‘Congress Doesn’t Have The Guts’
by Hugh McQuaid | Mar 21, 2013 4:01pm
(9) Comments | Commenting has expired
Sharing a stage with Vice President Joe Biden at a New York City press conference, the father of a boy murdered in Newtown said he was “ashamed” of Congress for not pursuing a federal assault weapons ban.
Neil Heslin, who lost his son, Jesse Lewis, during the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December, was one of several Newtown parents to appear with Biden and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg at a Thursday press conference.
Heslin was reacting to news this week that there was not sufficient support in the U.S. Senate to include an assault weapons ban in federal gun control legislation.
“No child deserves to be murdered, brutally slaughtered the way these children were, and quite honestly, I’m really ashamed to see that Congress doesn’t have the guts to stand up and make a change to put a ban on these types of weapons,” he said.
In addition to an assault weapons ban, Heslin said Congress should pass laws requiring universal background checks for gun purchases as well as address problems with the country’s mental health system. He said his son was murdered by a “cowardly deranged person with an assault weapon.”
Lynn McDonnell, who lost her daughter Grace, said lawmakers should ask themselves if they were doing enough to “bring about real and meaningful change. And if they are not, to ask themselves ‘Why not?’”
Biden referred to the AR-15-style rifle used in the shooting as a “weapon of war.” He called for a ban on the gun as well as a prohibition on high-capacity ammunition magazines. He said neither ban would infringe on the 2nd Amendment.
Biden said he asks opponents of the bans to think about Newtown.
“Think about how many of these children or teachers may be alive today had [the shooter] had to reload three times as many times as he did,” he said. “. . . Tell me how it violates anyone’s constitutional right to be limited to a clip that holds 10 rounds instead of 30.”
Biden said that the political risk for supporting what he called simple, “common sense” gun proposals has been overstated. He said most of the public, including gun owners, support the proposals.
Bloomberg called on people watching the press conference to call their representatives in Congress and tell them that gun control would be the deciding issue in future elections. For lawmakers who do not support the gun control proposals, he said constituents should support whoever runs against them in the next election, regardless of their political party.
“That is the only way you are going to make a difference here,” Bloomberg said. “Congress just has to get some courage and it’s up to us as Americans and as fellow human beings to sort of give them that courage.”
U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy both issued press releases on Tuesday expressing optimism that Congress was still moving forward with some legislation in response to the Newtown shooting. Blumenthal said the assault weapons ban was always an uphill battle.
“As we have known all along, we face a marathon and not a sprint,” Blumenthal said.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy released a statement saying he was “disappointed” by the proposal’s exclusion from federal legislation, but said it did not deter efforts to enact gun violence prevention efforts in Connecticut.
Tags: Sandy Hook, newtown, parents, gun control, joe biden, new york, Hugh McQuaid, dh
(9) Comments
posted by: ACR | March 21, 2013 5:18pm
We seem quick to forget how many people died protecting the same Constitution these folks would have us all ignore.
posted by: Nutmeg87 | March 22, 2013 9:28am
Nobody doubts the angst that losing 20 6 year olds in this diabolical and brutal fashion… The senseless toll that this maniac deviant caused…
But should we outlaw automobiles since people driving them killed thousands… Should we outlaw alcohol because people under the influence killed thousands… Should we outlaw planes because people flying crashes them into houses & Tall Manhattan Skyscrapers… Should we outlaw all deviants & mentally unstable (wouldnt have enough room in facilities & I think Hitler tried that))...
I guess the common thread is that PEOPLE cause deaths… NOT blame the tools…
We tried to BAN alcohol during prohibition; however, we saw multiple increases in crime associated with the underground demand for liquor by otherwise law-abiding citizens… THAT DIDN’T WORK… (Increase in CRIME is also associated by the DEMAND by citizens, not just SUPPLY by Felons)
We tried to LIMIT purchases of alcohol by hours & days (think CT finally figured out that these blue laws are useless and now we can buy on Sundays)...
We can literally BAN many things we use in life: knives, hammers, chainsaws, axes, lawn machines, etc… We can also BAN the use of hands (for guys that work-out, maybe guys that are > 200lbs I guess; oh, and black-belts in karate).. We can LIMIT the number of those items… Maybe limit every citizen to just a Red Belt, I guess… Or the Citizens Against Violence & Malloy would rather limit to YELLOW BELTS (may make them feel better & get more votes maybe)…
How about… Limit planes to the Puddle-Jumpers (<30 seats, propeller driven engines)… So if it crashes or some Jiahadist may limit carnage to just 30 people…
Its obviously the PEOPLE that we have to somehow manage… We can certainly round up all the deviants & mentally unstable… But then the liberals will cry ‘their Constitutional Rights’ will be violated…
SO I GUESS WE SHOULD LIMIT THE CONSTITUITIONAL RIGHTS OF MILLIONS OF AMERICANS THAT OWN & USE GUNS, BUT NOT OF THE MENTALLY UNSTABLE THAT GOES ON MASS KILLINGS (Newtown , VA Tech, Aurora, Dalhmer, etc…) and how about the hundreds of innocent commuters that have been pushed into oncoming Subway Trains by Mentally Unstable? Bloomberg ought to pay attention to that in his own City rather than BAN Super-size Sodas… Maybe fight a war on mental patients roaming the city and not on McDonalds…
posted by: ASTANVET | March 22, 2013 9:36am
What Congress lacks guts in is protecting the constitution, promoting balanced budgets, easing taxes, cutting regulations and getting the heck out of our daily lives.
posted by: SaveCT | March 22, 2013 2:22pm
Cowardly politicians is not something new when it comes to this issue. Those three little letters, N R A makes them quake in their boots. They’re a disgusting bunch, hence their approval ratings are in the gutter.
posted by: ACR | March 23, 2013 12:35pm
SaveCT said:
“Those three little letters, N R A makes them quake in their boots..”
Hardly; however those wishing to comply with the intent of the Founders do tend to appreciate whatever help they can get from the NRA, or any other quarters.
Considering the competency of the perpetrators - The blood of the those lost at Sandy Hook, Columbine, Virginia Tech and every other mass shooting in the past couple of decades, is on the hands of those that have promoted “Gun Free Zones” and no one else.
The hand-wringing, simpering anti-gun zealots have brought untold misery to innocent families across the country and should be held accountable as the horrible, destructive and evil people they really are.
posted by: gutbomb86 | March 23, 2013 1:56pm
Very nice @ACR, a typical obfuscation in response to a reality that gun advocates can’t accept: no one is going to solve the problem of human mental illness. But we sure as heck can solve the easy access to firearms problem and we’re doing that now. The argument against so-called “gun free zones” is a complete boondoggle. The free flow of weaponry into the hands of folks who are law abiding today but mentally ill tomorrow is the issue here. You may not like it but it is a fact. The unfettered sale of firearms is the sale of death in our communities. It’s the simpering pro-gun proliferation zealots who are the problem, not the folks who would like to live in a civil society where we don’t all have to be “quick draw” artists. Save that for your next NRA meeting because it doesn’t sell here.
posted by: JH_1 | March 23, 2013 3:51pm
Gutbomb86 - It sounds like you believe without firearms, this would be some type of utopian society. The reality is that even without guns, a lot of violence and evil will still exist. There are many violent crimes committed without the use of guns. Rapes, home invasions, murders, etc. Everyone hears home invasion and automatically thinks Cheshire in 2007, but the reality is it happens a lot more than most people want to believe. And by the way, most home invasions are committed by multiple criminals, therefore requiring more ammunition.
The argument gun owners are making is to defend their right to self-defense, not hunting or target shooting. Gun owners don’t want to be restricted in defending their loved ones and yes, sometimes that means having those few extra rounds in a magazine.
You state we can never cure mental illness and I agree, but you can never get rid of all evil either. The solution is to minimize it as much as possible and I believe you can reduce violence without taking away a lot of law abiding gun owner’s rights. On one hand, you have the anti-gun groups that want to ban nearly everything and on the other hand you have gun owners that don’t want any restrictions. I think the answer is somewhere in the middle.
The mental illness issue is unfortunately taking a backseat with our politicians, both at the state and federal level.
Let me ask this question - would you rather see a mentally ill person with a perfectly legal shotgun or see that same person get the help they need? What that help is, I don’t know. But that’s not up to me to decide.
What I do know is that it’s not a coincidence that mass murders began rising around the same time mental institutions began shutting down sometime back in the 1960s.
posted by: ACR | March 23, 2013 8:43pm
Gutbomb said:
“..we sure as heck can solve the easy access to firearms problem and we’re doing that now.”
Yeah, good luck with that.
Have you read Heller?
http://www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/07-290.pdf
posted by: Rich B | March 26, 2013 8:44am
SaveCT says “Those three little letters, N R A makes them quake in their boots. They’re a disgusting bunch, hence their approval ratings are in the gutter”
Quite the contrary. Member ship is up, financial coffers getting fuller, and the NRA approval rating is higher than Obama, (I hate typing those 5 letters)