Midwest Voices

Yael T. Abouhalkah

The Kansas City Star

President Barack Obama just held an emotional press conference, asking for prayers for the children and parents affected by the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

But I’m appalled that the president didn’t say the simple words that he could and should have: “I will work on a responsible, reasonable but tough gun control bill in 2013.”

And to those who say, this isn’t the time, I say:

Don’t let those children at Sandy Hook die in vain, Mr. President.

Find some courage, tackle the issue that affects so many people every day of the year, and work on gun control. We’ve got 270 million guns in the hands of civilians today.

Is that not enough for the gun nuts out there?

The looming fiscal cliff is a big issue, right? Well, so is gun control.

And on this issue, I’m a gun control nut.

Comments

1. 

   Phil Cardarella

   5 months, 1 week ago

   These deaths are a Christmas gift from the NRA.

   Sure, the great majority of NRA members are reasonable and responsible gun owners and hunters. And, the NRA itself was a strong supporter of gun control laws until its leadership got co-opted by a bunch of right-wing nuts who saw a way to make a buck out of peddling fear and lobbying for the gun industry. The NRA has done a great job of lying to its members and intimidating legislators.

   And its many sane members bear the blame for allowing the organization they support to become an accessory to the murder of children. It is time for them to do something to wash the blood from their hands.

2. 

   Mark Hastert

   5 months, 1 week ago

   Guns don’t kill people…people with guns kill people.

3. 

   William R. Nelson

   5 months, 1 week ago

   Our thoughts, prayers and helping hand goes out to those families and friends of the victims.

   I imagine these young families need help most with funeral expenses (who has life insurance on a 1st grader?). Please contact the Connecticut Salvation Army to help.

   Horror and outrage is expected in the aftermath of such terror, but aside from a violently jerking knee, where should Obama lede us, exactly?

   Federal law already restricts who can own, possess, or sell a gun.

   The National Firearms Act makes it unlawful for a person to have a gun not specifically registered to them; or possess automatic weapons; or use silencer on a weapon; or possess a sawed-off shotgun; or possess explosive devices without proper use license

   The Brady Act makes it illegal to own a gun if you:

   1. Were convicted of a crime punishable by being in prison for more than one year;
      
   2. Are a fugitive from justice;
      
   3. Are addicted to, or illegally use, any controlled substance;
      
   4. Have been ruled mentally defective by a court, or are committed to a mental institution;
      
   5. Are an illegal alien living in the United States unlawfully;
      
   6. Received a dishonorable discharge from the U.S. Armed Forces;
   7. Renounced your U.S. citizenship, if you are a U.S. citizen;
      
   8. Are subject to a court restraining order that involves your ‘intimate partner,’ your partner’s child, or children; or
      
   9. Were convicted of domestic violence in any court of a misdemeanor.
      

   Connecticut state law mirrors the federal laws, and doubles down on penalties for violations.

   There is 2 week wait period in Conn. to purchase and obtain a firearm. Plus, it is a felony(53a-217b) to transport guns onto or near school grounds.

   Where, exactly, should Obama lede us?

4. 

   Tim Gilliam

   5 months, 1 week ago

   Nice attempt to exploit and politicize a horrible tragedy, keep it classy.

5. 

   Mark Robertson

   5 months, 1 week ago

   Yael, What more do you want him to do, he and Holder have already instituted Fast and Furious, a plot to wreck the Second Amendment. Thank you. Mark Robertson Independence

6. 

   Mark Hastert

   5 months, 1 week ago

   We have to put an end to this slaughter of innocents. Saturday night another child in Kansas City was struck by a stray bullet from a drive by shooting.

   We have to stop glorifying gun ownership. We need to stop referring to it in lofty terms like “the right to bear arms” and call it what it really is, the right to bear deadly weapons of mass destruction. Even with a low tech revolver you can fire 5-6 rounds in rapid succession and potentially kill 5-6 people. It’s a constitutional right unique from all others because it is a deadly right. It should have unique responsibilities. The SCOTUS left the door open for restrictions. It’s time. Now.

7. 

   Rich Donovan

   5 months, 1 week ago

   How anyone can label this a “gift,” regardless of political persuasion, is beyond conscience. Innocent lives were lost - not because the victims wanted to make a political statement but because they wanted to go to school. A new low has been achieved.

8. 

   Robert Kalinke

   5 months, 1 week ago

   Our prayers go out to the families who lost loved ones. The probelm is one that leftists and liberals hate to concede. It is not guns, it is a lack of faith and prayer. Our secular society promotes anything that feels good. Shame, self deniel and faith are all thought of as small minded. You cannnot stop random violence but yuo can go back to a culture which was strong enough to keep such actions from happening for hundreds of years. If you ban guns then you have to ban knives and cars and every other instrument that evil can manipulate. That leads to a sorry path towards a socialist police state.