Appeal to Republican lawmakers

The Republican party has its roots in solving a national crisis. The party was started by voters willing to put aside all other issues to focus on abolishing slavery, and to their great credit, they succeeded.

At this point in our history our country seems to be in the grips of many crises, but among them is one that offers some low hanging fruit.

A recent Fox News poll showed that 91 percent of American voters support universal background checks for gun purchasers.

I would bet 91 percent of Americans don’t even agree on apple pie and baseball, but they agree on universal background checks.

Expanding background checks has come before the Senate three times since 1999. You would expect that the votes in Senate would reflect public sentiment, since that is what legislators are hired to do, however only 11 percent of Republican Senators voted to close the gun show loophole in 1999, 8 percent in 2015, and 2 percent (one lone Senator) in 2016 which is pretty much the exact opposite of the will of the electorate.

By contrast 98 percent of the Democratic Senators voted to close the gun show loop hole in 1999, 98 percent voted to close the loophole in 2015, and 93 percent voted for it in 2016, which is much more reflective of public opinion.

With the votes so completely lopsided it is easy to see how this discussion has a very polarized, partisan feel, and it is hard to find a way to make sense of it that is not cynical or to even discuss it that is not political.

There have been other votes in the House and in the Senate on gun control measures over the last 25 years, and they are all more or less this lopsided (even for the 1993 Brady Bill, named for Ronald Reagan’s press secretary, the Republicans only managed 38 percent in the House and 36 percent in the Senate).

Other items on the Fox News poll show that 84 percent of voters support mental health checks, 72 percent support raising the minimum age to 21, 69 percent favor putting armed guards in schools, and 60 percent favor banning assault weapons.

The Daily Local News reported on a similar poll conducted in Pennsylvania with results that are fairly much in line with Fox News’s poll.

Bear in mind that this is a democracy and these figures show what most American voters want — not just the liberal ones — and so should represent what rules we would have our government enact.

Also bear in mind that the Second Amendment is a part of the same Constitution that allows for further amendments if two thirds of the states or legislators agree.

All of those propositions in the Fox News poll enjoy public support that well exceeds two thirds except banning assault weapons, which is not far below the mark.

Why is this a plea to Republican voters? Because as a Republican voter you could have a really strong voice in this conversation.

If you think raising the minimum age to 21 is reasonable, if you think background checks should be required every time a gun is sold, if you think civilians don’t need assault rifles, if you think we should ban bump-stocks, if you think we should ban high capacity magazines, if you think screening gun owners for psychological issues is a good idea, and if you think these things are a national priority, then you should write to your Senators and Representatives, remind them of their voting records, remind them that America overwhelmingly supports these measures, and let them know that you, a Republican voter, will not vote for them again until they make gun control a serious priority, start sponsoring or cosponsoring gun control legislation, and start voting accordingly because these very popular common-sense reforms are not going to happen until Republicans start voting for them or are replaced by people who will.

As Republican voters, I know you may not agree with the Democrats on a range of issues and I am not asking you to buy into their whole agenda or even to vote for a Democrat, but as the party that put aside all other issues to focus on one specific problem in the 1850s, you taught America that being focused on one goal can achieve great results.

Will Wood West Chester