The Inaction Of Congress On Gun Violence Is Shameful

 

The chart above is from the Gun Violence Archive. It shows that (as of August 8th) 26,784 people have died from gun violence, and 420 mass shootings have occurred in this nation. Both of those numbers mean we are likely to set new records this year in both gun deaths and mass shootings.

Why do we continue to allow this epidemic of gun violence to continue year after year? Why don't our national leaders in Congress take some action to protect citizens. Protecting the Second Amendment of the Constitution is the reason usually given, but that is a flawed argument. There are things that could be done to curb the amount of gun violence that do not violate the Constitution.

One of these is to plug the holes in the current background check law. When the law was originally passed, it did not mandate background checks for private gun sales or for sales at gun shows. These loopholes allow anyone that wants a gun to buy one -- even those who could not pass a background check. And it is estimated that as much as 40% of gun sales are currently done without a background check.

The NRA (and gun manufacturers) oppose plug the holes in the background check laws. But both are out-of-step with the wishes of the public. Poll after poll has shown that huge majorities of the public want to require a background check for private sales and at gun shows. And as the chart below shows, this includes gun owners (including Republican and Democratic gun owners).

That means there would not be a political price to be paid for improving the background check law. That leaves only one reason for Congress not to act. They, especially the Republican members, like the money they get from the NRA more than they want to prevent the deaths of citizens. That's Shameful!

This chart reflects the results of a Pew Research Center survey -- done between April 5th and 10th of a national sample of 5,109 adults, with a 2.1 point margin of error.