Schwartz, Brady, call for tighter gun laws; NRA speaks out
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Schwartz, Brady, call for tighter gun laws; NRA speaks out
Count Philly’s Bob Brady and Allyson Schwartz among the Democrats urging a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Each called for those moves today, shortly before President Obama’s spokesman said the president also backs a ban on assault weapons and closing the so-called gun-show loophole that allows for firearms purchases without background checks.
“Too many Americans die each week from gun violence,” Schwartz said on C-SPAN Tuesday morning, after calling for “common sense” gun laws in a speech on the House floor Monday night.
“When you see 20, really, babies who are just gunned down with a weapon that should not be in any civilian’s hand, it is action we should take,” Schwartz said this morning. She represents parts of Philadelphia and Montgomery County. “That is not self protection, that is really weapons intended for one purpose only, and that is to kill many people at one time and kill them fast.”
Brady, a Philadelphia Congressman, also endorsed more thorough background checks.
“This really should have happened after Columbine and all these other instances,” Brady said. He noted that he gets an F rating from the NRA. “That’s my record and I’m proud of it.”
They are part of a chorus of local Democrats calling for tougher gun laws following last week's shooting in Newtown, saying they see this event as a turning point. Many on Monday said new laws were needed -- including Philly Congressman Chaka Fattah, New Jersey's Rob Andrews and New Jersey Senators Bob Menendez and Frank Lautenberg. Area lawmakers who have typically opposed gun control were non-commital on specific plans.
Obama spokesman Jay Carney also laid out the first specifics of the president’s call to enact new restrictions on access to guns today when he spoke about the assault weapons ban.
Meanwhile, the NRA, which has been quiet since Friday’s shooting in Newtown, issued a statement saying its members are were “shocked, saddened and heartbroken by the news of the horrific and senseless murders in Newtown” and “is prepared to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again.”
The gun-rights group is planning an event in the Washington area Friday.
how much money did mrs schwarz make killing babies at her abortion clinic?— hannibal barca- This comment has been deleted.
— Bede19025 - Bede19025, you are vulgar. you and the 2 imbeciles above you. — Donald Segretti
- NRA is right. The question here isn't guns... (the killer in this case STOLE guns legally purchased AFTER he killed the owner). The overarching issue is the breakdown of society.
Violent video games & violent movies desensitize children and, in this case, the shooter, who was known to have SEVERE MENTAL ISSUES, was placated by an enabling mother who pumped him full of violent video games and THEN TAUGHT HIM TO USE GUNS?!?!
The issue here is personal responsibility and its clear, the mother was overbearing and enabling her child to have the capacity and knowledge on use of weapons???
NO AMOUNT OF GUN LAWS WOULD HAVE STOPPED THIS TRAGEDY.
There are enough gun laws on the books already and NO REASON TO STRIP over 250MM Americans of their rights...when in fact, that would only lead to more black market and more citizens lacking defense.
BTW, isn't it amazing the media isn't covering the fact that the shooter in Oregon was stopped by an armed citizen with a concealed weapon???— Professor1982 - Um, if the assault weapon ban hadn't ended in 2004, Nancy Lanza would not have been in possession of an assault weapon and her monster son wouldn't have been able to use one at the school.
- Um, INCORRECT. CT has its own ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN, but in this case, she legally purchased this semi-automatic weapon, as its no different than hunting rifles. One trigger pull = one bullet. Adam Lanza would have used ANY WEAPON he could get his hands on to do his bidding...bat, knife, axe, bomb, whatever.
BTW, the Columbine massacred occurred DURING the Clinton Assault Weapons ban my friend and, in fact, violent crime escalated during Clinton's Assault Weapons ban.— Professor1982 - Good points, professor. Just more reason that we need to ban guns outright. Too many Americans have demonstrated they are not capable of handling the responsibility of owning a gun. — AreaMan
- @AreaMan - That's the very first thing the National Socialists in Germany did when their leader, a man named Adolf Hitler, was elected as Premiere.
We all know how that ended.— Professor1982 - Actually, they didn't. The Weimar Republic issued the gun ban to help deal with the chaos in Germany following WWI in 1919. The ban was slightly relaxed in 1928. Hitler was elected as Chancellor is 1933- never a Premiere (I also doubt the Germans would have used a French title.) The Nazis did change the laws in 1938 which only applied to handguns, but pretty much deregulated shotguns, rifles and ammunition. Permits lasted 3 years instead of 1. And guns could be owned at age 18 instead of 20. But it did ban Jews from owning guns. Government employees were given increased access to guns.
But, yea, don't let facts get in the way of your argument.— AreaMan - Professor - you're basically correct on the point I was trying to make. However, one of the answers is (along with, as you suggested, a society that is in some ways breaking down) to strengthen a new ban to include weapons that can use clips/magazines to shoot many bullets in short order. This is a tipping point and the status quo on guns has to end and it will.
BTW, mass shootings have INCREASED after the federal assault weapons ban expired.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/09/mass-shootings-investigation
- Two things this country has an abundance of. Troubled youth and careless gun owners. I hope every gun owner remembers to check their locks EVERY DAY. If the nice lady in CT had kept her firearms locked up like she's supposed to ...— Grazman
- Grazman - Most gun owners are very responsible. In this case, an enabling mother was filling her child with ruthless vile video games desensitizing him to violence THEN TRAINED HIM ON WHO TO USE THE GUNS!!!
Amazing how parents today enable their children to the extremes they are. This kid should have been sedated and in an institution.— Professor1982 - There are no more institutions. They were closed and the inhabitants put out on the streets. Budget cuts, I think. We have a big mental illness problem in this country and it needs to be addressed along with some kind of a ban on assault weapons. But it's nice to see that Boss Brady got the same grade from the NRA that he got in school. — fightins4ever
- The writer of this article forgot to add ellipses to the NRA statement. I question why the full NRA statement was not published.— Gwense
Jonathan Tamari is the Inquirer’s correspondent in Washington, where he follows the Philadelphia area’s interests and representatives. Tamari comes to D.C. after two years as a beat writer reporting on the Philadelphia Eagles and the NFL (where, a political source once told him, there are at least rules against hitting below the knees). He previously wrote about politics and government from Trenton, reporting on the characters and color of New Jersey state government.Jersey born and bred, Tamari now lives in the capital city, where he is looking for stories, places to run, soccer bars and good meals.
Reach him at jtamari@phillynews.com.
Follow Jonathan on Twitter: @JonathanTamari.
