‘Our hearts are broken; our spirit is not’

PERRYSCOPE
By Perry Diaz

One month and a day after the heinous massacre that slaughtered 20 children and six adults at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, proponents of gun control tasted their first victory when the state of New York passed the nation’s toughest gun control law on January 15, 2013.  New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in signing the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act, said: “I’m proud to be a New Yorker because New York is doing something — because we are fighting back.”

Indeed, “fighting back” is what gun control proponents are doing.  Other states are following New York’s lead — Connecticut, Colorado, Maryland, Delaware, Oregon… and counting.  Finally, the façade of the formidable National Rifle Association (NRA) is beginning to crack amidst a groundswell of support from the people who are indignant at the gun violence that is gripping the country.

Just a couple of weeks ago, NRA executive Wayne LaPierre arrogantly blasted gun control proponents in a televised press conference, saying,“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”  Well, that didn’t dwell with people who have been clamoring for strict gun control laws.  But LaPierre seems to have aroused his loyal base of defenders of the Second Amendment, particularly members of Congress who are beneficiaries of NRA’s campaign largesse.  One by one, these NRA-funded politicians came out in support of LaPierre parroting NRA’s oft-repeated mantra, “Guns don’t kill, people do.”   

But this didn’t distract California Democratic Sen. Diane Feinstein from planning to introduce an assault-weapons and large ammunition magazine ban similar to — or even more restrictive than – the one she introduced in 1994, which was a federal law until 2004 when it expired.  That bill, which will be introduced on January 22, would include a new definition of “assault weapon,” require registration under the National Firearms Act, and require forfeiture of the firearms upon the death of their current owners.

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Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain came out squarely against reinstating the Feinstein assault-weapons ban.  During an interview with Bob Schieffer on “Face the Nation,” he gave a flat-out “no” when asked if Sen. Diane Feinstein’s bill would pass.

West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin echoed McCain’s sentiment.  During an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Manchin told Candy Crowley that a “stand-alone” ban on assault weapons would not pass in Congress.  He said that it must include a broader conversation involving the entertainment industry and mental health issues.   Manchin, a staunch pro-gun rights advocate and an avid hunter, was one of those who condemned the Sandy Hook massacre and who indicated that he would support gun control legislation.  “I don’t know anyone in the sporting or hunting arena that goes out with an assault rifle,” he told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”  But he had a change of heart since then.

To pass Feinstein’s bill in the Senate, she needs 60 votes to achieve “cloture” or avoid a filibuster.  To accomplish that, the 55 Democrats voting solidly behind the bill need five Republicans to cross party lines.  But the Democrats might even have a hard time getting 100% support from their ranks.  There are six “red state” Democrats who are up for re-election in 2014 and would most likely oppose any form of gun control legislation.

But assuming that the Feinstein bill would pass the Senate, can it muster 217 votes in the House of Representatives?

So, what are the chances of the 113th Congress passing any form of gun control legislation? “Slim” would be optimistic and “Zero” would be realistic.  So why even bother attempting?  But who knows?  Twice since January 3, the House had passed legislation with the combined votes of a majority of Democrats and a minority of Republicans.   It could happen again with gun control legislation provided Speaker John Boehner would put it to a floor vote.

Politics is like a game of chess.  Don’t expect a checkmate early in the game.  Each player has to execute a game plan that would lead to a “win” in the end game.  Expect the players to play their gambits or sacrificial moves to gain strategic positions toward the end game, which in this case are the 2014 midterm elections.   And this is where the proponents of gun control could achieve the numbers necessary to beat the NRA-funded candidates.

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Recently, former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly formed a gun control PAC that would focus on blocking mentally ill people from obtaining firearms and banning high-volume ammunition clips.  The couple plans to raise $20 million to support gun control legislation.  Giffords survived a massacre in Tucson, Arizona on January 8, 2011 in which six people were killed and 13 injured.  She decided not to run for re-election last year and instead do something for a cause.  Now, we know that “cause” is gun control.

On January 16, 2013, President Barack Obama unveiled a package of gun control proposals at the White House.  These proposals were the results of the study made by a task force panel led by Biden whom Obama assigned to develop proposals to deal with gun control in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook massacre.

With Biden behind him, Obama laid out his plan, which includes a call on Congress to renew a ban on military style assault-weapons sales that expired in 2004, a requirement for criminal background checks on all gun purchases, a 10-round limit on magazines, closing a loophole for gun show sales, and a new federal gun trafficking law, which has been sought by big-city mayors to keep out-of-state firearms off their streets.

In addition to his proposals for congressional action, Obama announced 23 specific steps he plans to execute immediately without congressional approval.  These include “improvements in the existing system for background checks, lifting the ban on federal research into gun violence, putting more counselors and ‘resource officers’ in schools and better access to mental health services.”  And with a group of children from around the country who wrote letters to him after the Sandy Hook massacre, Obama signed the 23 executive actions in front of an audience that included relatives of some of the victims of the Sandy Hook massacre.

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Two days prior to Obama’s announcement, on January 14 that marked the first month anniversary of the Sandy Hook massacre, the parents, families, and friends of the 20 children and six educators killed in the mass murder launched “Sandy Hook Promise,” an organization whose members promised to “do everything I can to encourage and support common sense solutions that make my community and our country safer from similar acts of violence.”

Rob Cox, a co-founder of Sandy Hook Promise, wrote in his USA Today column: “We can change laws, but we also have to change attitudes. It’s not just what should the government do; it’s what should I do. What can we do? We pride ourselves as Americans for our values: responsibility, community and innovation. Only if we put our values to work in a sustained, comprehensive effort by individuals, communities and government can we truly make our country safer.

“In launching Sandy Hook Promise this week, we began a journey to find answers as a community. And we invite people in every community to join us by making the Sandy Hook Promise.  Love and compassion must direct our intentions. We must be open to all possibilities. If we all really listen to each other, we may find we have more areas of common ground than we thought. And if we search for new strategies, we may find solutions that we couldn’t have dreamed of.

“Newtown must not be remembered as the town filled with grief and victims, but as the place where real change began. Our hearts are broken; our spirit is not.”  Yes, indeed. (PerryDiaz@gmail.com)