Congress Should Stop The Excuses And Act On Gun Violence

The epidemic of gun violence continues in the United States unabated. As of March 30th, 10,215 people have died from gun violence this year (4,341 homicides and 5,874 suicides). In addition, there has been 130 mass shootings (shootings in which at least four people were shot) -- the most recent being a school shooting in which three adults and three children (9 years old) were killed.

What is Congress doing about this? NOTHING! Too many of them (especially the Republicans) say nothing more can be done. And they come up with pathetic excuses for why it is happening, rather than admitting the real problem is too many guns and the ease with which dangerous people can legally buy any kind of gun they want.

In the Nashville shooting at an elementary school, the shooter was a person being treated for a mental illness -- and so dangerous that even her parents thought she should not own a gun. But she was able to legally buy 7 guns (3 of them assault weapons) from five different gun stores.

This gives those Republicans in Congress the ability to say the problem is not guns, but mental illness. But that is a poor excuse. If she had not been able to buy those guns, the shooting wouldn't have happened -- and three 9 year olds would still be alive and have a future. 

Does the United States have more mentally ill people than other developed nations (who don't have this problem of gun violence)? No! The difference is that in those other nations it is not easy for the dangerously mentally ill to buy a gun.

Republicans also will tell you that the problem is a decline in religion (and prayer in school). That's also ridiculous. Most of the other developed nations are less religious than the United States, but they don't have a problem with gun violence.

Republicans also want to blame video games. But the other developed nations have the same violent video games, and they don't have the problem.

Perhaps the most pathetic excuse is that stricter gun laws would keep law-abiding citizens from owning or purchasing a gun. No one is trying to take guns like pistols, shotguns, or hunting rifles away from law-abiding citizens. And a law-abiding citizen could easily pass a background check to buy a gun.

We need to close the loopholes in the background check law. Currently, there are too many ways to avoid these background checks (gun shows, purchases from individuals, etc.), and this makes it easy for those who shouldn't have a gun to legally buy one (including assault weapons -- the choice of most mass shooters).

Refusing to pass a strict background check law doesn't protect the right of law-abiding citizens to purchase a gun -- because they could pass the background check. The people it protects are criminals, domestic abuser, terrorists, and the dangerously mentally ill -- the people who could not pass the background check.

A huge majority of Americans know this, and they want a strict background check law (even most gun owners). They also know that such a law would be constitutional.

Another excuse is that criminals will just buy a gun illegally if they can't get one legally. Sometimes that might be true. But it is difficult and dangerous to buy gun illegally, and very hard for most people to do -- and we could make it even harder to do. A strict background check law would keep guns out of the hands of many dangerous people.

It's time for Congress to stop making excuses and act to stem the gun violence in this country.