Gun control measure to be introduced by Pelosi, Democrats

By
Suzanne Downing
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7

COMING TUESDAY: A NEW ATTEMPT TO CURB GUN SALES, TRANSFERS

On Tuesday, a proposal to mandate universal background checks for nearly all gun transfers will be introduced in the U.S. House.

The proposal is spearheaded by Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Chairman Rep. Mike Thompson, also a California Democrat, and Republican Rep. Peter King of New York.

The existence of the bill was reported in Politico. It would make exceptions for “hunting and family” transfers, and does not address the boogeyman topic of “assault weapons,” sources have told reporters.

Critics say the attempt to force universal background checks is misguided, since the top cause of gun death is suicide, and in that cohort, male veteran suicide is the highest cause of gun death.

Beyond that, the leading cause of gun deaths are vice crime-related, especially involving illegal transfers of guns between criminals who are not legally allowed to own firearms and are not likely to register such transfers.

Former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords will be on the House floor on Tuesday to help introduce the bill. Tuesday is the 8th anniversary of the shooting that nearly killed her in Arizona. Six people died and she sustained extensive brain injury.

In a news release from Speaker Pelosi’s office, Giffords said, “Thanks to the relentless efforts of advocates, courageous gun violence survivors, and the American voters who elected new leaders to Congress, I am thrilled that for the first time in decades, the United States House of Representatives will no longer sit silent as our nation reels from the growing gun violence epidemic.”
Giffords Courage to Fight Gun Violence and a group called Everytown for Gun Safety far outspent the National Rifle Association to elect gun-control lawmakers to Congress during the 2018 midterm elections. The two groups’ campaign expenditures for gun-control candidates exceeded $37 million, compared to the NRA, which spent $20 million for pro-Second Amendment candidates.
Thirty percent of Americans own guns, and over 40 percent of Americans live in a home that has a firearm, according to the Pew Research Center in a report released on Dec. 27, 2018. Forty-eight percent of U.S. adults grew up in a household with guns, and 72 percent of Americans have fired a gun at some point in their lives.
Among Americans who own a firearm, 66 percent own more than one, including 29 percent who own five or more. A large majority of gun owners (72%) own a handgun or pistol, while 62% own a rifle and 54% own a shotgun, according to Pew.
Three-quarters of gun owners say they could never see themselves not owning a gun, according to Pew, whose summary of its gun survey can be found here.
Although critics of such surveys say they underestimate the number of Americans who own guns because gun owners don’t like answering survey questions about their firearms, views on gun laws trend along partisan lines, with 80 percent of Democrats wanting stricter gun laws, and just 28 percent of Republicans favoring the same. More than half of Republicans surveyed feel the current gun laws are acceptable.
Democrats and some Republican co-sponsors introduced a background check bill in November, but with Republicans in power, the measure never reached the floor for a vote. Even if it is moved forward in the House, it’s not likely to get out of committee in the Republican-controlled Senate.