Guns

Every time there is a shooting, whether it be a mass shooting of innocents, a killing of an unarmed black man, or of one of our fearless and dedicated law enforcement officers, the topic of ‘gun control’ comes up in the Congress…then quickly disappears.

Why is that?

• The President revoked his predecessor’s Executive Order requiring that gun buyers undergo a mental health clearance. That defies common sense - but Congress did nothing!!!!

• The President also removed the ban on the distribution of 3-D plastic gun manufacturing, but a federal court stepped in, just in time, to halt distribution of these printed guns. Fortunately the three branches of government that our forefathers so wisely designed, to provide the checks and balances…worked, in this case, thanks to the courts.

• Following every mass shooting massacre, the President and most Republican Senators and House Members express their “thoughts and prayers.” Nice sentiment, but thoughts and prayers do not bring back family members, friends and loved ones.

In early 2019, the House passed common-sense gun legislation and sent it to the Senate, but Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is sitting on this legislation even as more innocent people die in senseless gun violence.

But Republican Members of Congress have not been doing their job!

They are not fulfilling the responsibility with which they are constitutionally charged.

Nor are they acting “in the public interest!”

Why is that?

Our answer - Follow the money!

The NRA and its allies donate to congressional Republicans at a rate 55 times that of Democrats!

What’s interesting about this long list of 53 Senators funded by the NRA?

Yes! It jumps out!

All but one are Republicans!

In fact, during the 2018 election cycle, 97 percent of NRA contributions went to Republican incumbents and candidates. This vast imbalance of funding illustrates that the Republican Party chases NRA money, which gives the NRA an outsized influence over federal policymaking.

Instead of enacting sound policies that protect innocent American lives in schools, places of worship, on the streets and in other public places, Republican Members of Congress are following NRA policy directives.

Less than 1.5 percent of the American population belongs to the NRA!

It’s time for a reassessment of what is in the best interest of most of the people in our communities and around the world.

Gee-Whiz Facts

More Americans have been killed by guns in our own country in just the past 50 years than have been killed in all our nation's wars combined!

These statistics do not begin to tell the human stories of the impact of guns in our society.

Americans own more guns per capita than residents of any other country in the world.

The NRA is opposed to virtually every form of gun regulation, including restrictions on owning assault weapons, retention of databases of gun purchases, background checks on purchasers at gun shows and changes in the registration of firearms.

Yet 69 percent of NRA members in a poll this year support comprehensive background checks!

According to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence:

• 100 Americans are killed with guns every day!

• Each year, 36,383 Americans die from gun violence

• 51% of suicides in America involve a firearm

• 4.6 million children live in homes where guns are unlocked and loaded!

• Unarmed Black civilians are nearly FIVE TIMES more likely than unarmed White civilians to be shot and killed by police.

• Abused women are FIVE TIMES more likely to be killed by their abuser if the abuser has a firearm

• Six of the deadliest mass shootings in the U.S. have happened in the last 10 years

• Gun violence costs over $229 billion EACH YEAR through direct costs like medical transport, law enforcement costs, and medical and mental health treatment. About 87 percent of these direct costs are borne by taxpayers—or about $700 per person per year.

Isn’t it time for our elected officials to heed these facts

and work to protect American lives?