Time for Common-Sense Solutions to Gun Violence
A guest column by U.S. Representative Diana DeGette
Over the past year, our nation has had to come together too often in sorrow in the aftermath of extraordinary gun violence – whether in our own backyard in Aurora, or in a small town in Connecticut. Again and again, we mourn the losses, and call for action after a massacre. But this time – in the wake of Sandy Hook – something seems different.
![Diana DeGette is a fourth-generation Coloradan serving her eighth term in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing District One, which includes all of Greater Park Hill. She lives in Hilltop with her husband Lino, their two daughters and her dog, Charlie.](https://greaterparkhill.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/diana-degette.jpg)
She lives in Hilltop with her husband Lino, their two daughters and her dog, Charlie.
The slaughter of 20 children in their classroom forced our society to confront that we have not done enough to protect our children from the increasing incidence of gun violence. We are finally engaging in a larger and more productive conversation about our views on violence, our views on guns, and our views on how we respond to mentally ill individuals in our communities. As this conversation has evolved, I am hopeful we can come to consensus around reasonable solutions that keep killing machines out of the hands of disturbed individuals, while respecting the Second Amendment rights of responsible gun owners.
In Sandy Hook, the gunman shot most of his victims with an AR-15 semiautomatic weapon, using multiple magazines containing 30 bullets each. He was able to kill 26 individuals, including 20 children, in less than ten minutes. In last summer’s horrific theatre massacre in Aurora, the shooter also used an AR-15 semiautomatic weapon, with a 100-bullet magazine to shoot 71 people in only a couple of minutes.
We will never be able to stop every disturbed individual from going into a school or a movie theater or a shopping mall and shooting people, but we can slow them down and give the people in their sights a fighting chance. That is why since my time in the Colorado state legislature 20 years ago, I’ve worked to pass reasonable gun legislation to keep our families safe. I’ve repeatedly introduced legislation to ban high-capacity assault magazines, and in fact, on the very first day of this session of Congress, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and I introduced that bill again.
Last month, I joined President Obama at the White House as he outlined his plan for common-sense solutions to keep our children and our families safe, and prevent gun violence throughout the nation. The President immediately implemented 23 executive actions including: strengthening the system for background checks, making sure mental health professionals know their options for reporting threats of violence, and helping police departments hire school resource officers.
President Obama then called on Congress to take swift action on larger proposals to prevent gun violence and keep our children safe, including: instituting universal background checks for gun purchasers; and restoring the ban on military-style assault weapons, as well as a ban on high-capacity assault magazines, similar to my bill.
As elected officials try to tackle this critical issue, poll after poll demonstrates increasing public support for these types of common-sense solutions. According to the Washington Post, the majority of Americans, 52 percent, support more comprehensive laws that will keep Americans safe from gun violence, including percent who support a ban on assault weapons. A Gallup poll found that 62 percent of Americans favor a ban on high-capacity magazines. The Pew Research Center found that 85 percent of Americans favor stronger background checks, and a CBS News poll said 92 percent favor universal background checks.
Each of these polls is certainly encouraging. But in order to ensure these reasonable ideas can be enacted, the support reflected in these polls must translate into a demand for action by American citizens to our nation’s elected leaders. While those of you in Colorado can be assured that I will stand with the President and fight for these common sense measures to limit gun violence, I urge you to encourage your friends and family members across the country to contact their elected officials as well.
I believe in the Second Amendment, and as a fourth-generation Coloradoan, I know that gun ownership is a part of our great state’s history and culture. The common-sense reforms proposed by the President, myself, and many of my colleagues, would respect those rights, while working to prevent the horrific massacres that take the lives of too many of our citizens and too many of our children. I encourage my fellow Americans to join me in the call for responsible solutions that respect our Second Amendment rights, while taking action to prevent tragedies like the massacres in Sandy Hook and Aurora.
Diana DeGette is a fourth-generation Coloradan serving her eighth term in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing District One, which includes all of Greater Park Hill. She lives in Hilltop with her husband Lino, their two daughters and her dog, Charlie. She can be reached through her website: degette.house.gov.