Last week in the Judiciary Committee, we voted to advance the Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act and a new Assault Weapons Ban. We have to ban the deadly weapons of war that have been used in mass shooting after mass shooting.

 

It was hard to listen to the Republican arguments against these bills. They kept trying to poke holes in single provisions and nitpick the bill to death while ignoring the obvious truth: assault-style rifles are the weapon of choice for mass shooters because of the efficiency and ease with which they allow an individual to kill – really destroy and tear apart innocent human beings. These are weapons of war.

 

Republicans need to know that Americans overwhelmingly agree that military-style assault weapons have no place on our streets. Please add your name to my petition to show you agree >>

We must stop pretending that we need such a high level of firepower to defend our homes. These types of guns aren’t necessary to satisfy people’s need for self-defense; they only satisfy people’s power trips.

 

The gun lobby has Republican politicians wrapped around its fat little trigger fingers. Overcoming that level of entanglement won’t be easy, John. But it’s necessary in order to protect our children and save lives in our schools, places of worship, grocery stores and everywhere people gather.

 

We have a chance to outlaw the most dangerous weapons on our streets, the weapons of choice that mass murderers use to kill children in schools. We need to put aside the nonsense and just do it.