Moms Demand Action on guns in America
Last Thursday, three days after the third anniversary of a gunman killing 12 and seriously injuring 70 at an Aurora, Colo., movie theater, another gunman killed two and injured nine before fatally shooting himself in a Lafayette, La. movie theater.
The chilling coincidence did not escape members of the Pennsylvania chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a part of the Everytown for Gun Safety campaign. Last Saturday night they assembled outside of the Digiplex Cinema Center in Camp Hill, Cumberland County, to rally for action from Congress to prevent gun violence that the group estimates is responsible for the deaths of 88 Americans every day.
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America was formed after 20 first graders and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in upscale Newtown, Conn., were massacred by Adam Lanza with a Bushmaster semi-automatic rifle in 11 minutes on Dec. 14, 2012. Along with Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America is part of Everytown , the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country with more than three million supporters and more than 40,000 donors fighting for common sense gun legislation.
In April 2008, the worst mass shooting in U.S. history took place at Virginia Polytechnic Institute where a gunman executed 32 students and teachers. In April 1999 two teenagers massacred 12 students and a teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton, Col.
On Nov. 5, 2009 a U.S. Army psychiatrist utilizing a high-tech pistol killed 13 and injured more than 30 at Fort Hood, Texas where, on April 2, 2014 three more people were killed and 16 were injured by a soldier who fired off at least 35 rounds before taking his own life.
On Aug. 5, 2012, six people were fatally shot as they prayed at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wis. The shootings were all executed with weapons with high-capacity magazines. We here in Delaware County can relate to the gun massacres that have occurred with sickening regularity nationwide in recent years. Oct. 30, 1985, Sylvia Seegrist opened fire with a Ruger 10-22 at the Springfield Mall, seriously injuring six and killing three including a 2-year-old boy.
More recently the nation recoiled in horror when a gunman, on the evening of June 17, shot 10 people, killing nine of them during a prayer service at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, S. C. He allegedly confessed to wanting to start a race riot. His actions led to the South Carolina legislature voting to remove the Confederate flag from the front of the statehouse because of its connection with slavery and oppression.
What many would also like to see is state legislatures and the U.S. Congress to enact more stringent gun control laws so firearms are kept out of the hands of murderers and others who commit violence.
On Sept. 9, 2013, 12 people were killed at a naval office building in Washington, D.C. by a lone gunman. He had a history of arrests for disorderly conduct and gun-related incidents, but managed to escape charges that could have possibly appeared in background checks.
In April 2013 the U.S. Senate failed to achieve the super-majority required to pass bipartisan legislation requiring background checks for all gun purchases, supported by nearly 90 percent of Pennsylvanians.
Until state and federal legislators have the guts to stand up to the gun lobby, the carnage will continue no matter how many anti-gun violence rallies are staged.
Until state and federal legislators have the guts to stand up to the gun lobby, the carnage will continue no matter how many antigun violence rallies are staged.