How many people need to be injured or murdered before a serious discussion about gun regulations can happen?
I want a number.
Tell me.
How many people is it worth?
Use your voice. Say something. Post tweet email something. Be involved.
What Gabby Said
By ThinkProgress War Room on Jan 30, 2013 at 5:35 pm
An Emotional Call to Action on Gun Violence
Former Rep. Gabby Giffords was shot in the head two years ago this month in a shooting that also left six of her constituents dead, including a nine year-old girl. In the wake of the Newtown gun massacre, Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, founded Americans for Responsible Solutions, a group that “will encourage elected officials to stand up for solutions to prevent gun violence and protect responsible gun ownership.”
Today the Senate Senate Judiciary Committee, which is expected to begin formal work on a gun violence prevention bill in the next month, held a hearing that opened with a statement from Giffords. Giffords told the senators that “the time is now,” they “must act,” and must “be bold.”
Watch Giffords challenge senators to deal with America’s gun violence epidemic:
Giffords’ handwritten testimony:
BOTTOM LINE: Gabby Giffords is right. Americans are counting on our political leaders to summon the courage to take commonsense steps to address the gun violence epidemic that results in 33 Americans being murdered each and every day.
Evening Brief: Important Stories That You Might’ve Missed
The study the NRA’s top Washington lobbyist hopes you won’t actually look up.
Teenager who performed at the Inauguration last week was gunned down yesterday in Chicago.
Senator catches the NRA’s top Washington lobbyist in an epic flip-flop on background checks.
GOP senator: people need to arm themselves because GOP-forced budget cuts will mean fewer cops.
Missouri bill would force all first-graders to take NRA-sponsored gun class.
Communism, polygamy, and human cloning are more popular than NRA lobbyists’ position on gun violence.
Republican witness claims mothers need an AR-15 assault rifle to defend their children.
Meet the nine year-old girl who would likely still be alive today if high-capacity magazines were illegal.
Another shooting happened as the Senate held its hearing on gun violence.
Progress Reports – ThinkProgress.
Related articles
- Gabby Giffords testifying at gun-control hearing (bazaardaily.com)
- Gabrielle Giffords’s testimony (Photo) (washingtonpost.com)
- Here’s Gabby Giffords’ Moving Testimony Urging Lawmakers To ‘Do Something’ About Gun Violence (businessinsider.com)
- Gabby Giffords: ‘Too many children are dying. We must do something.’ (dailykos.com)
- Here Are The Notes Gabrielle Giffords Used During Her Testimony On Gun Violence (buzzfeed.com)
- Viral WaPo photo of ‘Gabrielle Giffords’s handwritten testimony’ actually written by her therapist (twitchy.com)
- NRA vs. Giffords’ husband at Senate hearing (cbsnews.com)
- Safety in Numbers (time.com)
- Gun-Grabbing Madness: Chicago Murder Rate Tops Afganistan War Death Toll (floppingaces.net)
It seems so clear when you frame it like that, right? There is nothing of more worth than human life. Unfortunately, it seems that opponents of gun control can only see the issue framed as a “rights” and a “big government” issue. I have a hard time seeing that gap bridged, but then again, I never thought I’d see marriage equality gain traction, and look where we are today!
Worse than calling it a rights issue, they label it thus – criminals will always get guns. So how do you,. innocent bystander, protect yourself? By buying a gun, of course!
That, though the worst, is an effective argument. Schools can’t stop killers until they have armed guards at the doors.
I think most people have worked at or visited a place that required a badge or some sort of identification before they could be buzzed in. None of the guards performing that task were armed.