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A2 UP FRONT
Wednesday 20 april 2022
Gun safety activists decry inaction as U.S. shootings surge

an interview. “I know that an assault weapon ban.
we’re making real progress There’s little sign now that
on this issue. The fact that I the Democrats who con-
am actually in Washington, trol Congress will send gun
and I was elected in Geor- safety measures to Biden’s
gia with a gun violence desk anytime soon.
policy agenda ... tells you The House passed legisla-
there is progress.” tion last year to expand
Yet McBath’s return to background checks to
Congress next year is far include private and on-
from assured. She’s locked line sales, including at gun
in a competitive primary shows. But Senate Demo-
against Rep. Carolyn Bour- cratic leaders haven’t yet
deaux in a redrawn district scheduled their version of
in Atlanta’s northeast sub- the legislation for a vote.
urbs. And facing near-unan-
Meanwhile, White House imous GOP opposition,
aides insist that Biden is do- Democrats would need
ing all he can to keep the support from at least 10 Re-
issue of gun violence front publicans in a 50-50 Senate
and center. to overcome any filibuster.
Just last week, the Demo- Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.,
cratic president signed an tried to bring the back-
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., emerges from the chamber to cheer the vote executive order to crack ground check bill up for a
confirming Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, securing her place as the first Black down on untraceable Senate vote in December,
woman on the high court, at the Capitol in Washington, April 7, 2022.
Associated Press “ghost guns.” He also de- but that effort failed when
voted part of his first State Republicans objected.
Continued from Front we took the Senate and likened the fight to reduce of the Union speech to gun Democratic Sen. Joe Man-
now we have the White gun violence to her par- violence and called for chin of West Virginia also
“I’m just angry,” said Da- House, too, and still, noth- ents’ fight for civil rights a major increases in police opposes the House bill.
vid Hogg, a gun safety ing is changing.” generation earlier. funding in his 2023 budget Asked whether Senate Ma-
activist who survived the Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., “Change doesn’t come proposal. jority Leader Chuck Schum-
2018 shooting that killed 17 whose son was shot to as quickly as we ever want But some of those same er would bring gun safety
people at Marjory Stone- death nearly a decade it to happen. Because progressives who cheered legislation up for a vote, an
man Douglas High School ago, encouraged those understand, this is a cul- the president’s efforts insist aide pointed to comments
in Parkland, Florida. “We frustrated with the pace of ture that we’re having to he and his party are not the New York Democrat
took the House and then progress to be patient. She change,” McBath said in doing enough. made in February.
“It’s appalling, it’s horrify- “Sen. Murphy had been
ing, it’s so very sad and trying to work with Repub-
embarrassing that this is licans to get 60 votes. He
just continuing and getting hasn’t given up on those
worse,” said Mark Barden, efforts, although they’ve
whose 7-year-old son, Dan- not gotten that far. But
iel, was among 26 students we’re going to keep pur-
and educators killed in a suing background checks.
shooting at Sandy Hook El- I believe in that very, very
ementary School in 2012. strongly,” Schumer said at
Barden now serves as co- the time.
founder and CEO of Sandy In the meantime, more
Hook Promise Action Fund, Americans are dying from
one of the gun violence gun-related injuries than
prevention groups that ever before.
emerged over the last de- In 2020, the most recent
cade to help counter the year for which federal data
gun lobby’s influence on is available, 19,384 people
policy and politics. were killed in gun homi-
“Congress needs to step up cides — a 35% increase
and get to work,” Barden from the previous year
said, noting that this De- and the largest one-year
cember marks the 10th an- increase in gun homicides
niversary of his first-grade on record.
son’s murder. Republicans have over-
Democrats’ frustration whelmingly opposed gun
around gun violence pre- control measures, casting
vention is not new. any tightening of current
After the Sandy Hook law as a threat to the con-
shooting, President Barack stitutionally protected right
Obama tried and failed to bear arms. The GOP has
to convince Congress to instead called for stronger
enact popular gun safety policing and more gun
measures like universal ownership to combat the
background checks and crime surge.q