When a million moms marched in Washington and 70 other cities in
May, their platform was straightforward. They asked for safety training
and licensing for handgun owners; the closing of loopholes that allow
criminals, kids and the mentally ill to get guns; and tough enforcement
of our gun laws. The mothers also said that if our current lawmakers
won't enact these measures, they will elect people who will.
For anyone who cares about the gun issue, the November election
matters. We at Handgun Control played a big role in the march and we
share its objectives. We remember well the policies of the previous
administration, when President Bush vowed to veto the Brady bill and the
National Rifle Assn. ran the show. The gun lobby looks forward to a
second Bush administration. It was in a California meeting that NRA First
Vice President Kayne Robinson declared that, if George W. Bush wins,
"we'll have a president . . . where we work out of their office."
If Americans think that all that's at stake is the status quo, they're
wrong. It's not just that we won't even be able to close the loopholes
that allow the wrong people to get guns and make it difficult to enforce
our gun laws. And it's not just that states with tough gun laws, like
California, will continue to suffer violence from guns coming in from
other states, for lack of a comprehensive federal system. It could get
worse.
Only seven years ago, there were no background checks in 32 states,
there was no ban on Uzis and AK-47s, crime guns were not traced and there
were almost 300,000 licensed gun dealers, many of them selling guns from
their kitchen tables. That has all changed for the better.
Today, no licensed dealer in any state can sell a gun without a
background check, new AK-47s and Uzis have been banned, we have a
comprehensive program tracing crime guns and there are now fewer than
85,000 gun dealers.
However, what we've gained could disappear. The next president will
determine the future of the federal assault weapons ban. That law is up
for reauthorization in 2004. The assault weapons ban, which prohibits the
manufacture and sale of Uzis, AK-47s and other military guns, along with
magazines holding more than 10 bullets, has the overwhelming support of
the American public and every major law enforcement organization. But the
pro-gun House of Representatives actually voted to repeal the ban in
1996, although the bill never made it to a Senate vote. A pro-gun
president and Congress would allow the ban to end, paving the way for a
new flood of assault weapons on American streets. Even Californians, with
their new assault weapon ban, may find themselves posting sentries at
their borders with Nevada and Arizona.
Then there's the matter of the gun show loophole. Legislation to close
it passed in the U.S. Senate in May only when Vice President Al Gore cast
a tie-breaking vote. Since then, Congress has not acted to prevent felons
from buying guns at gun shows without background checks. George W. Bush
said his choice for vice president would not have voted to close the gun
show loophole. The choice of Dick Cheney, who voted to allow cop-killer
bullets and plastic guns on our streets, leaves no doubt about that.
The gun lobby wants to give a special break to gun show sellers, a
24-hour "instant check," so that if at the end of one day the system
cannot clear a buyer, he or she gets the gun. The FBI tells us that, in
one year, having 72 hours to check out gun-store purchasers prevented at
least 17,000 felons, wife-abusers and other prohibited purchasers from
getting guns. We want the same law that applies to licensed gun dealers
to apply at gun shows--three business days to do a background check.
There is also the issue of carrying concealed handguns in public
places. Thanks to the gun lobby, in 29 states the police must grant
permits to almost anyone who wants to carry concealed weapons in public
places. In 1997, Gov. Bush actually signed a bill to allow carrying of
handguns in churches, nursing homes, hospitals and amusement parks. That
law also lets people from other states carry their handguns into Texas.
The gun lobby wants to imitate the Texas law with a national
concealed-carry system that would allow all permit-holders to carry their
guns anywhere in the U.S. The states with the most liberal
concealed-carry laws and the fewest safeguards would have the dubious
honor of exporting their gun-toting citizens to other places.
Californians, who steadfastly reject a hidden-handgun system, could be
welcoming pistol-packing tourists to Disneyland and Dodgers games. When
you vote, keep in mind that to change our nation's gun laws, we need
lawmakers on our side.
Sarah Brady, Wife of Former Reagan Press Secretary Jim Brady, Is the Chair of Handgun Control and the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence.
Copyright 2000 Los Angeles Times
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