Charlotte Bacon, 6
Daniel Barden, 7
Rachel Davino, 29
Olivia Engel, 6
Josephine Gay, 7
Ana Marquez-Greene, 6
Dylan Hockley, 6
Dawn Hochsprung, 47
Madeleine Hsu, 6
Catherine Hubbard, 6
Chase Kowalski, 7
Jesse Lewis, 6
James Mattioli, 6
Grace McDonnell, 7
Anne Marie Murphy, 52
Emilie Parker, 6
Jack Pinto, 6
Noah Pozner, 6
Caroline Previdi, 6
Jessica Rekos, 6
Avielle Richman, 6
Lauren Rousseau, 30
Mary Sherlach, 56
Ava,
five and Eden, four, these are my daughters, my lovely little rays of light
that I cherish everyday and who’s names I hope will never be added to a list
like the one above. I am the daughter of
Rick and Joyce Siege and the wife of Eddie Marks. I am a daughter-in-law to Dan and Judy Marks
and I am a cousin, a sister-in-law, and a friend to countless special
people. I am not a statistic and I don’t
ever want to be one for gun violence.
The people and names above killed in Newtown or Aurora or countless
other shootings for that matter are you and I.
Their lives are our lives. Their
tragedy is ours, their tears are our tears and their pain should be ours as
well. As the months pass since Newtown
we should not forget what happened and settle for complacency on the issue of
gun control.
I
have wanted to write a blog about gun control and this whole disaster for
sometime but I wanted to wait until I wasn’t so emotional. The tragedy of Newtown still haunts me and I
can’t even imagine the pain the victims families are enduring day in and day
out. What got me thinking that I was
finally ready to blog on this was when I took my daughter recently to see a
movie. I sat in the theater with Ava and
I thought, “What if?” What would I do if
a shooter came in and opened fire? How
sad that those were my thoughts as my sweet five year old was bouncing in her
seat with excitement and I am thinking about how I would protect her if someone
opened fire. The simple pleasure of
sharing a movie with my child is now something to worry about. And it really is something to worry about
because apparently we can’t agree on anything to curb gun violence in this
country. We have learned to accept the
lowest common denominator on just about everything lately with all of the
gridlock in DC however, with the safety of our children, parents and loved
ones, I say enough is enough. What is it
going to take for us to demand change on this issue? Thirty dead first graders, fifty, a hundred? After Columbine, Virginia Tech, Gabby Gifford,
Aurora, and Newtown, what else is it going to take to make this happen? Are the NRA and the gun manufactures more
important then our children? Are their
voices more important then ours? Furthermore why is the NRA dominating the conversation? The NRA has come up with the brilliant
solution to arm teachers and put them through hours of gun training so that our
schools can become the Okay Corral. Really?
This is the best we can come up with?
It sounds like an Onion piece
but the fact that this is reality is so frightening it makes me want to laugh a
nervous giggle, the kind I get right before I panic.
Speaking
of panicking, here are some statistics that should really send chills down your
spine: In 2010 guns were used in 11,422
homicides. In 2011 according to the CDC,
either intentionally or accidently, 59,208 people were wounded by a gun. Another way to look at this is three people
are killed by a gun per hour and almost seven people are shot every 60
minutes. There
were 16,454,951 background checks on firearms purchases in 2011, or more than
45,000 each day of the year. This tally doesn't include the number sold at gun
shows, where purchasers don't get screened. Of the transactions run through an
instant background check, an average of 214 are rejected daily because the
buyer is an ex-con, has been involuntarily committed to a mental hospital or is
prohibited from owning a gun for another reason. Quoted from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/16/murders-shootings-and-gun-sales-per-day_n_2488664.html
Those are some pretty scary statistics. Especially since this tally does not include
guns sold and not background checked at gun shows. Gun violence is an epidemic being sustained
by an out of date and grossly misinterpreted second amendment. Let’s discuss this for a moment. There are hundreds people out there screaming
and crying over their second amendments rights and their right to protect
themselves and their property and to those people I say, go and read the actual
amendment. Because I don’t see your need
to protect your house or to hunt an animal as more important then the safety of
our population. And since most of these
defenders of our outdated amendment probably won’t go and read the 27 words
that define the second amendment, I will go ahead and post it here so we can
discuss it in a little more depth:
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the
security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall
not be infringed.”
Pretty straight forward. What I don’t see here is the right of the
individual to purchase military style weapons to protect their individual homes
with enough fire power to take out dozens of people per second. This was never what the founding fathers
meant when the amendment was written. It
was about the states having the right to protect themselves against an invading
force. This was written after the Revolution
and we were still a young country worried about foreign invaders and over
reaching government powers. This was
written at a time when you needed a gun to hunt for your food, your closest
neighbor was 40 miles away and we didn’t have an armed police force to protect
us. So clearly this amendment is
outdated. Furthermore anyone who is
stupid enough think that a “well regulated militia” today can out power or out
maneuver the US military is delusional.
Trust me when I say your rights are being picked away every day with the
Patriot Act and other unprecedented Executive powers that are far more
destructive then the restriction of your second amendment rights. So seeing as there is a grocery store on every
other corner and your nearest neighbor can hear you sneeze in most tract homes,
I think it is safe to say that amending the second amendment is appropriate
because it is outdated and obsolete in our modern era.
With that said I am not so foolish to believe that
we will get rid of all the guns tomorrow.
There are too many in circulation to hope for this but we need to start
to solve this problem. We need to start
with gun legislation that makes sense.
We need to ban assault weapons.
We need to have a ban on high capacity ammunition clips and we need
universal background checks. In addition
I would like to see gun programs for cash to start collecting assault weapons
and I would go even further and make the penalties for owning such weapons a
federal crime. And as Chris Rock said we
can always have bullet control! Finally,
for all the over emotional people out there screaming about background checks
being a watch list and how their rights are being trampled on I have this to
say to you: Shut your mouth, turn on
your brain and think about everything else you have to register for. You register with the state when you get
married. When you buy a car you register
it. When you leave the country you have to
show a passport which is registered. When
you have a child, he or she, will be registered with the government with a
social security card. When you pay taxes you register with the IRS. Therefore if
you buy a gun capable of killing a person you should have to have a background
check and the gun should be registered. The
other side’s argument about having to register a weapon of “possible mass
destruction” really shouldn’t be that big of a deal. Universal background
checks are a must, and we should demand it.
Speaking of demanding things, we should demand that
our politicians move forward with gun control legislation. It looks like this will now happen with a
bi-partisan proposal from Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia and Pat Toomy,
R-Pennsylvania which will require universal background checks on all gun sales
other then private trades and gifts. This is a good beginning because a few weeks
back when Harry Reid said “we will not bring gun control to the floor because
we don’t have enough votes,” I was absolutely shocked the Democrats were going
to cave so quickly on this issue. I
still think they are not being bullish enough but at least we have a starting
point. They should take a page out of the Republican playbook because they have
brought Obamacare to the floor something like 30 times to repeal it knowing
full well it would die on the floor of congress but that didn’t stop them. The Democrats should bring an assault weapons
ban to floor even if it dies there so the American people can see who cares
about their safety and who doesn’t. Remember
in 2011 there were 11,422 homicides with a gun, I don’t think you need any more
evidence that we need to do something and the American people want this. Polls show the American people overwhelming
favor gun control and an assault weapons ban.
So bring the bill to the floor and let’s see who cares about the
American people and who cares about the gun lobby and gun manufacturers. Let’s see every single republican vote “No”
and then let’s see who gets re-elected in 2014.
This just clearly illustrates that corporations have more power then the
people but before I digress that is a blog for another day.
In conclusion when we think about the smallest
victims in 2012’s statistics on gun deaths, the children of Newtown, let’s stop
and really think about what is worth more to us as a society? Our loved ones safety in schools, movie
theaters and malls or gun manufactures, the NRA and our beloved but grossly
outdated second amendment. There are
other issues that also need to be addressed such as mental health and our
countries love affair with violence but for today, for right now, we can start
making positive changes with tougher gun control laws, universal background
checks, an assault weapons ban and getting rid of high capacity ammo
clips. If you want to know how you can
make a difference in this debate write your local congress person, Senator or
join an organization working to change our gun laws. Below are some resources. Please get involved. Change will only happen if we stand up and
demand it!
Find your Congressional representative:
Find your Senator:
Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence:
Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
Twitter Handles:
Alabama
Richard C. Shelby (R) - @SenShelbyPress
Jeff Sessions (R) - @SenatorSessions
Alaska
Lisa Murkowski (R) - @LisaMurkowski
Mark Begich (D) - @SenatorBegich
Arizona
John McCain (R) - @senjohnmccain
Jeff Flake (R) - @jeffflake
Arkansas
Mark L. Pryor (D) - @senmarkpryor
John Boozman (R) - @johnboozman
California
Dianne Feinstein (D) - @senfeinstein
Barbara Boxer (D) - @senatorboxer
Colorado
Mark Udall (D) - @markudall
Michael F. Bennet (D) - @senbennetco
Connecticut
Richard Blumenthal (D) - @senblumenthal
Christopher Murphy (D) - @chrismurphyct
Delaware
Thomas R. Carper (D) - @senatorcarper
Christopher A. Coons (D) - @ChrisCoons
Florida
Bill Nelson (D) - @SenBillNelson
Marco Rubio (R) - @MarcoRubio
Georgia
Saxby Chambliss (R) - @SaxbyChambliss
Johnny Isakson (R) - @SenatorIsakson
Hawaii
Brian Schatz (D) - @brianschatz
Mazie K. Hirono(D) - @maziehirono
Idaho
Mike Crapo (R) - @mikecrapo
James E. Risch(R) - @senatorrisch
Illinois
Richard J. Durbin(D) - @senatordurbin
Mark Kirk (R) - @senatorkirk
Indiana
Daniel Coats (R) - @sendancoats
Joe Donnelly (D) - @sendonnelly
Iowa
Chuck Grassley(R) - @chuckgrassley
Tom Harkin (D) - @senatorharkin
Kansas
Pat Roberts (R) - @senpatroberts
Jerry Moran (R) - @jerrymoran
Kentucky
Mitch McConnell(R) - @mcconnellpress
Rand Paul (R) - @senrandpaul
Louisiana
Mary L. Landrieu (D) - @senlandrieu
David Vitter (R) - @davidvitter
Maine
Susan M. Collins (R) - @senatorcollins
Angus S., Jr. King (I) - @senangusking
Maryland
Barbara A. Mikulski (D) - @senatorbarb
Benjamin L. Cardin (D) - @senatorcardin
Massachusetts
Elizabeth Warren (D) - @elizabethforma
William M. Cowan(D) - @senmocowan
Michigan
Carl Levin (D) - @sencarllevin
Debbie Stabenow (D) - @stabenow
Minnesota
Amy Klobuchar (D) - @amyklobuchar
Al Franken (D) - @alfranken
Mississippi
Thad Cochran (R) - @senthadcochran
Roger F. Wicker (R) - @senatorwicker
Missouri
Claire McCaskill (D) - @clairecmc
Roy Blunt (R) - @royblunt
Montana
Max Baucus (D) - @maxbaucus
Jon Tester (D) - @jontester
Nebraska
Mike Johanns (R) - @mike_johanns
Deb Fischer (R) - @senatorfischer
Nevada
Harry Reid (D) - @senatorreid
Dean Heller (R) - @sendeanheller
New Hampshire
Jeanne Shaheen (D) - @senatorshaheen
Kelly Ayotte (R) - @kellyayotte
New Jersey
Frank R. Lautenberg (D) - @franklautenberg
Robert Menendez (D) - @senatormenendez
New Mexico
Tom Udall (D) - @senatortomudall
Martin Heinrich (D) - @heinrich4NM
New York
Chuck Schumer (D) - @chuckschumer
Kirsten Gillibrand (D) - @sengillibrand
North Carolina
Richard Burr (R) - @senatorburr
Kay Hagan (D) - @senatorhagan
North Dakota
John Hoeven (R) - @senjohnhoeven
Heidi Heitkamp (D) - @heidi4ND
Ohio
Sherrod Brown (D) - @sensherrodbrown
Rob Portman (R) - @robportman
Oklahoma
James M. Inhofe (R) - @jiminhofe
Tom Coburn (R) - @tomcoburn
Oregon
Ron Wyden (D) - @ronwyden
Jeff Merkley (D) - @senjeffmerkley
Pennsylvania
Robert P., Jr. Casey (D) - @senbobcasey
Patrick J. Toomey (R) - @sentoomey
Rhode Island
Jack Reed (D) - @senjackreed
Sheldon Whitehouse (D) - @senwhitehouse
South Carolina
Lindsey Graham (R) - @grahamblog
Tim Scott (R) - @senatortimscott
South Dakota
Tim Johnson (D) - @senjohnsonSD
John Thune (R) - @johnthune
Tennessee
Lamar Alexander (R) - @senalexander
Bob Corker (R) - @senbobcorker
Texas
John Cornyn (R) - @johncornyn
Ted Cruz (R) - @tedcruz
Utah
Orrin G. Hatch (R) - @orrinhatch
Mike Lee (R) - @senmikelee
Vermont
Patrick J. Leahy (D) - @senatorleahy
Bernard Sanders (I) - @sensanders
Virginia
Mark R. Warner (D) -@markwarner
Tim Kaine (D) - @timkaine
Washington
Patty Murray (D) - @pattymurray
Maria Cantwell (D) - @mariacantwell
West Virginia
John D., IV Rockefeller (D) - @senrockefeller
Joe, III Manchin (D) - @sen_joemanchin
Wisconsin
Ron Johnson (R) - @senronjohnson
Tammy Baldwin (D) - @tammybaldwin
Wyoming
Michael B. Enzi (R) - @senatorenzi
John
Barrasso (R) - @senjohnbarrasso
