Tim Kaine tries again on gun control
In Virginia, it might be considered a lone cry in the forest, but U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D) is again trying to do something to stem gun violence through intelligent regulation.
He is pushing legislation that would hold accountable anyone who sells firearms to people who already barred by federal law, including felons, fugitives and those with a documented history of mental illness, among others.
Kaine’s latest action comes after Alison Parker, reporter for WDBJ-TV in Roanoke and Adam Ward, cameraman from the same television station were shot and killed Aug. 26 while broadcasting a live news interview.
They were murdered by Vester Flanagan, a former reporter who had been dismissed from the television station because of behavioral problems. Flanagan later took his own life.
When he shot the journalists, Flanagan also wounded Vicki Gardner, executive director of the Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce. She was recently released from a hospital after losing a kidney and part of her colon.
For Kaine, it must seem like frustrating déjà vu. He tried to get tougher gun control laws passed after Seung-Hui Cho, a student with a history of mental illness, went on a shooting rampage in classrooms at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007. The shooter took 33 lives, including his own. Kaine was governor at the time.
A key part of Kaine’s efforts is to require stricter background checks on people who buy guns. In Virginia, background checks are not required if an individual buys a handgun at a gun show. Virginia does not require firearm registration although it follows federal law forbidding private ownership of automatic weapons.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) supports Kaine’s call for stricter gun controls, but they face a tough audience in the conservative-controlled General Assembly.
Opposing any restrictions on firearms is the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a 20-year-old gun rights lobby. Its president,Philip Van Cleave, says, “If Kaine says it’s reasonable, it’s not a reasonable step.” He claims that Kaine’s move is a backdoor effort to get universal checks. The government has no right to know what guns someone owns, he believes.
The image is an apparent attempt to cash in on the tragedy on July 16 when Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez attacked two U.S. military posts in Chattanooga, Tenn., with an AK-47 assault rifle with a 30-round magazine clip and a handgun. Four Marines and one sailor died.
The message seems to be that the Virginia Citizens Defense League stands ready to defend the U.S. armed forces. One wonders why it doesn’t ask where Abdulazeez got his weapons.
Meanwhile it is certain to do its best to stop people such as Tim Kaine.