Government must act upon wishes of people
The best thing about this week is that it is mercifully coming to an end. Two horrific events with multiple casualties show just how fleeting life can be, and how quickly everyday occurrences can devolve into catastrophic disasters. It shows how even with our tremendous technological advances, we still can’t prevent every tragedy. This makes it so much more important for us to prevent what we can. Thus brings us to the extremely disheartening Senate vote yesterday taking down the Toomey-Manchin plan, which would have strengthened laws regarding background checks for purchasing guns.
There is simply no reason that this bill should not have passed. First, more than 90 percent of U.S. citizens, 87 percent of gun owners and 57 percent of NRA members support universal background checks. That is an overwhelming majority of the U.S. populace, yet our Senate disgracefully cowered to the whim of a very vocal minority.
The only coherent rationale I’ve heard against the bill is that it would require private individuals who wish to sell guns among themselves to have to jump through certain federal hoops to get the sale approved. This is true, but I would much rather cause inconvenience for those citizens than allow the next Adam Lanza to legally purchase a weapon of mass destruction (and assault rifles are exactly that) and turn it on innocent victims.
I fully realize that expanded background checks will not catch everyone, and there are other illegitimate ways to get a gun. But that minor deterrence may be enough to make a criminal think twice about whether they want to use a gun. Or it may buy officials enough time to uncover a violent plan before it can actually take place. Regardless, it is inexcusable for our Senate to not take advantage of a clear opportunity, one which could, at the very least, stop another mass shooting.
In a perfect world, every senator who voted no would have to look someone like former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in the eye and explain why inconveniencing gun owners was more heinous than stopping the next madman shooter. Or they would have to tell Mark Barden why the life his son, Daniel, a victim of the Sandy Hook shooting, is less important than the rights of criminals and the mentally ill to own a gun.
But as the unfortunate events of this week have perfectly illustrated, the world we live in is far from perfect. And even when given the opportunity to make it a little better, our Senate refused to act. So, as citizens, we must do our part and express our displeasure, beginning with Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham — South Carolina’s senators who both voted against the bill. The victims of gun violence deserve more, but it’s the least we can do.