As a nation we need to protect our children and other citizens by supporting common-sense gun safety measures, and pass stronger federal, state, and local laws that would save many lives. Common sense gun laws are not the same as “gun control” or “banning guns”, they are laws that help to reduce mass shootings, gang violence, rage violence, and gun accidents.
We could implement these common-sense gun laws by:
- Closing the gun show loophole. The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act requires federally licensed gun dealers to conduct background checks on every gun sale, but a loophole in the law allows private dealers to sell guns without a license and avoid the required background checks. This loophole accounts for a large share of all gun sales. It’s estimated that over 40 percent of all guns in our country are sold by unlicensed private sellers to buyers who did not have to pass a background check. Congress must require criminal background checks on anyone who attempts to purchase a gun.
- Ban assault weapons. The federal Assault Weapons Ban, signed into law in 1994, prohibited the manufacture and sale of 19 types of semi-automatic military style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines that contained more than 10 rounds of ammunition, but it expired in 2004. These deadly assault weapons that cause multiple deaths at a time have nothing to do with the ability to hunt animals.Congress must restore the ban on both high-capacity clips and assault weapons.
- Strengthen gun restrictions on people convicted of a violent misdemeanor or a violent act as a juvenile. Under current law, a conviction for a violent misdemeanor doesn’t prohibit a person from purchasing or possessing a gun, and a related loophole exists for people adjudicated for violent offenses as juveniles. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that a person convicted of a violent misdemeanor was eight times more likely to be charged with a subsequent gun and/or violent crime. Congress must close these loopholes and prohibit gun possession by individuals who have been convicted of violent misdemeanors or have been found delinquent for violent acts.
- Require consumer safety standards and childproof safety features for all guns. This would help protect children and adults, and every gun in this country should be childproofed.Congress must subject guns to the same consumer product safety regulations that cover virtually every other consumer product. Congress also must require childproof safety features on all guns.
For more information, read the full Huffington Post article, How Our Nation Can Protect Children, Not Guns