost BP agent Brian Terry his life.
Which government employee has been prosecuted for that? Or at least fired?
None so far.
http://www.truthandaction.org/number-employees-fired-fast-furious-zero/
Background checks won’t work with the level of incompetence at so many levels. My personal opinion is that the truth on this is much like healthcare. Destroy all dissenters and give control to the government.
They warned us about you.
Who really has the most weaponry?
http://freebeacon.com/issues/now-bureaucrats-guns-u-s-marines/
$1.48 billion spent by governmental agencies on guns and ammo since 2006. We must ask why?
So, because we feel bad for everyone involved, we pass the above new gun laws. Temporarily we feel a bit better. Then the next violent extremist strikes and shoots more people. But he/she wasn’t on the no-fly list and had no criminal record and so obtained his weapon legally (just like this guy on Orlando). Maybe the wacko (excuse me, disturbed person) didn’t even use a semi-auto. What now? We have to pass more restrictive gun laws so we can feel like we are doing something! Ron Barber and all those like him need to come clean and skip to the bottom line regarding their gun control objectives. No gun laws created by humans will stop violent people misusing firearms to hurt other people. Remember the liberal mantra? “If even one person is hurt by a firearm, it’s too many”.
You know the only thing that has a chance of (eventually) working is a total ban on civilian ownership of all firearms. Why don’t you respect our intelligence enough to come out and say it?
At least Hitler earned the world of his intentions.
I look at it as courage in the face of inane lack of common sense.
Constant continual talk of exactly how this event took place is just pathetic. Another unattractive and endless narrative Tucson is famous for since nothing good happens here. A museum for the stuff left out doors as a shrine to that lunatic? It’s not a Gabby Giffords memorial. She’s not dead. As for the others there are already memorials. They’re called a grave and headstone. Go leave flowers if you’re so sensitive and caring.
Sounds harsh but if you consider all the blood money that is still being made off this with museums, books, congressional appointments, TV and radio appearances, dubious foundations accepting cash contributions, a liar intern pimping the speaking circuit expecting to be elected.
The whole place should be bulldozed down by Caterpillar to start over. Tucson plays into well earned stereotypes of being a low rent, half whit town run by hacks and criminals.
How proud you must be pimps.
Tony V you make a great point with your post. Those that don’t understand history are doomed to repeat it. Great Brittain made a “declaration of independence” last night.
We can do the same if we repudiate this liberal psycho babble.
France and Ireland are next. Good for you guys.
Score a direct hit for Donald Trump.
Did the AG lie for Obama? Was she forced to?
AG Lynch Displays Deceptive Behavior In Response to Questions About Orlando Shooter
http://lawnewz.com/columnists/ag-lynchs-deceptive-behavior-over-issue-of-mistakes-in-orlando-investigation/
If this country wasn’t as screwed up as it is the AG and Shrill Hil would be sharing a cell. But, you know what they say about if….