GOP is dangerously wrong on gun control

Our kids want action. Democrats have ideas.

We’ve heard passionate pleas in recent weeks from students who survived a massacre and lost their friends and teachers. Through their pain, with today’s National School Walkout and in many other ways, this generation of students growing up with activeshooter drills is demanding that lawmakers take action to reform gun laws.

Unfortunately, there’s a lot of misleading information about reasonable measures to ensure gun safety, and it distracts from the fundamental issue at hand: the safety of our children, communities, schools and businesses.

One frequent refrain: “Criminals don't follow the law.” By this logic, we shouldn’t criminalize murder, rape or kidnapping. Laws deter crime, and when a crime is committed, laws ensure that punishment is meted out.

Banning assault weapons won’t prevent all shootings, but contrary to Republican talking points, we already know that banning these military-style weapons does reduce mass killings of six people or more. When the ban was in place from 1994 to 2004, such massacres fell by 37% and the number of people dying from them fell by 43%. After the ban expired, the number of gun massacres killing six or more increased by 183% and the number of people dying from them increased by 239%.

Another canard: The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. Tell that to the 49 people killed in Orlando at the Pulse nightclub, where an armed guard was on duty and was unable to prevent the murders.

Another terrible idea: arming teachers. How can we expect teachers, who already have too much on their plates, to undergo the same training as law enforcement officers and be able to confront killers armed with AR-15s?

The must frustrating falsehood is that Democrats have no ideas to counter this violence. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

The first is getting military-style assault weapons off the streets. These weapons fire much faster than typical hunting rifles. They fire rounds that are also deadlier than those fired from a hunting rifle. A radiologist noted that an AR-15 round may leave an exit wound “the size of an orange.” Our bill would ban 205 weapons by name, and any other weapons that accept a detachable magazine and have one military characteristic. The ’94 ban required two additional characteristics, a loophole gun manufacturers exploited.

Importantly, the bill also bans highcapacity magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds. The shooter at the grade school in Newtown, Conn., for example, used 30-round magazines. High-capacity magazines also lead to deadlier mass shootings. While law enforcement might be able to respond to mass shootings in a matter of minutes, a matter of minutes is all it takes to fire hundreds of rounds. In Las Vegas, the shooter fired 1,100 rounds in just 10 minutes — 110 rounds per minute.

Under current law, licensed gun dealers cannot sell a handgun to anyone under 21, but they are allowed to sell assault rifles like the AR-15 to anyone over 18. While my preference is to ban assault weapons, ensuring teenagers can’t legally buy these weapons is a commonsense step forward.

Another problem is a legal loophole permitting accessories such as bump stocks, which allow semiautomatic weapons to fire at the same rate as machine guns. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives has concluded that it cannot regulate or ban these devices without a new law.

Too often, family and friends were aware that a person posed a threat but were unable to act. Barring someone who does not fall into the one of the nine prohibited purchaser categories from buying or keeping weapons can be done only through a legal process that few states have in place. Our bill would help states establish a court process.

Last, none of the above will make a difference unless we improve the background check system by ensuring that states and federal agencies submit required records and ensure that all sales — not just those at federally licensed dealers — require a background check.

I’m hopeful the groundswell of activism we’ve seen after the shooting in Parkland, Fla., will see results.