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Week in Review: January 7-11, 2019

 WEEKLY HIGHLIGHT 

 New House Majority Introduces Bipartisan Background Checks Bill 

Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords proudly stood with Speaker Pelosi and Gun Violence Task Force Leader Mike Thompson to introduce H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, on the eighth anniversary of the shooting in Tucson, Arizona. The bill would require a background check on every gun sale or transfer, with carefully defined exceptions for gifts to family members, hunting, target shooting, and self-defense. The bill reflects a tectonic shift in our nation’s willingness to address gun violence.

 “   My spirit is strong as ever and I am still fighting to make the world a better place and you can too   .” – Gabby Giffords 

Here are some of the top clips from the bill’s introduction

 LEADING THE NEWS 

Top Hits

 Parkland Survivors David Hogg and Jaclyn Corin: It’s Time Republican Cowards Ditched NRA Cash and Voted For Gun Checks | Daily Beast | David Hogg and Jaclyn Corin 

Ninety-seven percent. That’s the overwhelming percentage of Americans who are in favor of universal background checks. No issue in American politics is more universally agreed upon than this. Yet nearly 40,000 people died last year due to gun violence. Why?… The introduction of the bill on Jan. 8 is no accident—it marks the anniversary of the shooting tragedy that left six dead and 15 wounded, including then-congresswoman Gabby Giffords, back in 2011 in Tucson, Arizona. In the eight years since that day, well over a quarter-million people have been killed by guns. In all that time, and despite two members of their own wounded by gun violence and nearly losing their lives, Congress has done nothing to stop the death of our fellow citizens.

 A Welcome Push for Gun Background Checks | Bloomberg | Editorial Board 

Now leading a highly polarized House of Representatives, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has zeroed in on one issue that commands broad public support: requiring background checks on all gun sales. Eighty-five percent of American adults — including 79 percent of Republicans — support them for private sales and at gun shows, a recent  survey  shows. The House Democrats’ new legislation to require these checks should be considered and passed without delay.

 School shootings are this generation’s 9/11 | Axios 

In a study provided first to Axios, 68% of young people (ages 14 to 29) said school shootings are the most important issue facing the U.S., Steve LeVine reports.

  • 77% said they or someone close to them had suffered from mental health issues.
  • SocialSphere, which conducted the poll, linked that to the shootings.
  • “The issue connects young Americans unlike anything except 9/11 in the last 20 years,” said  John Della Volpe , founder and CEO of SocialSphere, and  director of polling  at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics.

 Family of Waffle House shooting victim goes to D.C. to fight for gun reform | News Channel 5 Nashville 

From Tennessee to D.C., the family of Akilah DaSilva, who was killed in the Waffle House shooting, continues their fight to end gun violence. 23 -year- old Akilah DaSilva was killed along with three other people last April when a man started shooting at an Antioch Waffle House. Now his family is working with Washington lawmakers to find solutions. “My purpose of going to DC was to honor my son with action,” said Shaundelle Brooks, Akilah’s mother. Brooks and her son, Abede DaSilva said they’re on a mission for change. The two were invited to join former congresswoman Gabby Giffords in D.C. “We were on Capitol Hill and I’m still in disbelief and we were all standing there,” said Abede Dasilva.

Under the Radar

 Study reveals crime costing Missouri billions | KSHB | Kevin Holmes 

Rashid Junaid grew up in Kansas City. He says the crime, the physical pain and the resources are all taxing on his well-being and his checkbook. “We don’t really understand the magnitude when people get shot, when people get hurt.” A new study aims to offer more perspective. The Giffords Law Center recently released a study outlining the cost of gun violence in Missouri. It’s the first statewide study ever done. “Gun violence year-to-year is costing the State of Missouri $5.5 billion,” said researcher Mike McLively. “The people in Missouri should understand that this problem is worse in Missouri than it is in most other states in the country.” According to the Giffords report, Missouri has the seventh-highest gun death rate in the country. McLively says the $5.5 billion figure covers things like healthcare, costs, law enforcement, costs to employees or employers. “If you add in pain and suffering, which we can estimate, that’s another $3.6 billion,” McLively said.

 Documents Show NRA and GOP Candidates Coordinated Ads in Key Senate Races | The Trace | Christopher Hooks and Mike Spies 

The National Rifle Association appears to have illegally coordinated its political advertising with Republican candidates in at least three recent high-profile Senate races, according to Federal Communications Commission records. In Senate races in Missouri and Montana in 2018, and North Carolina in 2016, the gun group’s advertising blitzes on behalf of GOP candidates Josh Hawley, Matt Rosendale, and Richard Burr were authorized by the very same media consultancy that the candidates themselves used — an apparent violation of laws designed to prevent independent groups from synchronizing their efforts with political campaigns.

 Democrats Are Ready to Push Gun Reforms. But Their Last Republican Allies Got Picked Off. | Mother Jones | Kara Voght 

Gun reform advocates took a victory lap in the House of Representatives on Tuesday afternoon when Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), the chairman of the House Democrats’ Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, introduced legislation that would require background checks for every gun sale in the country. This wasn’t the first time a Democrat has put forward this type of bill, but it is the first time the measure has been welcomed as a chief legislative priority in a Democrat-held chamber of Congress. After a midterm election in which candidates across the country  campaigned  and won on strengthening gun control, Democrats are confident they can push more aggressive gun legislation than they have in the past. Tuesday’s rollout marked a distinct shift, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined by former Rep. Gabby Giffords at the bill’s announcement to signal that gun reform will be a key priority Democrats push for this year.

 STATE UPDATES 

Florida:  Bill filed to repeal gun control measures adopted after Parkland masscare 

Less than a year after the deadliest school shooting in Florida history, a state lawmaker has filed a bill that would repeal gun control regulations passed after the tragedy. State Rep. Mike Hill, R-Pensacola, is pushing to remove provisions  that raised the age to purchase a rifle from 18 to 21, created a three-day waiting period for long gun sales, and established risk-protection orders that made it easier for law enforcement to seize guns from dangerous people.

Kentucky:  Kentucky Republican moves to allow guns in schools, bars and day cares (Courier Journal) 

Hours before Kentucky lawmakers presented bipartisan school safety legislation, a House Republican filed a bill that would let people carry guns into schools.  House Bill 30 , filed by Rep. Robert Goforth, of East Bernstadt, would scrap most location restrictions for persons with a concealed deadly weapon license, meaning that guns could legally be carried into day care centers and elementary schools, as well as onto college campuses. The bill would also abolish restrictions preventing people with concealed carry licenses from bringing guns into bars and other private businesses. Those with licenses would also be able to bring concealed weapons into meetings of the General Assembly. “I’m trying to protect the public,” Goforth told the Courier Journal on Wednesday. Goforth said his bill is intended to address a loophole in state law, which allows individuals to carry concealed weapons into bars, restaurants and other private establishments as long as the firearms aren’t loaded.

Massachusetts:  Boston top cop introduces bills to curb gun violence 

Aggressive bill proposals backed by Boston police include a measure that would allow cops to impound vehicles found containing illegal firearms or used in drive-by shootings. Police Commissioner William Gross emphasized during a roundtable talk on Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s new legislative agenda Wednesday the importance of bringing gun violence to the attention of the Legislature, saying since 2014 the Boston Police Department has recovered more than 4,000 weapons off the streets — with officers collecting 11 guns in the first nine days of 2019.

Nebraska:  Senator introduces Red Flag law to reduce gun violence (1011now) 

On Thursday, a Nebraska lawmaker introduced a bill aimed at reducing the amount of gun violence by allowing firearms to be removed from a person found to be at risk of harming themselves or others. The Extreme Risk Protection Order Act, also known as a red flag law, would allow firearms to be removed from a person found to be by a court an extreme risk of harming themselves or others. Thirteen states enacted such laws, and last year 29 states considered the measure. LB 58, introduced by Senator Adam Morefeld, allows law enforcement to remove firearms from a person who is found by a court to be at high risk of violence.

 TOP SOCIAL MEDIA 

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