Passing gun control legislation is about as easy as making water run uphill. But the Texas church massacre (not to be confused with the Las Vegas massacre or any of the 400+ mass shootings in 2017) may have forced a small concession from the gun lobby. Because the shooter’s history of domestic violence never made it into the federal background check system, he was able to buy a rifle and kill 26 people. Legislation before the house would aim to change that by supposedly, hopefully, improving record reporting. It’s a bipartisan bill. Seems like a no-brainer. But wait, there’s more.
Republicans in the House have combined this common sense bill with something called the “Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act.” It’s the highest priority for the NRA which should send chills down your spine. This bill would allow a concealed carry permit to become nationally recognized like your driver’s license or marriage license. Here’s the problem. Different states have different rules. In fact, there are 12 states that require NO permit to carry a concealed weapon. So what’s to stop someone from buying a gun in a no-permit state like Missouri and bringing it locked and loaded into New York, a state that has strict concealed carry laws? Nothing. As you might imagine, police associations think this bill is a terrible idea too. They know it could put their officers in more danger.
And police aren’t the only ones in the line of fire. Since Sandy Hook, less than five years ago, there have been over 200 additional school shootings. As for mass shootings in general, more than 1,700 Americans have been fatally killed with over 6,000 more injured since that terrible day in Newtown.
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