St. Louis Democrat: I am sick and tired of Congress doing nothing about gun violence

(From Rep. Stacey Newman, D-St. Louis)

It takes our breath away every time.

The last few have actually wiped me out for a bit. Orlando put me in covers over my head mode and I couldn't go out for a couple of days. This one I was awakened early Monday morning by my out-of-town daughter who insisted I put out a statement. I didn't even know what had happened.

We knew Las Vegas was coming but didn't know exactly where it would take place. And for sure, there will be another even greater one. I guarantee you.

I echo civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer who said, I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired”.

I am sick and tired of our Congress and our state legislature doing nothing besides issuing condolences. Prayers, even the warmest of ones, do absolutely nothing to prevent the next mass shooting.

I have been sick and tired since the Columbine shooting “woke” me in 2000 when my six year old daughter went on the national Rosie O’Donnell show to say how scared she was of guns in her first grade. I’ve been sick and tired of watching an entire millenial generation grow up with fears of their safety in schools, theatres, places of worship, workplaces and concerts. I’m sick and tired of watching my daughter, now a school counselor, worry about what she would do with someone armed in her school.

THIS is gun violence for 2017 in the U.S. as of today, October 5th. The numbers will go up tomorrow. (courtesy of GunViolenceArchive.org).

And if that's not enough for you, THIS is the number of kids in 2017 who aren't old enough to own a gun who unintentionally shoot themselves or someone else - as of today, October 5th (courtesy of ChildrensFirearmSafetyAlliance.com). Tomorrow those numbers will also go up.

THIS is entirely our fault.  THIS is on US. 

We stand idly by on election days as candidates who support the gun lobby are elected to every office from the White House on down to mayor.

We throw up our hands when they loosen gun restrictions every year and ignore solutions which will keep us safe. We laugh at political ads featuring assault rifles - particularly the cute ones - but neglect to demand candidates be forthright on actual gun violence prevention policy.

Leopards don’t change spots. Gun lobby-supported electeds will not change their allegiance once in office. They use all kinds of excuses in their votes to make it easier to buy firearms and carry in public, enabling gun manufacturers to increase their sales. Other electeds in both parties defer hoping no one notices their votes or their silence when it matters.

We stand idly by while our Jewish Governor spews gun lobby talking points or is completely absent.

Many of them tell us now isn't the time. They tell us gun violence is "political". Meanwhile more and more families are devastated. This is what the aftermath of assault weapons looks like.

Assault weapons are LEGAL in Nevada and even in Missouri, protected by law in HB294 in 2011. We turned the other cheek when Missouri state legislators, including Democrats, voted to legalize assault weapons and lower the age of carrying concealed weapons. Missouri has no prohibition on magazine ammunition and overruled city ordinances preventing open carry in 2016, making it legal to carry an assault weapon on our streets.

Assault weapons are LEGAL in the United States with the expiration of the assault weapons ban in 2004. The last serious attempt to re-authorize the ban was introduced by U.S Senator Dianne Feinstein, one month after the Sandy Hook school shooting but failed by a vote of 40-60 in April 2013. An amendment to the bill to limit assault weapon magazines to 10 rounds also failed.

Sen. Feinstein, along with others in the U.S. Senate and House are back introducing their common sense legislation once again. This time a few of the GOP are listening:

New gun safety bill is so undeniably sensible even some Republicans may support it

In somewhat good news, we just got word that the GOP postponed their vote in Congress on the Hearing Protection Act which would make silencers for firearms legal.

Silencers assure difficulty to determine location of shooters making it harder for victims to escape or law enforcement to intervene. There is no self-defense when a shooter uses automatic or semi-automatic rifles or configures their gun to be one. Self-defense doesn't exist in the seconds it takes to go through just one magazine round.

Five Missouri Congresspeople are among the 165 who are co-sponsoring HR367 - Reps Sam Graves, Vicky Hartzler, Billy Long, Blaine Luetkemeyer and Jason Smith. At least we know how five of our Missouri congressional delegation will be voting and a damn good idea how the rest of the NRA bought-and-paid-for GOP will.

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt has received millions in expenditures from the National Rifle Association so we already know he won’t do anything beside send thoughts.

The New York Times - https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/10/04/opinion/thoughts-prayers-nra-funding-senators.html​

The responsibility of this massacre and every other daily gun violence fatality falls completely on our shoulders.

Many of us say we don’t know how our electeds stand because:

a) they didn’t knock on our door

b) we didn’t get their campaign mailer

c) we cared more about other issues.

The majority of Missourians don’t know who even represents them in the state legislature or that we in the state Capitol don’t work in Washington D.C.

You know where I stand - loud and clear.

I refuse to accept this is what makes America great – our astonishing rates of gun violence.

Texas guitarist Caleb Keeter who performed with the Josh Abbott band at the Las Vegal country music festival hours before the shooting also agrees. He and his band could not access their own firearms and realized how ineffective he and his crew were during the attack.

He said the day after, “We need gun control RIGHT.NOW. Until the events last night, I cannot express how wrong I was.”
I refuse to stick my head in the sand and say nothing can be done. I refuse to stay simply “sick and tired”.

I remain “woke” and demand you be too.