Firearms have always been a part of this country’s existence. Without them, the United States of America might not exist at all. They are a tool that has been used throughout history in order for people to protect themselves and the things that they own. But there are days like this past Friday, when 26 people, 20 of which were children, were killed in an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, which shine light on a gun control debate that has been going on in the United States almost as long as firearms have been in existence.

Sadly, incidents such as the one that happened in Connecticut are far too common in our country. From the Virginia Tech Massacre in 2007 to the Columbine High School Massacre in 1999, we have seen plenty of incidents when the wrong people get their hands on firearms and use them to commit terrible crimes. But should we be worried about our state laws that allow these types of weapons to be purchased with ease? Or should we be working on a way to get those who are mentally unstable the help that they need in order to live a happy life?

Rules and regulations on how to obtain a firearm vary from state to state. In the state of New York, a handgun can be purchased by someone who is 21 years of age or older and has a valid registration and license. However, you can be 18 years old and purchase a shotgun or rifle; and neither firearm requires registration or a license in order to be purchased. A background check is performed at the time of purchase in order to make sure there are no outstanding warrants or past crimes which can prevent the person from owning a firearm. New York has the most strict gun control policies in the country.

In states like Alaska and Connecticut, neither shotguns nor rifles require a permit in order to be purchased. Handguns are the only firearm in Connecticut that requires a state permit. Alaska even allows anyone to openly carry a firearm without any form of documentation.

But what about the people that commit these crimes? Of course, background checks are performed, but many of the people that would perform such a terrible act on innocent people were never diagnosed with any mental illnesses. After the deinstitutionalization of mental institutions in the 20th century, many people are not being diagnosed for their problems, and are not receiving the help that they need in order to live a normal life. The transition from government-run mental hospitals to community-based alternatives are also preventing many people from receiving the amount of medical attention that they need.

President Obama has been trying to renew a ban on assault weapons in the United States. And after the massacre in Connecticut, it seems as though we will succeed in removing unnecessary firepower from free distribution. In the end, we need to take a step back and look at our country’s firearm laws to make sure they are as strong as possible for preventing weapons from getting in the hands of the wrong people. We also need to look at those who would do such a terrible thing, and make sure that they are receiving the help they deserve.

Hopefully, in our lifetime, we come to a conclusion that takes unnecessary weaponry off the streets, and also helps those who are in need of proper treatment.

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Washington, U.S.A. — The National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence, an alliance of nine major national police leadership organizations, announced its call for background checks for all firearms purchasers and a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines on July 27 at a news conference in Washington, DC. The group has been working with state law enforcement associations and leaders this summer in key states, pressing for expanded background checks for firearms purchasers and other public safety measures. But the Aurora theater shooting has intensified their calls for timely action.

“The nation is waiting for lawmakers to move beyond hand-wringing and shoulder-shrugging in response to these mass catastrophes,” said Hubert Williams, Chair of the National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence and President of the Police Foundation. “These mass murders are neither acceptable, nor inevitable. There are numerous public safety initiatives – that are backed by the public and law enforcement – that will reduce the frequency and severity of this type of carnage. Our nation must establish as a top priority addressing this horrific gun violence that shatters our safety and security.”

The Partnership’s policy agenda includes background checks for all firearms purchasers and a limit on large-capacity ammunition magazines. The background check measure would complement the existing Brady Law, enacted in 1994, which established background checks for gun purchases at federally licensed gun dealers. But an estimated 40% of firearm transactions occur through non-dealers sales – leaving nearly half the firearm sales in the United States unregulated.

“Knowingly permitting four out of ten firearm sales to occur completely unregulated is irresponsible and counterproductive to public safety,” said James Johnson, incoming Chair, National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence, and Chief of Police in Baltimore County, MD. “Police do our jobs everyday patrolling the streets and protecting the public while putting their own lives on the line. Law enforcement needs the support of our lawmakers to enact policies that will keep officers and the public safer.”

While the Aurora shooting suspect reportedly passed background checks in obtaining his firearms, Williams emphasized the importance and effectiveness of background checks in keeping guns from other dangerous people, stressing that nearly 2 million prohibited purchases were stopped between 1994 and 2009. He noted that background checks will help reduce gun violence that touches dozens of Americans every day.

“Gun violence is impacting us all,” Williams said. “In 2011, gunfire was the leading cause of death for police killed in the line of duty, surpassing motor vehicles for the first time in 14 years. Gun violence occurs day in and day out, claiming 34 Americans every single day.”

Background checks are overwhelmingly supported by the public – and gun owners themselves: 86% nationally, including 81% of gun owners, support background checks for all firearms purchasers, regardless of seller or venue.

The Partnership has been collaborating with law enforcement leadership organizations in key states to educate U.S. Senate candidates and the public, building bipartisan support to expand background checks to gun sales beyond licensed dealers. In Virginia and Wisconsin law enforcement leaders recently met with U.S. Senate candidates in private sessions specifically focused on gun violence, emphasizing the need for strengthened background checks.

The meetings were strictly educational in nature and candidates participated despite being told that there would be no endorsements made. The police leaders also held major press conferences in each state to publicize their calls for action.

Williams dismissed those saying action is impossible on gun issues, noting, that there were naysayers in the 80s and 90s when, “Law enforcement was pivotal in passing a string of federal gun laws:  the ban on cop-killer bullets; the ban on undetectable plastic guns; and the Brady Law requiring background checks for guns purchased through licensed dealers. We know that common sense can prevail.”

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Valentine’s Day 2012, the National Gun Victims Action Council (NGAC) is launching Brew Not Bullets: Say No To Starbucks…Until Starbucks Says No To Guns, a national boycott of Starbucks and its related products.

NGAC announced today’s calls for the Starbucks boycott on Jan. 23 only after exhaustive efforts to avoid a boycott were rejected All efforts to avoid this boycott  “The boycott will end only when Starbucks rejects the NRA’s Pro-Gun agenda by 1) banning all guns from their stores and 2) committing to be an Aggressive Corporate Advocate for sane gun laws,” says Elliot Fineman, CEO of the National Gun Victim’s Action Council (NGAC).

Starbucks rationale is contained in their official Starbucks response —”In the end, we determined that following local laws is the best approach for us.  Were we to adopt a policy different from local laws allowing open carry, we would be forced to require our partners to ask law abiding customers to leave our stores.”

“As local laws also allow them to ban guns, they expose their real position which has nothing to do with local laws; the fact is that Starbucks supports the NRA’s lethal Pro-Gun Agenda,” says Fineman.

What Does Supporting The NRA’S Lethal Pro-Gun Agenda mean?  It means supporting the man-made epidemic of gun violence we have in the US.  If we had England’s gun laws, which are based on public safety, adjusting for population, we would expect 5 times their 75 gun homicides per year, or 375.

But because U.S. gun laws are based on maximizing sales for the gun industry (not public safety), we have 12,000 gun homicides per year, 17,000 gun suicides and 1,000 accidental gun deaths.  And this is what Starbucks chooses to support. Guns go off accidentally, as one did in Starbucks in January.  The bullet missed a customer’s head by 12 inches with not a word from Starbucks about this; this is acceptable Pro-Gun Agenda risk.

Why doesn’t Starbucks admit they support the NRA’S lethal pro-gun agenda? “While Starbucks has the legal right to allow guns (or not) in their stores (openly carried in 43 states, concealed and carried in 49 states), why do they try to ‘tap dance” asks Fineman,  “Why not be direct and say “As per local laws, we can ban guns or allow them and we have chosen to allow them?”

Because by doing so they betray their claim to be a socially responsible company.  No socially responsible company would ever allow guns like these —one that shoots 13 bullets per second—to be brought into their stores: Types of Guns

“They surely know the threat to safety people carrying guns pose,” says Reverend Jackie Lynn, Executive Director of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship.  “Why else would Starbucks ban guns from its corporate headquarters, Starbucks shareholder meetings and have a company policy forbidding employees (partners) from bringing guns to work?”

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/souwar/

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A plane search of Mount Rainier National Park for a suspect in the murder of a park ranger, sighted what is thought to be the suspect’s body lying face-down in the snow on Monday, according to authorities. It could be hours before they reach the body, and though it is yet to be identified, it is believed to be that of Benjamin Barnes, a 24-year-old Iraq War veteran.

“Obviously the strong probability is that it is” the gunman, Ed Troyer, Pierce County Sheriff’s spokesman, stated. After a shooting at a New Year’s house party that wounded four people, Barnes is thought to have fled to the park to hide. He is suspected by the authorities to have shot and killed Margaret Anderson later on Sunday. Police began a manhunt for the veteran and cleared out all of the park’s visitors. They believed Barnes had survivalist and weapons training.

Barnes had had trouble adjusting to regular life after he got home from the war and was suspected of suffering from suicidal tendencies and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Court documents show that his daughter’s mother had sought a temporary restraining order against him during a custody battle because she believed he was suffering from PTSD after he was sent to Iraq for a year in 2007. She said that he text messaged her, claiming that he wanted to die, that he was easily angered and depressed, and that he had an arsenal of weapons in his home. The mother said she was afraid for their child.

Police showed undated photos of Barnes posing with two big weapons. A guardian ad litem, in November 2011, made a recommendation of classes for communication and parenting and said Barnes should have supervised visits with his daughter twice a week. A mental health evaluation was also mandated.

On New Year’s in a house located close to Seattle, gunfire erupted during an argument at a party of which Barnes was in attendance, according to Sgt. Cindi West, the spokeswoman for King County Sheriff. Two other people, who had fled the shooting, were found and West said that authorities attempted to locate Barnes, asking his family to try to get him to turn himself in and “tell his side of the story”.

A ranger started following him after he flew through a checkpoint on Sunday morning, while Anderson, mother of two and married to another park ranger, blocked the street to potentially force Benjamin Barnes to pull over. Instead, the driver fired a gun and shot Anderson before she was able to get out of her vehicle, spokesperson Troyer said. Park Superintendent, Randy King, stated, “It’s just a huge tragedy – for the family, the park, and the park service.”

The shooting has renewed debate over loaded firearms and whether they should be allowed into Mount Rainier or not. Bill Wade of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees has stated in several news reports that Congress needs to reconsider the 2010 law that makes state laws responsible for gun regulation in national parks.

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