The Senate voted Wednesday to prohibit federal funding to Amtrak unless it allows licensed gun owners to transport their weapons on the passenger trains by next year. The measure, an amendment to the Transportation and Housing Appropriations bill, passed 68-30.
What must Representative Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) think about this? Her husband, Dennis, was quietly travelling on a Long Island Railroad train on December 7, 1993 when a madman named Colin Ferguson opened fire. His rampage left Mr. McCarthy and five others dead and 19 passengers wounded. I am sure she will not be having drinks with any of those 68 Senators in the near future.
It doesn't matter that there are legal restrictions as to the manner in which the weapons can be allowed on the trains. The insane and incensed do not take time to adhere to the law. Ask the criminals who have murdered people in churches and schools.
What will it take for Congress to strengthen gun control, not loosen the restrictions? If they weren't influenced by killing at the Washington Holocaust Museum, a Colorado church or Virginia Tech, it will take something even more horrific to make them reevaluate their positions.
Their memories have been made short by the boatload of money they receive from the gun lobby. They forget what can happen when they allow the free flow of firearms into public places, especially forms of transportation.
If they need a more personal reminder, they should take the short walk across the Capitol and visit Carolyn McCarthy's office. I am certain she will let them know.