Lobby isn't unbeatable...

Murphy: The pro-gun lobby isn't unbeatable

By LOUIS NELSON

A policy solution to mass shootings like the one that claimed 59 lives Sunday night in Las Vegas is not unattainable, Sen. Chris Murphy wrote Monday night in The Washington Post, but will require a reexamination of the factors that he suggested have thus far kept Congress from acting.

Gun control legislation is not the unattainable goal that many believe it to be, Murphy (D-Conn.) wrote in his op-ed, and the pro-gun rights lobby is not the all-powerful force that many fear it to be.

“It’s critical to understand that the Groundhog Day phenomenon of horrific mass shootings is exclusive to the United States. I find consolation in this fact, because if the problem is particularly American, then the solution can be, too,” Murphy wrote. “Thus far, though, our response to regular mass slaughter has been, quite frankly, uniquely un-American.”

Murphy, who represented Newtown, Connecticut as a member of Congress in 2012 when a gunman killed 20 children and six teachers at an elementary school there, has become an outspoken voice in support of gun control legislation. In a statement released Monday by his office, the senator said it was “time for Congress to get off its ass and do something” about gun violence in the U.S. He also said he'll introduce legislation to strengthen background checks.

Recent efforts to craft legislation aimed at gun control, including background checks, limits on the size of ammunition magazines and bans on certain types of weapons have generally been stonewalled by Republicans and by potent lobbying efforts by the NRA.

But despite efforts by the latter to characterize certain gun control measures as unpopular, Murphy pointed to a poll showing that certain steps, including requiring universal background checks, requiring a permit for gun ownership and bans on certain ammunition and weapons, are all popular with majorities of Americans. Such steps have been successful at reducing the rate of gun crime in Connecticut, Murphy said.

The senator called out the tactics of gun rights supporters, pointing to some who accused gun control-advocates of “politicizing” Sunday’s shooting by renewing their push for more stringent firearm laws. Murphy noted another frequent argument – that legislating guns would do little to stop those with ill intentions from carrying out acts of violence – and argued that laws are created to do just that.

"Listen, I think it's a very convenient tool of the gun lobby to say that there's got to be a 24, 48 hour waiting period before we talk about change. The fact of the matter is the entire country is focused on why this happened," Murphy said Tuesday morning in an interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "And the reality is that much of it is rooted in the evil inside this one individual, but much of it is also rooted in our laws, which allowed him to get his hands on weapons that are illegal in almost every other civilized country."

The pro-gun lobby, Murphy argued, should not be considered as fearsome as many believe it to be. “The gun lobby is certainly politically powerful, but it loses as many races as it wins,” he wrote, pointing to Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), all of whom won their 2016 races with the support of gun-control activists.

“America’s reputation is based on its ability to deliver the world big, Earth-changing solutions,” Murphy wrote. “Our failure to lead on the most basic of human desires — physical security — is in many ways the great American paradox. It doesn’t have to be.”