Editor's note: This story was first published on January 10, 2017, shortly after the shooting at an airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that killed 5 people.
In this op-ed, Shannon Watts — the founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a part of Everytown for Gun Safety — examines the impact of the National Rifle Association on our nation's gun laws.
Last week, a mass shooting in a Fort Lauderdale airport stole the lives of five people and injured eight others. It was the first mass shooting of 2017 (there have been more than 150 since 2009).
Every time there’s a shooting tragedy in America — and it happens more here than in any other developed country — there’s a public debate about what caused it and how it could have been prevented.
In the press conference following the tragedy, Florida Governor Rick Scott told the cameras, “you can’t imagine how this could happen in state like ours.” Yet just seven months ago, the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history resulted in 49 people dead and 53 people injured at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.
In fact, more than 30,000 Americans are shot and killed each year, and more than twice as many are injured. Our nation has the highest gun homicide rate of any developed country: Americans are 25 times more likely to be shot and killed than our peers.
Why? In part because America has something else no other developed nation has: a gun lobby that pushes for extreme “guns everywhere” policies while lobbying against common-sense gun laws. The National Rifle Association — which used to be an organization of sportsmen and hunters — boasts some of the most powerful lobbyists in America, working to pad the pockets of gun manufacturers by fighting even modest efforts to close loopholes in our gun laws. As a result, dangerous people are able to get their hands on guns — no questions asked. Here are some things you may not know about the NRA leaders and their radical campaign to weaken and block lifesaving gun laws, which includes:
1. Blocking research to better understand our nation’s gun violence crisis and how to solve it. NRA lobbyists persuaded Congress to ban gun violence research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As a result, the Journal of the American Medical Association recently found that gun violence is one of the least researched causes of death.
2. Making it easy for felons, domestic abusers, and even suspected terrorists to buy guns by continuing to block efforts to close deadly loopholes in our nation’s gun laws. As a result, millions of guns are exchanged each year without a background check — and the federal government has no authority to block gun sales to suspected terrorists, even those deemed too dangerous to fly.
3. Stalling efforts to close the “boyfriend loophole.” It’s true that some domestic abusers are prohibited from buying guns, and they can’t pass a federal background check when they try to buy a gun from a licensed dealer. But there’s a big catch: An abuser is only prohibited from buying a gun if currently married to, formerly married to, has a child with, or lives with the victim. To make matters worse, the law also fails to protect against dangerous stalkers. This outdated language leaves a critical loophole in our laws that allows a huge category of domestic abusers, abusive significant others, as well as stalkers to pass a background check and buy a gun. And the gun lobby has fought against efforts to close this loophole.
4. Pushing a “guns everywhere” agenda to allow guns in K-12 schools and daycares, on college campuses, in bars, and in airports. In Florida, the legislature is preparing to consider two gun-lobby-backed bills that would allow concealed handguns in airports. One of these bills would also allow guns into K-12 schools and on college campuses.
5. Promoting gag orders that restrict doctors and military leaders from discussing gun safety with parents and service members at risk for suicide.
6. Propagating the myth that more guns in more places is the best way to stop gun violence. After the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the NRA’s executive vice president infamously said, “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” The truth is, data does not support that argument.
7. Marketing guns to YOU — regardless of whether it’s in your best interests. Gun manufacturers are trying to create new customers by telling women a gun is the only way to protect themselves. This ignores the very real problem of gun violence against women. Data shows that women are 16 times more likely to be killed by a gun in the United States than in other developed countries and, when guns are present in a domestic violence situation, a woman is five times more likely to be killed.
But despite the gun lobby’s perceived power, a movement of Americans has come together to fight back against the NRA leadership’s dangerous agenda. I started Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America as a Facebook page in my kitchen the day after the shooting at Sandy Hook, and over the past four years, we’ve learned how to be the David to the NRA’s Goliath. We’ve bypassed Congress and taken the fight for stronger gun laws to the states — and we’re winning. In fact, nearly 50% of Americans now live in states that require background checks on all handgun sales. And we’ve convinced leading retailers and restaurants to adopt gun policies that keep customers and employees safe. And we’ve protected and elected lawmakers who support common sense gun legislation that saves lives.
We’re just getting started, but we need your help, too.
If you’re tired of hearing platitudes from politicians after a shooting tragedy, or if the gun lobby’s “guns everywhere” agenda isn’t the future you want for America, please join Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. For far too long, the gun lobby has gone unchecked and had carte blanche to help write our nation’s gun laws. Only an army of angry Americans who want to feel safe everywhere can change that.
Related: A Video Leak Shows How the Horrific Fort Lauderdale Airport Shooting Unfolded
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