In an opinion piece published by a major news outlet Monday, Moms Demand Acton founder Shannon Watts used recent events in Tennessee and South Carolina to push new gun control measures.
The 950 word piece for CNN entitled, “Did gun law loopholes enable Charleston and Chattanooga?” attributed to Watts, devotes most of its text to chronicling the Bloomberg-backed Moms group’s campaign against Cabela’s to close the so-called “Charleston Loophole” before turning to the recent terrorist attack that left five U.S. service members dead at a military installation in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
“We’re still learning the facts about what happened in Chattanooga, however, recent media reports indicate the gunman took advantage of the online gun sale loophole and purchased at least one of his firearms where he knew he could buy a gun with no background check, no questions asked,” Watts wrote.
The purchase cited by Watts stems from a July 18 Reuters story, which reported that friends of the suspected Chattanooga gunman, Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez, purchased an AK-74, Saiga 12-gauge shotgun and an AR-15 via the online gun classifieds site Armslist.com.
Everytown for Gun Safety President John Feinblatt followed this up with a statement to Guns.com from his New York office Tuesday, saying, “In the last month we have seen two tragedies in Charleston and Chattanooga that highlight the loopholes that make it easy for dangerous people to get guns – loopholes that the NRA put in place and has fought to preserve.”
Fineblatt elaborated by decrying how easy it is for dangerous people to take advantage of the “online sales loophole” to buy guns.
For its part, Armslist informs sellers that he or she is responsible for obeying federal and state laws before finalizing a transaction, and directs sellers to contact the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for any questions.
Further, a panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit recently held that Armslist was not liable for a gun sold through its platform which was later used in a murder.
However, to cite that Tennessee – or any other state – guidelines for mandated background checks for private gun transfers would have prevented Abdulazeez from obtaining his guns may be a stretch as nothing disclosed by authorities thus far would seem to have prevented the 24-year-old from passing a background check for a firearm purchased over the counter from a licensed dealer.
Watts herself closes her piece with language that dismisses hyperbole in the debate of blame, but still seemingly defends citing the recent mass killings as reason to seek change in the nation’s gun laws and policies, even if the changes sought would not have prevented the very killings used to justify them.
“After tragedies such as Charleston and Chattanooga, as the details unfold about how something so horrible happened, it’s easy to fall into the trap of hypotheticals – the what if we had done something differently,” wrote Watts. “The truth is we cannot change the past, but we can demand a safer tomorrow.”
SOURCE :: GUNS.COM
Here’s another article for you sensationalizing and demonizing the fact he might have had a black rifle…
Watch movie online The Transporter Refueled (2015)
Watch movie online The Transporter Refueled (2015)
(CNN)As Charleston gradually lays to rest nine shooting victims from last week’s church massacre, a police report reveals self-confessed shooter Dylann Roof had wanted a much deadlier weapon.
Earlier this year, he told an officer he wanted an AR-15 assault rifle.
A search of Roof’s car turned up six crescent-shaped, 40-round magazines in the trunk.
“That’s scary,” former U.S. Attorney and State Law Enforcement Division Director Reggie Lloyd told The State newspaper, which first reported the development.
“We ought to be thankful he never got his hands on an AR-15.”
Police had an eye on Roof for months before he shot dead nine African-American worshipers in cold blood on June 17. An officer arrested him on drug possession in late February.
During the bust, something bothered the officer. Roof had been asking suspicious questions at a shopping mall, The State reported: When does it close? And how many people work there?
The officer made note of the suspicious questions in a police report. Roof was released after the drug arrest on his own recognizance.
Then, on March 13, the same officer spotted Roof loitering in his car for hours at a public park. He was wearing all black, the police report said.
Because the officer was off-duty at the time, he alerted another to investigate. The second officer asked Roof if he could search the car. Roof complied. That’s when the 40-round magazines turned up.
Roof also had a forearm for an AR-15 in his trunk. It allows a shooter to more easily keep a grip on the rifle, as the barrel grows fiery hot from the shots pouring out of it.
Police say Roof used .45 caliber handgun to carry out the church attack, stopping several times to reload.
An AR-15 fires more rounds per magazine and is more accurate at a longer range.
“This is frightening,” State NAACP President Lonnie Randolph told The State. Roof was clearly thinking of killing more people, he said.
The white supremacist couldn’t come up with the cash to get the big gun, he told an officer. He said he wanted it to take to a firing range, according to a Columbia police report.
On June 17, Roof toted the .45 Glock semi-automatic handgun it into a Bible study class at the Emanuel AME church in Charleston, where he sat with his victims through an hour’s lesson before announcing he was there to kill black people.
Roof massacred nine, including Rev. Clementa Pinckney, who will be buried on Friday.
President Obama will deliver Pinckney’s eulogy before mourners, who will include a bipartisan group of Washington lawmakers.
Hillary Clinton, House Speaker John Boehner and Vice President Joe Biden will attend the memorial service for Pinckney — who was also a state senator — giving it the feel of a state funeral.
His wanton killing triggered a tidal wave of sympathy for his victims and a national movement to remove from sight the Confederate battle flag, which Roof revered as a symbol of white supremacy.
Many institutions and conservative politicians, who in the past have defended the flag flying have called for it to be pulled down. They include Gov. Nikki Haley Paul Thurmond, the son of dogged segregationist Strom Thurmond, and the Citadel military academy, whose cadets are credited for firing some of the first shots in the Civil War.
On Thursday, a prominent Southern Civil War enthusiast from South Carolina added his voice to the chorus. Glenn McConnell, president of the College of Charleston, has stirred controversyover his participation in battle reenactments and photos of himself standing with African-Americans dressed as slaves.
“I support Governor Haley’s call to remove the Confederate soldier’s flag from State House grounds as a visible statement of courtesy and good will to all those who may be offended by it,” he said in a statement.
Roof had wanted to kick off a race war. That appears to have backfired.
SOURCE :: CNN