Guns: Time to force the issue

For a fleeting moment, it seemed as if the Dec. 14, 2012, slaughter of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School would have been the last straw for members of Congress beholden to the gun lobby. It should have been. But even that massacre in Newtown, Conn., failed to prompt action on the glaring loopholes in the nation’s gun laws.

What would it take for Congress to act on something as sensible as requiring background checks on all gun sales?

The June 2016 mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando — 49 killed — did not do it. The October 2017 rapid-fire attack on a crowd of concertgoers in Las Vegas — 58 killed — did not do it. The November 2017 massacre at a small church in Sutherland Springs, Texas — 25 killed — did not do it.

A turning point appeared to finally arrive in the February 2018 shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla. — 17 killed — that aroused a determined, articulate group of young survivors who became crusaders for change. They were unafraid to take their cause to social media, cable news shows and in face-to-face confrontations with politicians such as Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who had been cowed by the gun lobby.

Due in part to their efforts, gun control became an elevated issue in the November midterms, which gave Democrats control of the House of Representatives. Suddenly, groups such as the National Rifle Association were on the defensive.

Last week, a bipartisan group of lawmakers reintroduced a measure that would extend federal background checks to all gun sales, including private transactions. The few exceptions would include transfers among family members or temporary sharing of a gun for hunting. Under the current porous law, about 1 in 5 gun transactions eludes a background check.

“We will hold hearings, we will have a vote, and this legislation will finally pass the House,” Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, a co-sponsor, said in a statement. He has been a relentless advocate of the measure, but it had gone nowhere in the Republicancontrolled House.

The co-sponsors were joined at a Capitol event last week by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, an Arizona Democrat who was severely wounded eight years ago when a gunman opened fire at a constituent event in Tucson. Six people died, and 15 were wounded in that attack.

The bill, HR8, received a push from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, who said: “Gun violence is an epidemic that requires the energy and engagement of the entire nation.”

It’s long past time for Washington to focus on a real crisis.