If things had gone according to plan, it’s likely that alleged Colorado killer James Holmes would have taken down a number of police officers along with the 12 people he killed and 58 others he wounded inside the Aurora movie theater.
Holmes surrendered peacefully but only because the AR-15 style assault rifle that he was carrying jammed. The gun reportedly had a 100-round drum magazine. The guns that the cops were carrying were no match for his. In addition he was covered head to toe in body armor.
No one understands the need to keep this kind of fire power out of the hands of people like Holmes better than Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola). Her husband was murdered and her son was severely injured 1993 by Colin Ferguson as the Long Island Railroad train were riding on pulled into the Merillon Avenue station. Ferguson killed six people altogether and wounded 19 before being stopped.
McCarthy became a leading gun-control activist and it was the gun control issue that motivated her first run for Congress in 1996.
Last week McCarthy took aim at the federal government’s inaction in curbing gun sales. “A lot of politicians know it’s the right thing to try to fight for something to save lives,” said McCarthy during an appearance on NBC’s Meet The Press. “They don’t have a spine anymore. They pander to who’s giving them money.”
She used the media attention to advocate for H.R. 308, a bill that she introduced in the House that would ban high-capacity ammunition magazines. The bill would set a 10-round maximum and would close a gap that would allow high-capacity clips made before the bill is passed to be sold or transferred.
This is a no-brainer. No ordinary citizen needs to be able to fire off 100 rounds. No hunter needs a 100-round clip to kill a deer. No homeowner needs this for protection. The bill already has the support 120 members of Congress and the Conference of Mayors.
If Holmes had been limited to 10 rounds in his assault rifle clip, he would not have been able to kill 12 people and wound 58.
We are not persuaded by critics who argue that all gun control is a violation of the Second Amendment. When James Madison crafted this amendment he could not have envisioned a day when a mad man would walk into a crowded theater and shoot 70 people in a matter of seconds.
Elected officials who have found the courage to advocate for reasonable forms of gun control quickly become the targets of the gun lobby. McCarthy and Democratic state Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel (D-Great Neck), who sponsored a gun microstamping bill, have been verbally assaulted by the NRA and gun manufacturers. Both make large contributions to the campaigns of their opponents.
After what happened in Aurora, Co., such contributions from the opponents of gun control should be seen as blood money that candidates should be ashamed to accept.
