“They looked at these most benign and practical of
solutions, offered by moderates from each party, and then they looked over
their shoulder at the powerful, shadowy gun lobby — and brought shame on
themselves and our government itself by choosing to do nothing.” Senator
Gabrielle Giffords, nytimes.com.
Her article in the New York Times was in response to the Senate
blocking very moderate gun control proposals to improve background checks on
gun buyers on Wednesday. Giffords, herself a victim of gun violence, still has
not recovered completely from the bullet that nearly killed her. As she said, speaking
is still a challenge for her but feeling is not. She’s outraged at the
cowardice and hypocrisy of Senators who voted against the proposals but had the
temerity to then look her and mothers of victims in the eye.
Gifford was not only shot – the bullet went through her
brain - she also witnessed the death of a friend and staff member Gabe
Zimmerman who saw the shooter and ran towards the bleeding Gifford, right into
the path of more gunfire. He was killed.
“I am asking every reasonable American to help me tell the
truth about the cowardice these senators demonstrated. I am asking for mothers
to stop these lawmakers at the grocery store and tell them: You’ve lost my
vote. I am asking activists to unsubscribe from these senators’ e-mail lists
and to stop giving them money. I’m asking citizens to go to their offices and
say: You’ve disappointed me, and there will be consequences.”
President Obama was equally devastated. At a press conference outside the Whitehouse, he stood with Joe Biden and families who had
lost members to gun violence and said “All in all, today was a pretty shameful
day for Washington.
He pointed out that 90% of Democrats supported the measure, but 90% of Republicans opposed it, despite that it was supported by 90% of Americans and that the measure was put together by a Democrat and a Republican, both gun owners and defenders of 2nd Amendment rights, both with NRA “A” grades. All this measure did was apply the background check laws that already apply to guns from a dealer to guns bought over the internet or at gun shows, so 60% of guns already go through that system. Yet the NRA spread the idea that the new measure would lead to a “big brother” kind of control scenario by the government.
“But this effort is not over. I want to make it clear to the American people we can still bring about meaningful changes that reduce gun violence, so long as the American people don't give up on it. Even without Congress, my administration will keep doing everything it can to protect more of our communities. We're going to address the barriers that prevent states from participating in the existing background check system. We're going to give law enforcement more information about lost and stolen guns so it can do its job. We're going to help to put in place emergency plans to protect our children in their schools.
But we can do more if Congress gets its act together. And
if this Congress refuses to listen to the American people and pass common-sense
gun legislation, then the real impact is going to have to come from the voters.”
One of the parents of a child who was killed in Sandy Hook,
Mark Barden, who was there with his family, spoke very movingly before Obama
did. He said any father in America could go through what he and his family are
going through now. He talked about how this is a long road and that he and
those he’s working with are disappointed but not defeated. “Everyday, as more
people are killed in this country by gun violence, our determination grows
stronger…Our hearts are broken. Our spirit is not.”
The grip that the NRA has on lawmakers in the US makes a
mockery of everything America is supposed to stand for. But unless that
electorate speaks out and acts, as Gifford and Obama have called for, nothing
will change for the better.
It’s hard to know from the polls what Americans think. The
polls pre the last election all predicted a Romney win most of the time. CNN
was predicting it right up to the last moment. The Huffpost was the only one I
saw that got it right.
But it doesn’t matter what people say in response to polls,
it matters what they do. Enough people voted for Barack Obama twice in
succession, so perhaps enough people will be motivated to stop electing
Senators and Congressmen who represent corporate interest. It’s people like Barack
Obama and Gabrielle Gifford, and those who support and vote for them who remind
me that that element of America which is truly admirable does still exist.
