Gun checks necessary

In the United States, approximately 34 Americans are murdered daily by guns. University of Alabama students may have seen a billboard truck advertising this statistic driving around campus and the Tuscaloosa community earlier this week.

This billboard truck is part of a campaign known as Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City and co-founder of this organization, recently told ABC’s Good Morning America, “We have some failings in this country in terms of keeping guns out of the hands of minors, out of the hands of criminals, out of the hands of people with mental problems…. The background checks have some loopholes. You don’t have to have a background check if you go to a gun show.”

Bloomberg says that he is not worried about the gun distributors who are doing what they are supposed to do; however, he is worried about the few that are breaking the rules and selling guns to people that are not legally eligible to purchase them otherwise.

Mayors from Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Portland and many other cities from across America have signed this pledge to keep guns out of the hands of not all people, but dangerous people.

Recently Kevin Murphy, the chief of police in Montgomery, joined the list of petitioners who wish to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. In an interview, Chief Murphy said, “This law, if enacted, … will make public safety much stronger and our communities much safer.”

One of the leaders of this campaign is Omar Samaha, whose sister, Reema Samaha, was murdered at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007. Omar is just a normal guy from Fairfax, Virginia who never paid any attention to guns or gun laws prior to 2007. Omar has, since the murder, become an activist to fix the current system for gun checks in the United States.

Omar released a statement on FixGunChecks.org that reads, “I respect the Second Amendment and the right of individuals to own guns. But I also believe that we should do everything we can to keep guns away from people like my sister’s killer. I am setting off on this national tour to stand with the victims of gun crimes and their loved ones. And I’m ready to work with mayors across the nation to close the loopholes that let dangerous people get their hands on guns.”

The murderer who shot Omar’s sister at Virginia Tech was reportedly able to pass a background check and purchase a firearm despite a history of mental illness, which included a court ruling that decided he was mentally ill and reported him as an “imminent danger.” Likewise, the shooter in Tucson should not have been able to purchase a gun if his records were properly reported in a database.

The Fix Gun Checks Act would make states accountable for updating their background check databases to help ensure nobody ineligible for a firearm ends up with a weapon. It would also require a background check for every American who wishes to purchase a gun, thus closing the gun show loophole.

This act has bipartisan support for its common sense ideas for making gun checks more efficient, and everyone should go onto their website FixGunChecks.org and stand up for the 3,233 Americans murdered by guns since Tucson by signing their petition.

 

Michael Patrick is a junior majoring in political science. His column runs biweekly on Thursdays.