Washington (GGM) Analysis | December 20, 2019
by Noreen Wise
The red flags and warning signs are everywhere. The time has come to act definitively on common sense gun legislation
and stop punting this vital life-saving, society-saving, democracy-saving, America-saving legislation down the road. #EnoughIsEnough.
Here are the facts:
- 2nd Amendment: “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.”
- The 2nd Amendment was written using critical commas that have further exasperated clarification of the Amendment’s exact meaning.
- However, if we dig deeper, we can clearly see that our founders were very aware
of human evil and it’s potential harm to democracy and thus created numerous checks & balances, most notably our three branches of government. - Further, throughout the 185 Federalist Papers, written for the purpose of justifying the need for a federal government as well as a Constitution, every single one of the letters highlights the importance of checking evil
- The concept of “checks & balances” is ingrained in our rule of law, our institutions, and throughout American society and shouldn’t be foreign to any American
- Checks & balances apply to gun ownership as well, and supports the concept of common sense gun legislation
- Assault rifles and high capacity magazines are weapons of war and are NOT meant for civilians or self-defense
- We had an effective Assault Weapons Ban from 1994 – 2004 that President Bush foolishly did NOT renew (Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, passed by a narrow margin of 4 votes, signed by President Clinton.)
- The fact that assault rifle owners are threatening violence if their weapons of war are banned, is the very reason they need to be banned. For an American to believe that the way to resolve differences in a democracy is to slaughter those who don’t agree with them is a huge wake up call to all political leaders for the urgent need to #DoSomething.
- In 2008, the Supreme Court ruled on District of Columbia v. Heller, whereby Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia ruled that even though the 2nd Amendment states “well regulated militia” it applies to personal protection as well, putting an end to the debate about whether or not the 2nd Amendment applies to the general public. However, Scalia did clarify that the public’s gun ownership can be regulated.
“…not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose.” ~Antonin Scalia, Supreme Court Associate Justice, 2008 ruling, District of Columbia v. Heller
- On January 9, 2019, Senior Senator Dianne Feinstein of California again Sponsored and Introduced S. 66: Assault Weapons Ban of 2019. This is a bill “to regulate assault weapons, to ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited, and for other purposes.”
- Earlier versions of Assault Weapons Ban were introduced on November 8, 2017, following theOctober 2, 2017 Las Vegas slaughter of 58 using an assault rifle, and on March 14, 2013, three months after the world-altering Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre of 28 elementary school students and several teachers. If these shockingly vicious annihilations didn’t wake-up our representatives, we can’t give up… we simply must try harder. Case in point, the shutdown outrage became so forceful, that it even brought Mitch McConnell back to life.
- The next step for the Assault Weapons Ban of 2019 is to be considered by the judiciary committee. Unbelievably, the bill only has a 4% chance of being enacted.
- There are 28 Democrat co-sponsors of the ban, all 28 joined the day it was introduced. There are no GOP sponsors.
S. 66: Assault Weapons Ban of 2019 co-sponsors:
- Blumenthal, Richard (D-CT)
- Booker, Cory (D-NJ)
- Cardin, Ben (D-MD)
- Carper, Tom (D-DE)
- Casey, Bob (D-PA)
- Duckworth, Tammy (D-IL)
- Durbin, Richard (D-IL)
- Gillibrand, Kirsten (D-NY)
- Harris, Kamala (D-CA)
- Hassan, Maggie (D-NH)
- Hirono, Mazie (D-HI)
- Klobuchar, Amy (D-MN)
- Markey, ED (D-MA)
- Menendez, Bob (D-NJ)
- Merkley, Jeff (D-OR)
- Murphy, Chris (D-CT)
- Murray, Patty (D-WA)
- Reed, Jack (D-RI)
- Sanders, Bernie (D-VT)
- Schatz, Brian (D-HI)
- Schumer, Chuck (D-NY)
- Shaheen, Jeanne (D-NY)
- Smith, Tina (D-MN)
- Van Hollen, Chris (D-MD)
- Warner, Mark (D-VA)
- Warren, Elizabeth (D-MA)
- Whitehouse, Sheldon (D-RI)
- Wyden, Ron (D-OR)
It’s time to act one and for all to get S66 passed. Our lives and our democracy are at stake.
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