As Vice President Joe Biden prepares to meet with the National Rifle Association and other gun-ownership groups for talks at the White House Thursday, many politicians have voiced what they think should be done to curb gun violence.
Among those politicians are several North Shore village mayors and presidents who recently joined Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to call for stronger gun regulation as part of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a coalition aimed at cracking down on illegal guns. The coalition recently aired a commercial featuring Roxanna Green, the mother of one of those killed in the 2011 Tucson shootings, urging people to sign a petition on www.DemandAPlan.org.
Below is a look at how other state and local leaders are taking action in the national gun debate. But we wanted to broaden the conversation. Nearly a month after the horrific Newtown shootings, many people, regardless of their politics, are trying to figure out what they can each do to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
We'd like you to join our discussion and tell us what do you think we, as individuals, can do to help curb gun violence?
We are not so interested in a discussion of the merits of the Second Amendment, but more what we as non-politicians and as a community should do to control gun violence.
Here are some ideas from The Atlantic Wire to get the discussion started:
- Closing loopholes that allow people to buy guns at gun shows without a background check
- Creating a national database of people who are banned from purchasing firearms, such as convicted felons and the mentally ill
- National registration of every handgun and/or a database to track all weapon sales
Politicians Share Ideas to Control Gun Violence
Arizona
In an USA Today op-ed piece, former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly, a former astronaut, discussed a campaign the couple is launching with the aim of curbing gun violence. Americans for Responsible Solutions aims to raise funds to “balance the influence of the gun lobby,” and start conversations about gun violence prevention. “Achieving reforms to reduce gun violence and prevent mass shootings will mean matching gun lobbyists in their reach and resources,” Giffords and Kelly wrote in the USA Today article. The couple launched the campaign Tuesday on the two-year anniversary of the Tucson shooting that killed six people and left Giffords injured.
Connecticut
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal announced plans to introduce federal legislation requiring instant background checks for purchasers of ammunition Tuesday. "Right now, ammunition is the black hole in gun violence prevention because anybody can go into a store and buy any amount of ammunition with no questions asked and that person may be a felon, a fugitive, or mentally ill or a domestic violence abuser," Blumenthal, was quoted saying on NewYork.CBSLocal.com.
Illinois
Attorney General Lisa Madigan asked a federal appeals court Tuesday to review a lawsuit challenging the state’s ban on concealed carry in an effort to salvage the only law in the nation that makes the practice illegal, Huffington Post reported.
New York
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to propose one of the country’s most restrictive bans on assault weapons, The Wall Street Journal reported. Describing existing laws in New York as having “more holes than Swiss cheese,” Cuomo is pushing for New York to become the first state to enact major new gun laws in the wake of the school massacre in Newtown, Conn., The New York Times reported.
For a detailed look at how some state and local leaders are taking action in the national gun debate, read Tucson Shooting Anniversary Honored As Gun Debate Swells on Huffingtonpost.com.
If we really want to do something about gun violence, lets focus on the issues that deal with street crime in disadvantaged areas of our urban centers. That is where the majority of firearm violence is occurring, and that is where weapons are being purchased and distrubuted illegally. Further restrictions for law abiding citizens are not the answer. While we are talking about fighting gun violence, maybe we should keep doing what we have been doing. Before anybody jumps down my throat, FBI crime statistics indicate violent crime, and especially murder, has continued to decreased every year for the past 5. And compared to 20 yrs ago, we are at less than half the same rate. During the same time period we have seen concealed carry in 49 of our states. Something tells me legal guns are not the problem. If you are really interested in what we can do as individuals, be better parents. Understand what your kids are up to, and if you own firearms, make sure they are secure.
A normal kid could be sitting on a mountain of guns and would never hurt another creature.
There are not enough criminals in the United States to justify gun manufacturing on the scale at which it is occurring (Around 5.5M in 2010).
Get rid of guns and you still have a crime problem. Get rid of criminals, and you won't have to worry about guns...
How would you know? "Many of these guns make it onto the hands of criminals through theft or the gun show loophole" How many? How would you know? Got any actual facts to back up your claims?
Watch what you wish for on the patch. Usually, everyone comes up with statistics, numbers, facts, opinions, and arguments. Then all they do is blame everything on Obama. Although, it is a little weird how gun violence has only been around for five years. Uh oh, their getting to me as well.