Photo: Casey Templeton, Associated Press and CBS News
Since gunman Stephen Paddock fatally shot 59 people and injured more than 500 attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas on Sunday night, the gun control discussion has begun again.
In the court of public opinion, many believe that changes in gun legislation are long overdue. Others, however, believe there should be no restrictions on ownership. They cite the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution which states “…right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Paddock shot from about 1,000 feet away and damaged two windows on the north wing of Mandalay Bay in the process. (Photo: The Associated Press)
According to ABC News, “Democrats have pushed gun control legislation for years after mass shootings, with no success.” The Senate voted down a proposal in 2013 in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre that would expand background checks. In 2015, two proposals were rejected that would expand background checks and prevent terror suspects from purchasing guns after the San Bernardino shooting. If you thought action would have been taken in June 2017, after an attempted mass assassination of GOP congressmen at a practice for the Congressional Baseball Game for Charity, think again.
Following the Las Vegas massacre, many Democratic lawmakers pled for legislative action to restrict access to firearms. New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand tweeted, “Thoughts and prayers aren’t enough.”
Photo from https://twitter.com/SenGillibrand/status/914830371094745088
How many more Americans must suffer from gun violence and mass shootings before something is done?
According to Politifact, approximately 1.4 million Americans have died in gun-related incidences from 1968-2011. (It’s important to note that this is all gun-related deaths, including homicide, suicides and accidental deaths.)
So why, in the U.S. government, is it so hard to pass restrictions on firearms? Three words: National Rifle Association.
The National Rifle Association, better known as the NRA, is a non-profit organization that advocates for gun rights. The NRA began its path to political lobbying in the 1930s, when the organization sent its members mail about upcoming firearm legislation. After the passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968, the NRA formed its own PAC in 1977. Now, the NRA spends approximately $3 million in lobbying efforts each year to influence gun policy.
According to the Sunlight Foundation, 51 percent of members of the 113th Congress received funding from the NRA’s PAC.
To put things in perspective, the NRA has spent 73 times more than the leading pro-gun control advocacy organization, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, according to opensecrets.org and the Federal Elections Commission.
If politicians continue to take money from the National Rifle Association and remain silent when it comes to passing legislation that could save Americans lives, it appears as if gun reform is out of reach. If politicians could reach across the aisle and stand against the NRA’s bullying, fewer deaths would occur from these senseless acts of terror.