Police chiefs put the heat on Congress

WHAT IF ONLY 60 percent of airline travelers were screened before boarding? What if only 60 percent of cops were given background checks?

How about gun owners - what if only 60 percent of them were given a background check?

It's already happening, according to the National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence.

Several top cops from around the country highlighted the issue yesterday at a news conference held by the partnership at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, the site of the annual conference of International Association of Chiefs of Police. The officials, including Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, renewed their call for Congress to pass universal background-check legislation.

Currently, only buyers who purchase firearms at gun shops are subjected to background checks, while the 40 percent of buyers who purchase their guns privately, including online and at gun shows, are not, said Baltimore Chief Jim Johnson, chairman of the partnership.

When the U.S. Senate defeated a bill this year that would have expanded background checks to include online and gun-show sales, Ramsey was befuddled.

"We expected the Senate to do what cops do, protect the public," Ramsey said. "But a minority of senators protected themselves instead of the American people and in my opinion, that's a disgrace."

Chief Terry Cunningham, of the Wellesley, Mass., Police Department, said that since 2001 more than 300,000 lives have been taken by gun violence.

"That's more than 70 lives a day," he said. "We are clearly facing a crisis and now is the time to act."

Ramsey said he wants the public to know that police chiefs across the country won't let Washington bypass this issue.

"Congress, right now, it's hard to figure out, quite frankly," he said. "I would hope that eventually they do get their act together and sit down and carry out their responsibilities."

Earlier in the day, Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis III walked IACP conference attendees through the days following this year's bombing at the Boston Marathon.

He said the incident highlighted the importance of tourniquets - now each Boston police officer is equipped with them - and of the police radio system, because all other forms of communication were down.

He also highlighted the importance of having trusted media sources and of tapping into social media to distribute and receive information from the public.

Davis said the most important thing that came out of the bombing though was the idea of "Boston Strong."

"The terrorists attempted to turn us into a frightened and dysfunctional city and actually they did just the opposite; they failed miserably," he said.