Showing posts with label Gun and mental health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gun and mental health. Show all posts

Monday, January 14, 2013

Joe Biden talks with gun rights advocates...NRA gives typical hackneyed reaction

President Obama has now focused on getting new gun control regulations into law and has named Vice President Joe Biden to lead the cause.  Obama wants universal background checks, strengthen mental health checks, increase penalties for carrying guns near a school or giving them to minors and reinstate the assault weapons ban.  He also is in favor of a national database to track the sale of weapons.  Regulations that any sane American would favor.

Joe Biden has so far met with gun control advocates, gun rights advocates and select entertainment groups.  AG Eric Holder has also met with some gun retailers like Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Gander Mountain and Wal Mart.  You can see a full list here.  Biden stated, "There has got to be some common ground, to not solve every problem, but diminish the probability.  That's what this is all about. There are no conclusions I have reached."

After the meeting, the National Rifle Assn. (NRA), made its typically dumb statements:

"We were disappointed with how little this meeting had to do with keeping our children safe and how much it had to do with an agenda to attack the Second Amendment.  While claiming that no policy proposals would be 'prejudged,' this task force spent most of its time on proposed restrictions on lawful firearms owners—honest, taxpaying, hardworking Americans."

"We will not allow law-abiding gun owners to be blamed for the acts of criminals and madmen."

Vice President Joe Biden chairs group on gun violence:

On January 10, the NRA’s wacky Wayne LaPierre said the organization will use “real Americans” to prove their point, as if the country is solidly behind his gang of gun nuts.  This is where the Atlantic article exposes an NRA that does not have the backing of the American public, not even the 146 million gun owners.  NRA membership is 4.2 million which works out to only 2.9% of gun owners.  Even when membership costs only $25.00 to join with added perks.   

As far as all Americans are concerned, according to two surveys measuring households with guns, the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center says there are 32%; Gallup says 47%.  Based on these figures, the NRA doesn’t even represent a majority of Americans.  But somehow in the past this radical group of gun worshippers had convinced non-gun owners to support its cause.  That support has now crumbled with the reality of gun violence.

The Vice President will have a plan to curb gun violence in the hands of the President by tomorrow, and is now encouraging Obama to consider executive order.  The President has nothing to lose in his second administration, and could go down in history as having saved the United States from a firearms disaster.  With the help of the new, and very strong, voice in gun control, Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly, Obama should have all the fire power he needs.

The one thing in this issue that the gun rights bunch is right about, although it is obvious they dwell on this subject just so it will divert attention from gun control, is strengthening the mental health system to identify anyone who shouldn’t be allowed to own a gun.  States are lax, the govs are lax, and those reporting are lax in providing and disseminating the information that could have saved the lives of 20 little children and 6 educators in Newtown, CT.

Mental health is a part of Joe Biden’s plan and the President is solidly behind fixing the problem.  Altogether, there is enough of a force with good and reasonable ideas to solve the overall problem of America’s out of control gun violence.  But it will take new and stricter gun laws to accomplish this goal and Wayne LaPierre and his NRA will just have to get used to it.

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