Tag Archives: Guns

Background Checks for Guns Supported by 91% of Americans

Posted on March 14th, 2013 | Comments Off on Background Checks for Guns Supported by 91% of Americans

As Rachael Maddow notes, more Americans support background checks for people buying guns at gun shows than support capitalism, Italian food, or taking a vacation. What don’t Republicans in Congress and in our state legislature not understand? Talk about being out of touch.

The Washington Post ABC poll was conducted March 7 – 10th. As Bloomberg News reports:

More than nine in 10 Americans favor mandatory background checks for purchases at gun shows,  according to a poll out today.

The ABC News/Washington Post survey showed 91 percent supporting such checks, with 8 percent opposing them. Making illegal gun sales a federal crime was backed by 82 percent, with 15 percent in opposition.

President Barack Obama’s call to ban military-style assault weapons is supported by 57 percent and opposed by 41 percent.

A second poll done by the Quinnipiac University from Feb 28 to March 4th found similar results:

By an 88 – 10 percent margin, including 85 – 13 percent among voters in households with guns, American voters support background checks for all gun buyers. Voters also support 54 – 41 percent a nationwide ban on the sale of assault weapons and back 54 – 42 percent a nationwide ban on the sale of ammunition magazines with more than 10 rounds.

Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to move forward on background check legislation. The Committee vote was 10 to 8 with all 8 Republicans voting no.  Republicans are not listening to voters but to the NRA and gun lobby money. In the Quinnipiac Unviersity poll 83 % of Republicans polled supported universal background checks. Republicans continue to be out of tune with the public’s strong support for Congress to act to control gun violence.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has also by a 10 to 8 party line vote approved the ban on assault weapons proposed by President Obama and to limit ammunition clips to a maximum of 10 bullets.

Members of the Judiciary Committee:

Democrats Voting YES

Patrick Leahy – VT

Diande Feinstein – CA

Chuck Schumer – NY

Dick Durbin – IL

Stephen Whitehorse – RI

Amy Klochbar – MN

Al Franken – MN

Christopher Coons – DE

Richard Blumenthal – CT

Mazie Hirono – HI

Republicans Voting NO

Chuch Grassley – IA

Orin Hatch – UT

Jeff Sessions – AL

Lindsey Graham – SC

John Cronyn – TX

Michael Lee – UT

Ted Cruz – TX

Jeff Flake – AZ

 

 

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What do guns have to do with credit card legislation?

Posted on May 15th, 2009 | Comments Off on What do guns have to do with credit card legislation?

In a step backward for reasonable gun control, a horde of Democratic Senators in Congress have voted to allow loaded guns in our National Parks. As noted in an e-mail from tha National Parks Conservation Association:

What does credit card reform legislation have to do with national parks? We asked ourselves that same question. But the rules of the U.S. Senate being what they are, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) attached a rider to the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act (H.R.627) that would allow individuals to carry loaded rifles, shotguns, and semi-automatic weapons in national parks if the firearm is in compliance with state law.

The Coburn rider overturns the existing, reasonable Reagan-era regulation that allows guns to be transported through national parks as long as they are unloaded and stowed away. Seven former Directors of the Park Service and current and former park rangers oppose the rider because they believe it will increase the risk of poaching and vandalism of historic resources, and put visitors at risk.

Washington State can thank our two Senators, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, for voting no on this cave in to the NRA to allow guns in our National Parks.

Unfortunately 25 other Democrats joined with all the Senate Republicans in adding this totally unrelated rider to HR 627. Democrats voting yes included Baucus (MT), Bayh (IN), Begich (AK), Byrd (WV), Casey (PA), Conrad (ND), Dorgan (ND), Feingold (WI), Hagan (NC), Klobucbar (MN), Kohl (WI), Landrieu (LA), Leahy (VT), Merkley (OR), Nelson (FL), Nelson (NE), Reid (WV), Shaheen (NH), Spector (PA), Testor (MT), Udall (CO),Warner (VA), Webb (VA), Wyden (OR), and Independent Sanders (VT).

The bill has to go back to the House for concurrence. E-mail, write or call your Representative and urge them to reject this pro-gun amendment being added to the credit card legislation. We don’t need guns in our National Parks.

As noted 10 years ago in the LA Times:

The United States has by far the highest rate of gun deaths–encompassing murders, suicides and accidents–among the world’s 36 richest nations, the first comprehensive international look at gun-related deaths found.
The U.S. rate for gun deaths in 1994 was 14.24 per 100,000 people. Japan had the lowest rate, at 0.05 per 100,000. …
The CDC would not speculate as to why the death rates varied, but other researchers said easy access to guns and society’s acceptance of violence are part of the problem in the United States.”If you have a country saturated with guns, available to people when they are intoxicated, angry or depressed, it’s not unusual guns will be used more often,” said Dr. Rebecca Peters, a Johns Hopkins University fellow specializing in gun violence. “This has to be treated as a public health emergency.”…
The 36 countries chosen were listed as the richest in the World Bank’s 1994 World Development Report.
The study used 1994 statistics supplied by the 36 countries. Of the 88,649 gun deaths reported by all the countries, the United States accounted for 45%, said Dr. Etienne Krug, a CDC researcher and co-author of the article.

Keeping loaded guns out of our National Parks is the right move to try to provide at least a few places where guns are not so prevelant.

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