NRA Leadership Is Promoting an Irresponsible Position on Guns

About Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner:

Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner is the cofounder and CEO of MomsRising, a grassroots activist group for women, mothers, and families.

On December 14, the hearts of moms across our country were broken when we heard of the senseless shooting of 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School. This tragedy was a wake-up call to the fact that nearly 40 percent of all gun sales in our nation now happen without background checks, that military-style assault weapons with high-capacity magazines can be bought in places like Walmart, and that federal gun trafficking laws are largely missing in action in the United States.

About 30 people are murdered each day with guns in our nation. Too many. And in the days following the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, moms, dads, and Americans of all political persuasions have been calling for common sense gun safety laws to put a stop to this senseless gun violence

Wednesday, President Obama answered that call.

[See a collection of political cartoons on gun control and gun rights.]

He presented an actionable, common sense plan to reduce the gun violence that has been plaguing our nation and our families. That plan, which includes 23 executive actions and Congressional action to address the gun violence that plagues our nation, will increase the safety of our communities and our country, while also preserving Second Amendment rights.

Universal background checks, restrictions on military-style assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, a crackdown on gun trafficking, and federal funding for research into gun violence are all reasonable, and much-needed, responses by President Obama to a problem that harms our children and our communities.

The president's plan is broad and wide-ranging. It involves law enforcement, the research community, parents, consumer advocates, and our national legislators. It addresses gun violence from a variety of angles. It is the kind of multifaceted approach we need to solve a problem that is so complex and so entrenched.

[Read the U.S. News Debate: Should High-Capacity Ammunition Magazines Be Banned?]

Naturally the National Rifle Association's leadership has already opposed the president's plan, running counter to what many responsible gun owners who are members of the NRA believe. In fact, a recent poll found the vast majority of NRA members believe that we should be running background checks on everyone who purchases gun. It just makes sense. At MomsRising, we have more than a million members, many of whom are also responsible gun owners and NRA members, who are saying that the NRA's leadership is promoting an irresponsible and irrational position on gun laws.

For the last month, we have been hearing from people across the political spectrum that it's time for more common-sense thinking about our gun safety policies. Yesterday, the president put forth just such common-sense solutions. Now it's time for Congress to put aside political posturing, to put the health and lives of their constituents first and foremost, and to do their part to address gun violence.

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Tags:

gun control and gun rights

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