Guest Opinion: Mid-Columbia groups want more congressional support for gun safety laws

Americans overwhelmingly want Congress to enact laws that make it harder for guns to fall into the wrong hands: for example, 97 percent of Americans support universal background checks.

In the wake of the recent, tragic Parkland school shooting, the need for action to prevent gun violence and keep our children and communities safe from such tragedies moved thousands of local residents to turn out in support of student-led March For Our Lives rallies in both the Tri-Cities and Yakima on March 24.

In an era when mass shootings have become disturbingly commonplace, many of us worry that the next one could take place right here at home.

In Benton County, the Republican and Democratic parties have responded by creating a bipartisan task force on school violence. We are pleased to see local members of both major parties take the first step toward finding practical, consensus solutions that can make our communities safer.

Yet we are still waiting for our Congressman, Rep. Dan Newhouse, to take steps to address these concerns.

Last year, Newhouse voted for the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017, an extremist bill that would allow dangerous criminals, convicted stalkers, convicted domestic abusers, and even children to legally carry concealed firearms in Washington.

The vast majority of Americans oppose allowing concealed carry without a permit — including a majority of Republican gun owners, 67 percent of all gun owners and 81 percent of Americans overall. The state of Washington allows law-abiding citizens over the age of 21 who meet certain requirements, such as a lack of felony or domestic violence convictions, to obtain a permit to carry concealed firearms. However, this bill circumvents our state’s right to set such reasonable limits by forcing Washington to accept permits from states with weak or nonexistent requirements.

We are deeply disappointed that Rep. Newhouse chose to vote for this measure, despite the clear evidence that the public — regardless of political affiliation — opposes such policies, which compromise the safety of our children and our communities.

We urge Rep. Newhouse to improve his voting record by instead cosponsoring and supporting common-sense legislation that will protect the lives of people in Central Washington and across the nation:

▪  H.R. 4240, the Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act of 2017, a bipartisan measure that strengthens federal background checks, which has already attracted 205 cosponsors.

▪  H.R. 2598, the Gun Violence Restraining Order Act of 2017, a bipartisan measure that allows family members to request the issuance of a gun violence prevention warrant for those they fear may pose a danger to themselves or others.

▪  H.R. 3947, which bans the sale of bump stocks. Bump stocks were used by the Las Vegas shooter to massacre 58 people in ten minutes last year. On March 23, President Trump requested that the Department of Justice clarify federal regulations to ban the sale of bump stocks. However, legislative action is also required to ensure that President Trump’s ban will become permanent.

These types of policies, which keep guns out of the wrong hands without impacting the rights of law-abiding and responsible gun owners, enjoy broad support from Americans of both political parties, and from gun owners and non-gun owners alike.

To our neighbors who are equally concerned about the safety of our youth and children, we urge you to contact Rep. Newhouse and express your wish that he support this legislation. It is vital for him to hear the voices of his constituents on this issue. Gun violence impacts us all, and it’s time to act.

You can contact Rep. Newhouse by calling: Washington Office: (202) 225-5816; Yakima Office: (509) 452-3243; Tri-Cities Office: (509) 713-7374.

This story was originally published April 21, 2018 at 8:07 AM with the headline "Guest Opinion: Mid-Columbia groups want more congressional support for gun safety laws."