The gun debate is growing

Second Amendment or gun rights activists brought their handguns and unloaded rifles on Monday to a gun rights rally in northern Virginia, while hundreds of unarmed gun rights activists gathered in Washington D.C. for a day of protest. Those who gathered in Virginia pledged to keep their weapons unloaded as state law requires so, however the District of Columbia has strict gun laws. The ironly of this is that people are permitted to carry guns in Virginia due to an Obama administration decision that permitted protesters to bring guns into parks operated by the National Park Service.

Protesters who converged at the Washington Monument carried signs which read "Which part of 'shall not be infringed' confuses you?" and wore bright orange stickers that read "Guns save lives". In Alexandria, Virginia, former Alabama Minutemen leader Mike Vanderboegh addressed the crowd of protesters and said armed confrontation should only occur when the government is threatening people's lives. But he also said it might be justified if people might be arrested for refusing to purchase health insurance required under the recently passed health reform insurance legislation.

If I know I'm not going to get a fair trial in federal court...I at least have the right to an unfair gunfight.

So essentially, this was another day for insecure, ignorant and angry white people to assert their ignorance and discontent that a black man is in the Oval Office.

Meanwhile, proponents of gun-control, including relatives of those killed in the massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado eleven years ago, are pressuring legislators to restrict selling guns to criminals and the mentally ill. With many high-profile newspaper advertisements, they're also attempting to counter protests by gun rights activists in Virginia and Washington D.C.

The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence placed ads in the Denver Post and Boulder Daily Camera today in which Tom Mauser, whose son was murdered in the Columbine massacre, petitioned Colorado State Democratic Senator Mark Udall to assist in closing the gun show loophole.

Shortly after the tragedy at Columbine, 70% of Coloradans voted to close this dangerous loophole, but in many other states the loophole remains, including every state surrounding Colorado...That means that Coloradans can still easily be victimized by guns brought here from other states. We need a federal law to close
the Gun Show Loophole for good, just like we have in Colorado.

Meanwhile, in the Richmond Times Dispatch, the Virginians for Public Safety group submitted an advertisment signed by relatives of victims and survivors of the Virginia Tech massacre. Reminding Virginia's two Democratic Senators (Mark Warner and Jim Webb) that they have previoulsy expressed support for more thorough background checks for gun sales, the ad also advocates ending the gun show loophole.

Every day in the United States, 35 people are murdered with guns--that's a Virginia Tech sized massacre every single day. We have seen firsthand the incredible toll that gaps in the federal background check system have on public safety, and we live with the personal toll every single day of our lives.

Despite gun rights advocates' paranoia that President Obama is going to take their guns away, Obama has done nothing on this front and refuses to get involved in the debate. What he has done, through his inaction and silence on the issue, is disappoint and anger gun-control advocates. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg wrote an unyielding letter to Obama and the Department of Justice enquiring why basic action hasn't been taken on the gun-control.



In addition to the advertisements, the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence wrote a thank you note to Virginia Democratic Representatives Gerald Connolly, Jim Moran and Bobby Scott, as well as to New York Democratic Representative Carolyn McCarthy and Delaware Republican Representative Mike Castle, for backing legislation which requires background checks for those buying guns at gun shows. Those three Virginia Democrats wrote a "Dear Colleague" letter appealing to fellow Representatives to support the legislation:

It is time for Congress to act. And the American people are on our side. In fact, Republican pollster Frank Luntz found that 69 percent of NRA gun owners and 85 percent of non-NRA gun owners support closing the loophole.



Alabama militia leader Mike Vanderboegh addresses protesters in Virginia: "We will have the freedom and the rights that our fathers paid for," he said, adding: "We are done backing up. Done! Not one more inch. You can push Americans only so far."