A new poll found huge support for gun safety regulations; 88 percent of voters support background checks for all gun sales, 84 percent of voters support preventing gun sales to people who have been reported to police as dangerous by a mental health provider, 77 percent of voters support requiring guns to be stored in a safe storage unit, 75 percent of voters support a national database for gun sales, 67 percent of voters support a ban on assault-style weapons like the AR-15 (“New poll shows huge support for gun restrictions,” Politico, May 26).
Guns are the leading cause of death for those between the ages of 1 and 24. (“Guns are the things most likely to kill young people in America,” The Economist, May 25).
And yet, Republicans are doubling down on the support for expanded gun ownership and continued loose or nonexistent gun regulations. They are trying to convince gun owners that the regulations that were in effect until 2004 will somehow end gun ownership altogether.
Please, if you care about gun safety, our children and young people, supermarket shoppers, nightclub attendees, and concertgoers, well, really all of us, let your elected officials know. As Jocelyn Benton said, “The only thing that can stop a bad politician is a good citizen with a vote.”