The Ridgway Record – The Daily Press, – The Kane Republican, Friday, July 24, 2015 -7C Guest Commentary The Grin of a Fool: Gun Control and the NRA


A white racist with strong sympathies for the Confederacy and segregation walks into a black church in Charles- ton, S.C., talks with a welcoming congregation for about an hour, and then murders nine of them. The response by the nation is to discuss the Confederate battle flag, and why it should be removed from society. An undocumented citi- zen who was deported five times gets a stolen handgun from a federal officer and murders a 32-year-old woman, whom he did not know, in San Francisco. The response is to discuss immigration laws and practices.


In Chicago over the Fourth of July week- end, seven people were murdered, and 41 injured in 34 shooting incidents. In Baltimore, two unidentified men killed three people in a residential area near the University of Maryland; a fourth gunshot victim survived. In the first half of the year, there were 154 murders in Baltimore. In Allentown and Easton, Pa., three people were murdered; police believe the sus- pect, now in custody, may also have attempt- ed to kill someone in New Jersey the week before. The response by


Walter Brasch


Contributing Columnist


the public is to escalate the discussion about gang violence.


Racism. Immigration. Gang violence. What’s missing in the discussion—the most obvious issue, the com- mon thread— is the use of guns.


Hate and fear supply the ammunition; people with guns carry out the execution of peace. President Obama, in addressing the nation shortly after the mur- ders at the Emanuel African Methodist Epis- copal church, alluded to the issue of guns. In a subsequent interview with radio host/comedi- an Marc Maron, he was more specific—“The grip of the NRA on Congress is extremely strong. I don’t foresee any legisla- tive action being taken in this Congress.” The president also explained why there is almost no movement on respon- sible gun control legisla- tion is because manu- facturers—who donate millions to the NRA— “make out like bandits, partly because of this


fear that's churned up that the federal govern- ment and the black heli- copters are all coming to get your guns.” Conservatives at- tacked the President’s comments; liberals proved the president’s points by their cowardly silence.


The Democratic lead- ership and members of Congress could have said there is a high cor- relation between the amount of money the NRA pays to legislators and the stranglehold on allowing responsible gun ownership laws to emerge. But they didn’t. They could have said the NRA leader- ship and a minority of its members, paranoid and waving conspiracy theories as if they were confederate battle flags, have their hands firmly around the testicles of the law makers. But they didn’t.


They could have said that in Mr. Obama’s six years as president, not once did he or the government ever say the government should con- fiscate guns, but wanted sensible regulation at a level even less than required to get a driver’s license. But they didn’t say that, either. If the Democratic leadership and elected legislators didn’t wish to


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attack the stranglehold of the NRA, they could just have cited facts. They could have said that 91 percent of all Americans believe there should be at least some restrictions, including mandatory gun locks to help prevent at least 1,500 injuries to chil- dren each year. But they didn’t.


They could have spoken out about the necessity for background checks for all gun sales, including private sales at gun shows. But they didn’t.


They could have said that the United States, with civilians owning about 30 percent of all handguns in the world, has the world’s highest civilian rate of owner- ship of guns. But they didn’t.


They could have said that only two countries in the world—the United States and Yemen, home to a major branch of al- Qaeda—see gun owner- ship as a basic right, and almost every other country sees ownership as a privilege. They could have said that, but they didn’t.


They could have said that over 100,000 people are shot every year in the United States; the rate is higher than al- most every other coun- try in the world, includ-


ing several countries where there is active terrorism.


They could have stat- ed there are numerous research studies that show a high correlation between gun ownership and both suicides and homicides. But they didn’t.


They could have flooded the media with outrage after the Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee, days after the Charleston mur- ders, continued the ban against the Centers for Disease Control to con- duct scientific research about gun violence. But they didn’t.


They could have


talked about the ease in acquiring guns, the kind that killed 12 people and wounded 58 others at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., and killed 26 at a school in Newtown, Conn. But they didn’t. They could have directly attacked the argument that the Second Amendment gives everyone the right to own guns, without restriction. They could have cited U.S. v. Miller that permits states and the federal government to ban certain guns. But they didn’t.


They could have cited court decisions that every one of the Bill of


Rights has exceptions, but the NRA errone- ously claims the Second Amendment is absolute. They could have cited other Supreme Court cases that gives Con- gress the authority to place restrictions on gun ownership. But they didn’t.


They could have discussed the principle of use of deadly force in “stand your ground” laws against the “obli- gation to retreat” when possible. But they didn’t. They could have dis- cussed recent legislation in Maine, happily signed by the governor, which permits anyone to carry a hidden handgun with- out having to get a per- mit or take any training in the use of firearms. The NRA leadership and lobbyists are ecstatic about that law. Perhaps, as Maine’s murder and accidental shooting rate rises, they will lose the grin of a fool. –


Rosemary Brasch is a retired secretary, labor grievance officer, and college instructor of labor studies. Walter Brasch is a journal- ist. The latest of his 20 books is Fracking Penn- sylvania, an overview of the economics, politics, and health and environ- mental effects of horizon- tal fracturing.


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