March, 15 2010, 01:47pm EDT
Paranoid Pentagon Shooter, Denied Guns by Law, Obtains Weapon Through Gun Show Loophole
WASHINGTON
Paul Helmke,
President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, issued the
following statement about news reports that John Patrick Bedell, the
dangerously mentally ill California man who opened fire on police
guarding the Pentagon March 4, was armed with a gun sold without a
Brady background check at a gun show in Las Vegas, Nevada:
"If
media reports are correct, a dangerous and delusional man was denied a
gun by a Brady background check in California, but was able to arm
himself with a gun purchased at a Las Vegas gun show without a Brady
background check.
"Again we see the cost of the loophole in
the Brady Law that allows guns to be purchased from so-called private
sellers, most often at gun shows, without a background check. A man is
dead, and two law enforcement officers are recovering from gunshot
wounds, and Congress still refuses to take action to close this
loophole. The Pentagon attack shows that our weak gun laws are not just
a public safety issue but also a national security issue.
"Nearly
a hundred members of Congress have signed on as cosponsors of
legislation to require background checks on firearm sales at gun shows.
It is long past time to close this dangerous loophole."
Brady United formerly known as The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence and its legislative and grassroots affiliate, the Brady Campaign and its dedicated network of Million Mom March Chapters, is the nation's largest, non-partisan, grassroots organization leading the fight to prevent gun violence. We are devoted to creating an America free from gun violence, where all Americans are safe at home, at school, at work, and in our communities.
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