Yet again in America, parents of a dead child and the family of a dead educator are in anguish after gun violence on the grounds of an American school. Law enforcement officials are still sorting through the facts about this tragedy, but it’s important that they discover how the young person was able to obtain a firearm. Meanwhile, elsewhere in America, the leaders of the National Rifle Association finished three days of rhetoric about the glory of every gun everywhere, and Congress wants to hold gun sellers immune from being held accountable for reckless or negligent behavior. Sadly, this school shooting is not an isolated incident. The fourth anniversary of the Columbine school shooting has passed, and still nearly 80 Americans die each day from gun violence, including nine children. This is a crisis and it is inexcusable. There is a solution to gun violence. Families are participating in the democratic system and are standing up to say enough is enough. Families and friends are organizing with local Million Mom Chapters across the nation to enact common sense measures such as background checks at gun shows, implementing anti-gun trafficking laws, such as one-handgun-a-month purchases, and providing law enforcement with the tools they need to do their job. Unfortunately, too often the fight to keep our families safe becomes a fight to maintain and enforce existing laws. The gun lobby would like to make it even easier for criminals to get guns, and the National Rifle Association is currently seeking to repeal the ban on Uzis and AK-47s. The leadership in the NRA also seeks legislation to remove legal accountability from the gun industry. Of all industries that need to act responsibly, it is the gun industry. Sadly, the legislation sought by the gun industry protects them if they act irresponsibly. Any commonsense measure sought by victims of gun violence is seen by the leadership of the NRA as the latest effort in a great “conspiracy” to confiscate everyone’s gun. Members of our organization are hunters, hikers, coaches, Republicans, Democrats, liberals and conservatives, and we all want one thing, common sense measures that end gun violence. The Supreme Court has never struck down any law under the Second Amendment. As former Chief Justice Warren Burger said, “(The Second Amendment) has been the subject of one of the greatest pieces of fraud, repeat the word ‘fraud,’ on the American public by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime.” The Second Amendment, in full, states: “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Did our Founding Fathers intend by this language to give Eric Harris or Dylan Klebold of Littleton, Colo., the right to bypass background checks and destroy their classmates• Does it give gun manufacturers the right to make guns without simple safety devices that would prevent children from unintentionally shooting each other with guns found in the home• The reality is that firearms have taken over 675,000 American lives since 1981, 28,663 in 2000, and on any average day, about 79 Americans lose their lives. The victims are all ages, races, religions and sexes, and for every one person killed by a gun, three are injured. The toll of gun violence manifests itself not only in statistics, but each horrific act of violence leaves the ghost of fear wherever they have occurred. Statistics cannot tell the story of the thousands of American children and teenagers who have died, we will never know who could have been the next noble prize winner, star athlete or mother active in her PTA. Yet our situation has been steadily improving, since the Brady Law background check went into effect in 1994; 840,000 fugitives, domestic abusers, mentally unstable people and other disqualified buyers have been stopped from buying guns. Though public policy is influenced by several factors, since the time the Brady Bill was implemented, gun homicide, which had been rising to that point, has dropped 50 percent. There is so much we can do. The Brady Bill only requires background checks when they are done through a licensed gun dealer, creating an enormous secondary market where violent criminals acquire their guns. We must require a background check every time a gun changes hands, and no law will work without strong enforcement so we have to give our federal agencies the power they need to shut down corrupt gun dealers and stop nationwide gun trafficking rings. And we need the gun industry to act responsibly, keeping profit in perspective when it comes to human life. The federal assault weapons ban has dramatically reduced the number of police officers killed by these weapons. And to protect children, legislation has just been passed in New Jersey that will fund the development of a personalized firearm, because a CDC study has shown that 60 percent of the weapons children use in a homicide or suicide comes from the home. By making our voices heard loud and clear, we can demand sensible gun laws that will save lives. Blek is president and “spokesmom” for the Million Mom March, a national grassroots, chapter-based organization dedicated to preventing gun death and injury and supporting victims and survivors of gun trauma. She and her husband, Charles Blek, began their work in gun violence prevention in the spring of 1995 with the founding of a local gun violence prevention group, Orange County Citizens for the Prevention of Gun Violence. The Board of Directors dedicated the organization in memory of the Blek’s 21-year-old son, Matthew. EDITOR’S NOTE: Thursday, another view on the Second Amendment.

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