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.
I am not a gun guy, but this is much more than a gun issue. This is a mental health issue. And a time when we start to give up privacy for the sake of security. We could do this through education. It is important right now, as always, to have the right adults in front of the children at the right time. We could do this if we could stop denigrating our teachers and demonizing our schools. The charter school movement takes the kids out of the community. The community school should be the heart of the community. The community should be centered at the school, with a lot of people in and out. The right people with the right credentials. With that much traffic a horror like this will be harder to pull off. We have been schooled in the price of ignorance. We would find good education a lot less expensive in many ways.— OldSouthPhilly- Keep blaming the guns...That will get mentally ill people the help they need.
NOT THE GUNS FAULT
http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/jlpp/Vol30_No2_KatesMauseronline.pdf— philagunowner - Allyson...go ahead and run for Governor of Pennsylvania...just don't be surprised at the outcome. You are part of the two party system that had destroyed our country. Relax, and collect that pension from the government and enjoy the pension why you relax in your nice home, Allyson. Face it, honey, you are about control, not about fixing the problems facing our country.— FletcherT
- Doctor, look at the prior "assault weapon" law. The ability to affix a bayonet was one of the defining characteristics of an "assault weapon". A semi-automatic weapon capable of firing one shot per trigger pull is not a modern "assault weapon". An effective killing tool, yes but not anything I would want to go into battle with!— OrvalEugeneFaubus
- politicians are morons. tighter gun laws will NEVER stop people from STEALING guns. why is this very basic concept not being grasped????— rudyhuxtable
- all aboard the gravy train— Zero
- I'd like someone to explain to me why they feel the need, as a civilian, to own a military assault rifle. Paranoia? Massive sense of insecurity or inferiority? I'm a firm 2nd Amendment supporter BTW.— omazerati
- Actually AreaMan it is you who have the facts incorrect. The Nazi Gun Control Act of 1938 prohibited people of the Jewish faith from "acquiring, possessing, and carrying firearms and ammunition, as well as truncheons or stabbing weapons. Those now possessing weapons and ammunition are at once to turn them over to the local police authority." Now that you understand history better, you need to understand something else. This irresponsible parent brought firearms into the home with an unstable Asberger's child. I've been around this type of child before; he tried to bury his 5-year old sister head first in the dirt after putting a plastic bag on her head. This isn't representative of people with Asberger's; I also know a pedetrician who - with therapy - leads a very productive and stable life. But back to the parent... If you know you have a volatile person in the home, why are you arming yourself? To protect yourself from your child?! This irresponsible parent cost herself her life due to her embarrassment and fear. She needed to reach out and ask for help. There is no organization better equipped to help children develop than a public school system. She had all the help she needed at her fingertips. She just needed to ask. Instead she let the situation fester, costing herself and innocent children their lives. So I'll ask you AreaMan, is it the gun or the embarrassed and fearful parent who is at fault here? Before you answer remember that the gun didn't load or fire itself. The murderer did that after his Mother trained him and made these weapons available. I will not have my Second Amendment rights revoked due to this person's shocking lack of judgment.— ItStartsInTheHomePeople
- Is that anything like Asperger's? — AreaMan
- I think The Whole News Media is Correct , We Should Get rid of The "Constitution" , and The 10 original "Bill of Rights" , ........Let's do that Tomorrow !
Starting with The "First Amendment" , and We can Finally get to the Root of The Problem ,......THE MEDIA , All The Out of Date First Amendment freedoms that are Abused everyday for PROFIT , and Ratings in the Big Zoo That is "Hollywood" !
Then We can All Sleep at Peace at night , and NOT Have Nightmares brought about by The "11:00 News , and The Tom Brokaw's of this Country !
The 2nd was put in place to "Protect ALL The Other 9 , let's see how they do in a Dictatorship which is Right around the Corner !— oldsog67 
America's movie's and TV shows and videos and rock and rap are sold all of the world, even in Iran, but they don't have all of the violence because they don't have industrial weaponry. They have smaller light fire arms, and are less efficient in the quantity of the murders. The US is a monster factory as well as the leading merchant of death. Heavily armed monsters equals mass murders like cloudy days. You get some every week.- Lets just repeal the 2nd amendment? We can seize all the guns and life will be well? Oh wait, if we did that we would be the Nazi's! Look it up, no one controlled guns better than the Nazi's.— farleftfarrightbothrfarout
- Brady, Schwartz, and the rest---hanging like vultures over a terrible tragedy.— Falls Ed
- can't get em all , go see tony soprano !— oldsog67
- I will personally vote against any politician who does not support resonable gun laws no matter what party he/she belongs to.
We do also need a discussion of mental heathcare issues as well. We and the insurance companies do not care about these people.
I am not willing to go along the classic tired arguments like "Guns don't kill people, people kill people".
Unless you believe that we are the most violent developed country and we have the worst people in the world, how do you explain the following:
We have the highest murder rate of any developed nation.
We also have the highest gun-related homicides of any developed nation. We are 4 times higher that the closest ones and 20 times higher than the average for these nations (Washington Post, December 14).
We incarcerate by far the highest per capita number of people in the WORLD (730 per 100,000), not just the developed world.
In terms of number of people executed, we are number 5 in the world.
We are also the country with the most liberal gun laws!
Yes, guns are making us safer ??!!!!! We need more of them ??!!!
— EIK
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.
