Posted on 03/27/2006 3:36:00 PM PST by RogueIsland
Washington, D.C. - Criminals, youth and other prohibited persons are gaining access to guns with remarkable ease and continue to wreak havoc on communities around the country. And elected officials are doing little to stop them. Thats the lesson of the 2005 Annual Report Cards of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
Overall, 32 states received a grade of "D" or "F" for the 2005 report card.
With the leaders of Americas cities crying out for help from either the Federal government or state Capitols; with front page stories providing daily examples of the pain inflicted on communities by the misuse of guns and with major exposes in the news media about how illegal guns are wreaking havoc in our nations cities, state legislative leaders who could do something about it continue the recent trend of winking at the gun lobby, doing nothing, and letting the gun lobby and the gun industry it protects get away with murder.
We have cracked down on library books, cell phone calls, fertilizer purchases and wearing shoes in the airport, but we have done almost nothing, at the state or Federal level, to make it harder for either a terrorist, garden variety armed robber, or young person to get their hands on a handgun, said Sarah Brady.
Consider these facts:
From 2004 to 2005, only four states changed their grade - and three of those grade changes were demotions. And most state legislatures are currently considering firearm related legislation - but the majority of legislation are bills pushed by the gun lobby that threaten to increase firearm violence rather than decrease it. Despite growing awareness of how to stem the tide of illegal guns - by limiting bulk purchases of guns, imposing background checks on every gun purchase and by allowing local municipalities to pass their own measures to stem gun violence - only Illinois enacted important legislation to require background checks at gun shows in 2005. Thats the bad news - but there are positive signs popping up across America like spring blossoms:
In some key political battleground states, like Illinois, Colorado, and Maryland courageous elected leaders and gun violence prevention advocates have challenged the gun lobby and intend to run for office as aggressive supporters of sensible gun laws designed to protect families and children. At least four states are considering state-level assault weapons bans to help assuage the dangers created by the sunset of the Federal ban in September 2004. Other states like California, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Washington state and Illinois are considering measures to stem the tide of illegal guns in their state. These measures will help police solve gun crimes, will hold gun stores accountable and will ensure that guns dont get into the hands of convicted felons, terrorists, and teenagers. Gun violence prevention advocates and leaders in major urban areas - New York, Boston, Hartford, Philadelphia, Columbus, Detroit, Seattle and Los Angeles, among others - are ramping up the pressure on state legislatures to help them fight the easy availability of guns to prohibited purchasers, including youth. The states that saw a grading change include Florida, which went from a D to an F+ as the first state in America to pass a Shoot First law, sanctioning the shooting of innocent bystanders in the name of self-defense; Alaska, which went from D- to F+ for passing a law mandating that private businesses allow guns on workplace property; Kansas, which stripped local governments of the right to regulate firearms and droped from a C+ to C-; and Illinois, which took positive steps to strengthen background checks at gun shows and required child safety locks be sold with new handguns and moved from a B+ to an A-.
The Brady Campaign began grading state gun laws nine years ago. The state scores are available in complete category-by-category detail at www.bradycampaign.org.
Only if you're a member of the NRA or any of the other gun rights groups.
What's holding us back?
On the other hand, Utah gets a demerit for passing a law requiring the University of Utah to comply with the state constitution regarding the right to possess a gun on campus.
There is nothing Sarah Brady will not lie about. She lost any sympathy I had for her long before I left the lib ranks.
Oh, and Illinois got a freakin' A-. GRRRRRR...
D+......Not great, but good, anyway!
Yeah, I was happy about how the U of U deal worked out.
The Ga law just has to be signed by Gov Purdue doesn't it?
FL in GA
(Do I really need the /sarcasm tag?)
Gotta steal that gif!
heh heh!
I was disappointed with our D, for sure. And concur.
Because unlike we in Florida, you haven't instituted a policy of culling innocent bystanders, it would seem.
I was thinking the same thing...a nice set of graphs and charts would be nice for the DU'ers who need pictures for everything.
It's an honor PING!
I know. I wanted us to have an "F-". We've worked hard for our reputation. We deserve better recognition. ;-)
Move to Alaska.
And we are working on our "F-".
{Alaskan} Bill expands self-defense rights
Tuesday, March 28, 2006 - JUNEAU--The state Senate passed legislation Monday expanding when people can legally use deadly force and protecting them from civil lawsuits if they do.
Under the bill, Alaskans could use deadly force at work or in their vehicle to stop a kidnapping, carjacking, robbery or sexual assault of an adult or child.
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