Back in February, gun violence looked to be on top of the national agenda as communities across the nation were reeling from massacres and constant shootings. Back then, Rep. Joe Heck (R-Henderson) held a town hall in Old Henderson and fielded many questions on gun safety. He refused to consider measures that most Nevadans support, like a new ban on military grade assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
However even in declaring this, Rep. Heck left the door open to other policy solutions. Specifically, he endorsed expansion of background checks for gun purchases. And at least for that moment, it appeared as if Congress could actually accomplish something.
Of course, we remember what happened in April. Yet despite this, HR 1565 remains. It does exactly what Rep. Heck promised to support (expanding background checks for gun purchases). It was introduced by a fellow Republican (Peter King [R-New York]). And it now has 184 co-sponsors, including both of the other Southern Nevada Representatives (Dina Titus [D-Paradise] and Steven Horsford [D-North Las Vegas]).
So why hasn't Rep. Heck taken action yet? That's what local OFA volunteers were asking. They also called fellow Nevadans and asked them to call Rep. Heck about HR 1565 and gun safety.
Even though we haven't seen a major massacre making national headlines recently, that doesn't mean gun violence is no longer a serious problem. Ask Jill Schaller and the Reno Police Department about that. And for that matter, ask the many communities around the state and across the nation about the daily gun violence tragedies they witness.
Congress has the ability to do something. Rep. Joe Heck has the ability to do something. And his House Republican colleagues have the ability to do something.
They can start by passing HR 1565. The least they can do is expand background checks to prevent dangerous criminals from getting their hands on dangerous weapons. Can't they at least do that?
Last week, we discussed two terrible tragedies. In Sandord, Florida, and across the nation, people are still trying to make sense of the George Zimmerman verdict. And closer to home, many in Reno are asking why one of their police officers sold a gun to Jill Schaller's severely mentally ill son.
In recent days, we've seen renewed discussion of gun violence and what we can do to curb it. Even President Obama felt compelled to say something about Trayvon Martin. As we see more and more horrific incidents of extreme gun violence, it's become next to impossible to avoid the subject.
Yet as of now, the G-O-TEA crew in Congress are still trying to avoid the subject. They act as if this isn't a problem. And once again, and they are trying to deny reality.
Yesterday, a few OFA Nevada activists met at "Super Activist" Teresa's house to urge more Nevadans to call our members of Congress.
Senator Dean Heller and Reps. Joe Heck & Mark Amodei can try all they want to deny reality, but reality will soon bite them where it hurts. As we’ve discussed here many times before, the overwhelming majority of Nevadans support expanding background checks for gun gun purchases. This is really the least Congress can do.
Yesterday, the activists at Teresa's house were also asking themselves and each other who may be future "Stand Your Ground" victims. Since the NRA & ALEC successfully made "Stand Your Ground" Florida law, they and their "Tea Party, Inc." allies have been spreading this to other states. Even Nevada now has a limited version of the statute.
Again, the gun lobby and their favorite "TEA" fueled politicians have been trying to deny the frightening reality of rising vigilantism and innocent people being shot dead due to prejudicewrong assumptions "suspicious behavior". How much more of this can we take? Are the extra gun sales truly worth all this unnecessary bloodshed? Has anyone (other than gun manufacturers) actually benefited from the gun lobby calling the shots on state and federal gun laws?
Can Congress afford to deny reality any longer? Can state lawmakers? Can we?
Yesterday, we uncovered the horrific discovery Jill Schaller made when she learned that a Reno police officer sold a gun to her severely mentally ill son. This was illegal. But because the officer failed to perform a background check on Schaller's son, we're only learning of this now.
This harrowing tale seems to be reviving talk of Governor Brian Sandoval's (R-NRA) veto of the SB 221 state background checks bill last month, and of US Senator Dean Heller's (R-NRA) decision to join the G-O-TEA veto of an even more modest federal background checks bill. This is forcing Nevadans to revisit the frightening reality of the easy path to gun violence here and nationally. The RGJ's Ray Hagar posted a story earlier today on the renewed talk of gun safety in light of the Reno police scandal.
“This incident shows exactly why Gov. Sandoval made a dangerous and life-threatening mistake to veto SB221,” said activist Teresa Crawford of ProgressNow Nevada. “This is exactly why we need legislation like this here in Nevada to keep guns out of the wrong hands. I hope now he understands why we need this legislation.” [...]
“The background check provision is really important,” [State Senator Justin] Jones [D-Enterprise] said. “In this case, it is clear that if the seller had engaged in a background check and the records had been properly transferred to the Washoe Court, then the transfer would have not gone forward.
Jones noted his bill would require that those records be transferred in five days.
“We have a great need to make sure our records are transmitted from our courts quicker to our Department of Public Safety,” Jones said.
But instead, Governor Sandoval vetoed SB 221. And Senator Heller filibustered the Manchin-Toomey bill. And Reps. Joe Heck (R-?!) and Mark Amodei (R-Where This Occurred) continue their pitch perfect silence on the whole matter.
OK, so Nevada Republicans want to pretend that gun violence is not a big deal. Try explaining that to the families of children murdered with guns.
“We’ve demonstrated that we’ve made a lot of progress in reducing youth violence, but the study also points out that this progress is slowing and homicide is still a leading cause of death,” Corinne David-Ferdon, a behavioral scientist in the CDC’s Violence Prevention and Injury Center, told Reuters. “It’s important we get these programs in place early in young people’s lives to help disrupt the development of violent attitudes and behavior in early childhood and middle childhood.”
In the past several months, particularly after a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary killed 20 young students and seven adults, there has been a renewed push to protect children’s health by preventing gun violence. Thousands of Americanshave gone onto be killed by guns after the Sandy Hook tragedy, including many very young children accidentally shot by firearms kept in their homes.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) — the nation’s largest group of pediatricians, representing over 600,000 doctors across the country — has pressured Congress to enact stricter policies to combat gun violence, pointing out that guns are the leading cause of death among minors. But the NRA isn’t particularly interested in efforts to frame gun safety as a public health issue. The powerful lobbying group actively works to discredit the AAP’s work around gun control, and has blocked scientific research into the health effects of gun violence for years.
For all the rhetoric from the NRA and its favorite politicians of "protecting Constitutional rights", they seem to care nothing about the right of America's kids to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The families of Trayvon Martin, Janay Mcfarlane, Christina Green, and Newtown, Connecticut, know this all too well. So why do we continually allow the likes of the NRA and ALEC call the shots on gun safety laws?
Something must change. Our children continue to pay the price of inaction. This is just one EPIC FAIL that can't be ignored.
Nearly three days have passed since the verdict was issued in the George Zimmerman trial. Yet even now, protests in honor of the late Trayvon Martin continue nationwide.
After legendary soul singer Lester Chambers dedicated a song to Trayvon Martin, someone jumped onto the stage and attacked him. Stevie Wonder has already vowed to stop performing in Florida and other "Stand Your Ground" states. And major rallies continue across the nation.
Since Saturday night, we've been forced to pay attention to the intersection of racism and radically flawed gun policies. ALEC, the NRA, and the rest of "Tea Party, Inc." pushed hard for "Stand Your Ground" in Florida and in other states. And as a result, George Zimmerman is a free man again despite admitting he shot Trayvon Martin dead.
This is the brutal reality of our broken gun policies. This is what happens when we allow the likes of the NRA and ALEC to eviscerate even the most basic of gun safety laws. This is what we've come to.
And it's not as if we're immune to this here in Nevada. In fact, we know all too well here in Nevada what happens when "Tea Party, Inc." and the gun lobby get their way. Tragedy occurs. Case in point: the latest scandal to hit the Reno Police Department.
The mentally ill 19-year-old who bought a gun from an on-duty Reno police sergeant was found by a judge last year to have a mental disability, which makes him prohibited from possessing a firearm under state and federal law, a Reno Gazette-Journal investigation found. [...]
Sgt. Laura Conklin did not ask for a background check when she sold the young man the firearm on July 2. Those checks are not required for private party sales under state or federal law.
The case has re-ignited the debate about background checks for private gun sales. The Nevada Legislature argued during the 2013 session about the need for background checks for all sales and passed a measure requiring them, but Gov. Brian Sandoval vetoed the bill, saying it would “erode Nevadans’ Second Amendment rights.”
Adding to the controversy, Washoe District Court clerk Joey Orduna Hasting said late Monday that they made a mistake in their coding system and the man’s case was not sent to the Nevada Department of Public Safety to be included the background check system. That means his name has been missing from the list for more than a year.
Oh, yes. That's right. A Reno police officer actually sold a weapon to someone who wasn't supposed to own it! Apparently, this is the kind of "freedom" that Governor Brian Sandoval (R-NRA) wanted to protect when he vetoed SB 221 last month. And apparently, this is the kind of "freedom" that Senator Dean Heller (R-NRA) felt compelled to protect when he joined the G-O-TEA veto of an even more modest federal background checks bill in April.
These are the consequences we face for inaction on gun safety reform. A police officer can sell a firearm to someone who had already been found unsuitable for firearms ownership. A man can "legally" shoot to death another young man because "he looked suspicious" (read: black). A man can open fire in an elementary school and gun down twenty children & six adults to death. And throughout this state and across this country, many more people can meet their untimely demise. And we can thank the NRA, ALEC, and the rest of "Tea Party, Inc." for these compounding tragedies.
