Public agrees: Next step is gun control

By Celinda Lake and Joshua Ulibarri
December 15, 2012

Quite frankly, thoughts and prayers can only go so far. They have limited ability to protect our families. The time has come for our elected leaders – including President Barack Obama – to stand up and fight for our families and children, and their safety ...

The “Fix Gun Checks Act,” if passed, would make it tougher for the mentally ill to legally buy guns by strengthening background checks so people like James Holmes (the Aurora shooter) can’t acquire guns. Ninety percent of Americans want to fix gaps in government databases that allow the mentally ill or drug users from buying guns. Even gun owners support the laws.

Eighty-two percent of gun owners (National Rifle Association and non-NRA members) believe that a criminal background check should be required for anyone purchasing a gun, according to data released by Republican pollster Frank Luntz for Mayors Against Illegal Guns earlier this year, 76 percent of gun owners support prohibiting people on the terrorist watch list from buying guns, 80 percent support mandatory gun safety training for anyone applying for a concealed permit, and 78 percent of gun owners believe that concealed permits should only be granted to applicants who have not committed violent misdemeanors.

The NRA, which fights against all this, is out of touch — even with its own membership. Its power to dictate this debate has to be challenged ...

http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2012/12/15/public-agrees-next-step-is-gun-control/