Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Dems push background checks
Congressional Democrats on Tuesday launched a fresh push for significant gun control changes.
Gun purchasers would have to undergo background checks before buying firearms under legislation introduced in Congress on Tuesday, a move that would close what gun violence prevention advocates view as a major legal loophole.
“We have the opportunity to take action to keep our schools and communities safe,” said U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, a Democrat who represents Parkland, where 17 people were killed and 17 wounded in the Feb. 14 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. “If you’re going to purchase a firearm, no matter where you’re going to purchase it, you ought to be subject to a background check. The goal is to make sure that people, dangerous people, who shouldn’t have guns don’t get their hands on them.”
Federal law prohibits people from buying or possessing firearms if they’re convicted felons, domestic abusers or are mentally ill. Background checks are currently required for purchases at gun stores, but not at gun shows and for online purchases.
The universal background check legislation has the support of many Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, major organizations that advocate restrictions on guns, and a handful of Republicans.
With Democrats in control of the House, the legislation is likely to pass. It’s unlikely to do well in the Republican-controlled Senate. And President Donald Trump has promised to "protect the Second Amendment."
But Deutch, who was active on the gun issue before the tragedy in his district, said it is important to pursue. “The House of Representatives will hold a debate on the House floor about ways to address gun violence,” he said. “It will pass the House of Representatives.” Then, Deutch said, senators will be forced to choose between supporting an idea that has broad public backing “or whether they’re going to stand on the side of the gun companies who put profits ahead of public safety.”
Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime, was killed at Stoneman Douglas, said he hopes the House passes comprehensive gun legislation, but believes Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., would try to block action. He wants public pressure applied to the Senate.
The new Democratic House majority chose Tuesday to introduce the legislation because it is the eighth anniversary of the Tuscon, Ariz., assassination attempt that left then-U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords with a severe brain injury. Six people were killed and 13 were wounded in the attack; Giffords and her husband, retired Naval pilot and former astronaut Mark Kelly, are now leaders of the Giffords organization, which advocates for gun restrictions and violence prevention.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, is one of Giffords’ closest friends and was in the hospital room when she opened her eyes a few days after the attack. Wasserman Schlutz said universal background checks wouldn’t prevent every act of gun violence. But, she said, in at least some cases it “will save lives.”
But Jennifer Baker, a spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association, said a federal background check did not prevent Giffords' shooting, adding that "socalled universal background checks will never be universal because criminals do not comply with the law."
Lawmakers should "deal with the root cause of violent crime" instead of trying to "score political points and push ineffective legislation that doesn't stop criminals from committing crimes," Baker said.
“We have the opportunity to take action to keep our schools and communities safe.”
U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch