The American College of Physicians Monday called on Congress to ban both automatic and semi-automatic weapons, saying, "something needs to change.” Mass shootings like the Las Vegas massacre, the group added, are a “serious public health issue.” The Hill writes:
“We must acknowledge that lack of a U.S. policy to address gun violence is the reason we have much higher rates of injuries and deaths from firearms violence than other countries,” the group said in a statement. "Specifically, we call for a ban on the sale and ownership of automatic and semiautomatic weapons."
The organization said mass shootings in American “have become frequent and even common-place,” adding “something needs to change.”
“In light of the rising number of mass shootings, this is a serious public health issue that needs to be addressed immediately by Congress,” the group said.
For many of us, this seems completely logical, right? If some deranged guy can hole up with an arsenal of high-powered weapons that spray hundreds of bullets on a crowd in mere minutes, robbing 59 people of their lives while injuring hundreds more and mentally scarring thousands, why not take away access to those weapons?
But to Republicans, now's just “not the time” to talk about solutions.
Why? Because the gun lobby pays them not to talk about solutions.