1 week later
It’s been exactly one week since a deranged young man gunned down twenty first graders and six elementary schoolteachers, as well as his own mother.
More accurate news has come out since then; we now know that all of the dead were killed with multiple bullets from a Bushmaster military-style assault rifle.
There is absoultely no reason for weapons like that to be allowed anywhere in America.
I have signed several petitions in favor of stricter gun laws this week; here is one of the most popular and effective ones, from the We The People website. This is an open-access website that allows anyone to post a petition; if it gathers more than 25,000 signatures, it is guaranteed a response from the White House. This one, in support of stricter gun legislation, has gathered over 190,000 signatures.
This is my opinion as a doctor and a mother and a rational human being.
Yes, this is a good petition to sign. And make sure you also take 10 minutes to call your representatives. This really, really matters. Constituents who bother to call are politically involved, and are sure to vote, so their voices are heard. Depending on which side your reps take, their either need a push in the right direction or need our support to actively fight the NRA. It’s politically risky for them to do, so they need to hear from us. A friend of mine was instrumental in getting strong gun control legislation passed in Massachusetts, and here’s what he says to ask for:
1. Close the gun show loophole: Many Americans assume that in order to buy a gun you need to undergo a background check. This is not at all the case. In most states you can walk into a gun show and purchase guns from a private seller on a cash-and-carry basis, no background check, no questions asked. This loophole has been a factor in a number of the mass shootings over the past fourteen years, including Columbine. As long as this is the case our nation’s current gun laws, and everything else we can do to regulate access to guns, will be undermined.
2. Ensure background checks for all secondary gun sales: Guns, including military-style assault weapons, are also readily available in the Want-ads and in numerous on-line marketplaces. As is the case at gun shows, such secondary sales can be conducted by private sellers without any background check. This needs to end. This can be accomplished by requiring all secondary sales to be conducted through a licensed gun dealer, where background checks are mandatory.
3. Reinstate the assault weapons ban: During the Clinton Administration, a ban on semi-automatic, military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines was passed by Congress and signed into law. During the Bush Administration, at the behest of the National Rifle Association, the ban was allowed to expire. These weapons, rifles such as the AK-47 and the AR-15, and handguns such as the TEC-9, were designed for military use. They, and the high capacity ammunition magazines that feed them, are all too often the weapons of choice for those who are committing these terrible crimes. We need to reinstate the ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.
Love this reponse- so useful. I will do this, and I hope others will as well. THANKS so much.