Gun Control

Dear Friends,

As I pointed out yesterday, I was disappointed that President Obama did not mention anything about gun control in his State of the Union address.  We need strong leadership from President Obama and others on this issue, if we are to make even baby steps of progress.  Three items of interest about gun control from today's news.

First, on the good side, Senator Lautenberg (D-NJ) has introduced three gun control measures in the Senate (here).  Make sure to tell your Senators to join as co-sponsors.  If they don't, make sure they are forced to explain why not.  These are not radical measures.  They are common sense measures: limit the size of ammunition magazines, deny people on the terrorist watch list the right to buy guns and close the loophole that permits people to buy guns at gun shows without a background check.

Second, on the bad side, the Minnesota House of Representative which is controlled by Republicans is starting a move to repeal the state's system of gun permits and background checks.  Here is the article from the Minneapolis Star Tribune.  Since the Republicans now control both the Minnesota House and Senate, they are likely to be successful, our only hope is that Governor Mark Dayton, a Democrat, will veto the legislation if it gets to him.

Third, Gail Collins in her column this morning in The New York Times (here) highlighted the fact that the Utah Legislature is considering a bill to make the Browning M1911 pistol the state firearm. What can I say?

Apparently, politicians have very short memories and have already forgotten about the massacre in Tucson.  Make sure to remind both your state and federal elected officials that gun control is critical to the safety of the American people.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal