Republicans ‘insane’ to block gun law: Fmr. Senator
The Republican Party’s move to block yet another attempt by the rival Democratic Party to tighten gun control laws in the US shows how “insane” American politicians have become, says a former US Senator.
The latest effort in Congress sought to ban suspected terrorists from legally purchasing guns but the House voted 242 to 173 to turn the motion aside.
The Republican-led US House of Representatives blocked the Democratic bid to consider bipartisan gun control legislation in the wake of recent mass shootings in San Bernardino, California, that killed 14 and injured 21.
Last week, Senate lawmakers rejected legislation for expanding background checks required for gun purchases, only a day after the massacre.
“It is not surprising that the Republicans would block the actions to do something about gun control,” former Democratic Senator Mike Gravel told Press TV on Friday. “They are in the pocket of the NRA [the National Rifle Association].”
“This is the position of the Republican Party at this point in time, so you have one party in this country that refuses to address the problem of gun control in a proper way,” Gravel added.
The former Senator also said that President Barack Obama is not seeking to outlaw guns and firearms, but rather, the government seeks to tighten background check legislation to prevent dangerous people from obtaining a gun.
Obama has so far failed to convince Congress to pass tougher gun laws despite a series of major mass shootings during his tenure.
“It is not a question of outlawing guns; it is a question of background checks, it is a question of limiting automatic weapons so it is not taking guns away from the people under their Second Amendment rights,” Gravel added.
“It is just being sane and of course, we are very insane with the policies that we pursue in this regard,” he concluded.
Every year, more than 30,000 people are shot and killed in the US. The country also averages 87 gun deaths per day as a result of widespread gun violence, according to the University of Chicago Crime Lab and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
About 4.5 million firearms are sold annually in the United States at a cost of 2 to 3 billion dollars.
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