Hello
I am here as a representative of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. As an establishment we work to pass, enforce, and protect reasonable gun laws. We also work to increase the public’s awareness of gun violence. Our campaign works to provide gun education and honor the victims of gun violence.
Let’s discuss gun violence. One in three people in the U.S know a person that has been shot. 32 Americans die every day from firearms along with 140 treated in emergency rooms. Also every day on average 51 people kill themselves and 45 people are shot and killed in an accident. Higher restrictions must be set in place with these disturbing facts. The homicide rate by firearms is 20 times higher than the combined rates of 22 countries that match our wealth and population.
Gun Violence affects children also. An average of eight kids, under the age of 20, is killed by guns every day. America is a high-income country, but compared to all other high income countries, it is eleven times more likely for American kids to be killed by firearms. Other than automobile fatalities, gun deaths is the second leading cause of death of children ages 1-19.
The Brady campaign is not about taking away your eighth amendment’s right at all. We just support a higher restriction on who may obtain a firearm, a higher waiting day period from when you can obtain your firearm, and more background checks. Unfortunately, our current background check system only applies to about 60% of gun sales, leaving 40% (online sales, purchases at gun shows, etc.) without a background check. Also, the FBI reported 71,000 instances of people lying on their background checks to buy guns in 2009. But the Justice Department prosecuted a mere 77 cases, or a fraction of 1%. Since the Brady Law was initially passed, about 2 million people have been blocked from purchasing a gun, due to a background check. About half of those were felons.
Nine out of ten American want a higher restriction of guns, yet congress will not pass any of the laws that the majority of the population supports. How is this promoting democracy and solving the gun violence problem in America?