The deadly school shooting in Nashville on March 27 sparked outrage from parents and politicians, as well as protests at the Tennessee Capitol. What it did not do is move the needle on Congress passing new gun reform legislation. The partisan divide on gun laws remains one of the most polarizing issues in the only country with more civilian-owned guns than civilians. Straight Arrow News contributor Rashad Richey says America desperately needs commonsense gun reform laws, and points out that most people support new restrictions.
A recent poll shows clearly from ABC/Ipsos, that 66% of people actually favored new gun laws in America. And depending on the polling that you’re looking at, this number is always between 65 to 75%. That is massive. In this political culture, 65 to 75% of Americans agreeing on something is a big deal. They agree we need stricter gun reform policy. It doesn’t stop there.
In addition to that, the vast majority of members of the NRA — National Rifle Association — they also believe we need stricter gun policies by way of a universal background check. Over 70% of active, right now, NRA members are for universal background checks. Common sense, right? Who’s against it? So the majority of Americans are for it. If the majority of members of the NRA are for it, if the majority of gun owners are for it, which by the way, 88% of gun owners are for universal background checks, who is against it? Are the politicians against it? Or is there something else?
The answer is both. The politicians are against it. I’m talking about conservatives mainly, because of something else. See, there was a time the NRA actually was a good organization that stood for a Constitutional right that needed to be protected: your right to bear arms. The NRA is no longer that organization. They are in the business not of listening to leadership in their membership ranks but listening to the leadership in the corporate ranks. I’m talking about those that manufacture guns. You see, the NRA is a de facto advocacy organization for gun makers. And they are effective. So much so, that gun manufacturers, they have special laws that govern them — special laws that create immunity from prosecution, from liability. They are a different type of company, contextualized through statute in the United States of America.
