Federal firearms legislation

Over the past two decades there have been nearly 20,000 deaths due to gun violence in the United States and since 2013 over 3,500 mass shootings. More than 2,000 firearms-related bills have been intoduced to the U.S. Congress. Proponents argue the country must impose stricter regulations to address the horrifying number of gun-related deaths. Opponents say adding new gun control laws not only could infringe on Second Amendment rights but also will not deter someone determined to kill.

The following are gun-related bills that have passed over the last two decades: Tiahet Ammendment, 2003, prohibits the ATF(Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) from releasing data that traces firearms used in crime back to dealers, prohibiting cities, states, researchers and others, to learn from that data. Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, 2005, shields licensed gun manufacturers, dealers and sellers from civil lawsuits “resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse” of a firearm or ammunition.

District of Columbia vs Heller, 2008, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling found that individuals have a constitutional right to own a firearm and rejected the argument that the Second Amendment applies only to those in a “well regulated militia.”

The following are some of the bills bill that have failed to pass Congress: Extended Backgrpound Checks, 2013. The Lori Jackson Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act, 2014, would have prohibited those under a temporary restraining order from buying or possessing a firearm. Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act, 2015, would have prohibited people on a federal terrorism watch list from buying guns. Criminalizing straw purchasing and gun trafficking, 2015, would have made firearms trafficking a federal crime and increased penalties for “straw purchasers” who buy guns for those prohibited from purchasing them. Enhanced Bacground Checks, 2016. (stacker.com).

I believe these bare fact address the horrific shooting in Texas today as much as any words of my own. I belief they speak for themselves in terms of what has not been done in our country to prevent gun violence over the last 20 years.

Christine Wardenburg-Skinner

Edison