Speak Out for Common Sense Gun Regulations

It's time for legislators to show a fraction of the courage shown by the teachers at Newtown and stand up to the gun lobby. Maybe it will cost them their jobs. At least they'll still have their lives. Unlike the thousands of victims of gun violence. It's clear to me that getting them to act will first require the "common sense majority" to speak up.  Although this op-ed is focused on Greenwich, CT where I live, the message is the same across the country.

The N.R. A. and gun rights advocates are quick to use the Constitution to defend unfettered access to even the most lethal firearms.  But before the Constitution there was the Declaration of Independence, which asserts that we are endowed with certain unalienable rights, including those of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It continues, “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted…”

It is time now for government to protect our right to life from the threat of gun violence. It is time for politicians to put this right on the same pedestal they afford the right to bear arms. It is time for them to heed Supreme Court Justice Scalia who said that “like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited.”  The Court was clear about the need for gun regulation: “nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on…laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.”   It even goes so far as to recognize the right of government to prohibit “the carrying of ‘dangerous and unusual weapons’.”

Some are defending the status quo by claiming that common sense gun regulations won't protect us from all incidents of gun violence.  President Obama in the State of the Union address said what is obvious to most folks:  "Our actions will not prevent every senseless act of violence in this country.  In fact, no laws, no initiatives, no administrative acts will perfectly solve all the challenges...But we were never sent here to be perfect.  We were sent here to make what difference we can..."  

Common sense regulation is urgently needed to protect the lives of Americans in their places of work, houses of worship, shopping centers, movie theaters, parks and schools.  Among these are universal background checks for gun and ammunition purchases, stricter bans on military-style assault weapons, bans on high-capacity gun magazines, and registration of firearms.  None of these restrict the ability of law-abiding citizens to own guns, any more so than vehicle registration makes it impossible to own a car or TSA security checks make it impossible to board a plane.

But little is going to change unless concerned citizens speak out and demand action from politicians.  Greenwich has very effective advocates in Washington—Senators Blumenthal and Murphy, and Representative Himes—who are publicly and vocally pushing for more effective gun regulation.  But they need our support in the face of a gun lobby that not only opposes any restriction on gun ownership, but recommends a rush to arms as the solution to gun violence that kills 30,000 Americans every year.  In the words of N.R.A. executive vice president Wayne LaPierre, “The enemies of the Second Amendment will be met with unprecedented defiance, commitment and determination. We will Stand And Fight.”

The Greenwich delegation to the Connecticut State Assembly—Senator Frantz and Representatives Floren, Camillo and Walko—appear to support more effective gun regulation, but they need our encouragement.  We need them to do more than cast their votes when the time comes.  We need them to join other Connecticut legislators who are showing leadership by publicly and forcefully making the case for tighter gun laws. In the aftermath of the Newtown tragedy, Connecticut has a unique opportunity and the moral authority to convince law-abiding Americans and their political representatives that sensible limitations on gun ownership are vital to public safety.

At the March for Change rally in Hartford, one legislator noted he is being overwhelmed with email from those opposed to gun regulation.  Yet polls show that a majority of Americans, including gun owners and N.R.A. members, favor tighter gun laws.  But many politicians are hesitant to speak out and vote in favor of sensible gun regulation without hearing from this silent majority.  The time to act is now (contact information for elected officials representing Greenwich can be found at the website of the League of Women Voters of Greenwich, www.lwvg.org). 

According to Slate, at least 1,850 Americans have been killed by guns just since the Newtown massacre.  We can’t afford to wait.