Dear Fellow Coloradan,
The horror of the Newtown shooting, arriving on the heels of the mass shootings in Aurora, Columbine, Virginia Tech and Tucson, has appropriately reignited a national debate over gun violence. Sadly, this week even a bipartisan compromise to expand background checks to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill, drafted by two conservative U.S. senators — Republican Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia — failed to pass the U.S. Senate, despite being supported by 90 percent of Americans and over 70 percent of NRA members. [citation needed]
Last week I met with the mothers and fathers of the children who were murdered in Newtown [IS FOR THE CHILDRENS!!!]; although they told me about how thankful they were to the families and community of Aurora for their support, I know they are uniquely disappointed in the Senate’s failure to pass meaningful gun-safety measures. This gulf between public support and congressional inaction cannot continue.
As with many issues, Colorado serves as a roadmap for the steps we must take: Our state closed the gun show loophole through a ballot initiative in 2000 and in March this year, Gov. John Hickenlooper [The future one term governor of Denver Colorado {they’re different? who knew!}] signed into law several bills that require universal background checks for all gun purchases and limit high-capacity magazines. These actions mirror my votes in the U.S. Senate this week in favor of background checks, supporting a ban on high-capacity magazines, cracking down on illegal gun sales and trafficking, and improving mental health services. [And now the Denver Democrats are out there leading the charge off the cliff all alone]
The U.S. Senate also considered an assault weapons ban. And while I’ve previously called for an effectively crafted ban on military-style weapons, the specific ban we considered went much further than the 1994 assault weapons law and also would have banned legitimate hunting rifles and even some shotguns. I spoke to sportsmen from across Colorado and they voiced their concerns about how this ban would restrict their ability to hunt and responsibly practice their sport, which is an important part of our economy and way of life. I know some Coloradans may say that banning some legitimate hunting weapons is a small price to pay to keep other, more dangerous weapons off of our streets — especially for a state that has suffered mass gun tragedies. I can relate to that sentiment, but after years of seeking to find common ground on gun-safety issues, I also know that overreach can spur the backlash that we’ve seen undermine even the most common-sense solutions – like universal background checks. [sign of intelligent life?]
But an assault weapons ban alone should not serve as a litmus test for people who want to reduce gun violence. Even if a perfectly drafted assault weapons ban were signed into law, we would still be left with easy access to millions of military-style weapons on our streets today – which is why it is so important to also ensure that a background check is conducted on every gun sale. [Good luck getting gang bangers to go along with that]
There are no easy answers, but we should all agree — and a large majority of NRA members do [citation needed] — that we must keep firearms of any kind out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill by requiring universal background checks. But loopholes — which the Manchin-Toomey proposal sought to correct — continue to prevent many of these background checks from occurring today. Disturbed individuals should not get a chance to fire even one round into their communities, let alone the 30 rounds a high-capacity magazine would allow. Together, background checks and a ban on high-capacity magazines achieve much of what an assault weapons ban seeks to — preventing the wrong people from having access to weapons [like pressure cookers] that can inflict mass casualties in a matter of moments.
Coming from a state with a long and storied tradition of gun ownership that has also suffered through too many gun tragedies, I know we must simultaneously renew our commitment to keeping our children safe while safeguarding our Second Amendment rights. My friend Gabby Giffords [yeah, I know a guy who knows a guy with brown skin], a survivor of the senseless violence in Tucson, knows too well how important this debate is and her strength has only affirmed my conviction that the status quo must change. I will keep fighting for Colorado’s [I think you meant to say “Denver” there] families and values. Our nation deserves nothing less.
Warm regards,
Mark Udall