From the Amendment II Democrats blog:
First of all, my best wishes to everyone for a happy and peaceful Mother's Day.
Sarah Brady, Chair of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, has used the occasion to release yet another statement in support of her organization's push for more gun control in America. She has taken issue with the number of people who have been killed or injured by guns in America since the Million Mom March held its famous rally in Washington, DC on the National Mall seven years ago.
And yes, there are still too many Americans, some of them young children, who are dying as a result of gun-related crime and accidents. But the political winds of change have been blowing for seven years since that march - and not in the Brady Campaign's favor.
In the aftermath of the 2006 elections, pro-RKBA Democrats now hold the balance of power in the Senate. And many Democratic presidential candidates are rethinking their own position on gun-control laws as they jockey for position before next year's primaries.
So we turn back to Sarah Brady's statement, where she continues to insist that we must ask our neighbors, our elected officials, and the White House, "What are YOU going to do about gun violence?"
Sarah, can I be candid with you? Since 1968, you and your fellow gun-control advocates have gotten almost everything you asked for. And guess what? All of you have complained that it isn't enough.
There was restricted importation of any firearm deemed unsuitable for any "hunting or sporting purpose." Private ownership of any full-automatic weapon manufactured after May 19, 1986 has been outlawed. Riot-control shotguns have been reclassified as NFA Class 3 weapons. The Brady Bill was passed, resulting in waiting periods and instant background checks. Then a sweeping ban on the manufacture, sale, and new possession of semi-automatic firearms by law-abiding American citizens. All of this you have received from Congress and the White House - and then some.
But it didn't stop Columbine from happening. It didn't stop the Beltway sniper attacks of 2002 from happening. And it didn't stop criminals from buying their guns on the black market, either. What it did do, however, was strip control of Congress from the Democrats at exactly the wrong time in our nation's history.
Mrs. Brady, your organization has the luxury of referring to itself as non-partisan. We here at Amendment II Democrats, however, do not. We are Democrats, and as such, we want Democratic legislators to maintain control of Congress. A Democratic President in the Oval Office would be rather nice, too. We have weighed your approach towards gun control, the one that many Democrats still embrace today. And we have found it wanting.
We gave you almost everything you wanted - and still it isn't enough. And the death toll continues to climb. Maybe it's time for Democrats to embrace a fresh perspective on gun legislation.
But here's the silver lining, Mrs. Brady. In this changing political climate, you still have a shot to remain relevant. If you and I were to sit down at a table and discuss gun-related crime and how to deal with it, you and I might actually find a lot of common ground. Take the recent massacre at Virginia Tech, for example. When I found out that the guns used by Cho Seung-hui had their serial numbers filed off, alarm bells went off in my head. And then came the realization that this was a deeply psychologically disturbed young man who, if our laws worked correctly, would never have had access to those pistols in the first place. Getting rid of loopholes like this can and should be done for the good of all Americans.
So what about the issue of guns themselves? You and many of your supporters are moms, and as such you want your children to grow up healthy, happy, and safe. But the Million Moms are going to have a million daughters and sons. Sooner or later, all those children have to grow up. And that means they, as adults, will have to make their own decisions on guns, gun control, and the Constitution. Will one of the Million Moms love her child any less if he or she were to join Amendment II Democrats, Stonewall Shooting Sports, or the NRA?
It might make dinner table conversation a little awkward, but the words of Kahlil Gibran resound from the global well of wisdom:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
So please, Mrs. Brady, have a peaceful and a happy Mother's Day. You, as a wife and a mother, have been through more suffering and hardship than a person should have to endure, and I recognize that and salute your perseverance. And I know that much of that personal hardship was due to a madman with a gun.
So let's work the problem together without bringing sane, sensible, law-abiding Americans into the line of fire. There's still time.
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