Mass shootings, politics, and the NRA

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/04/04/2009-04-04_who_is_jiverly_voong_aka_jiverly_wong_co.html

Jiverly Voong/Wong - said to be Viet but a strange name - probably a pseudonym. I don't know when we will finally tire of these attacks enough to force our leaders to stand up to the NRA and regulate arms better. Just this year (and we're only in April) more people have died from mass shootings than the year of Columbine. We don't have to be Germany, but I don't think it's a stretch to make it harder to own a gun than obtaining a driver's license.

Despite all the attacks, the Obama admin. (despite earning an "F" rating from the NRA's PAC) is too gutless/preoccupied to even challenge Congress to restore the Brady Bill (assault weapons ban). I have no idea why the NRA is so powerful, but they even have ultra-liberal Pelosi from SF (a city that tried and failed to ban handguns in a recent vote, similar to the DC law that was struck down by the High Court last year) eating out of their hand.

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/some-obama-promises-get-punted-2009-04-02.html
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/reid-joins-pelosi-in-opposing-weapons-ban-revival-2009-02-26.html

The administration official said the White House has tried at every turn to fulfill the five-day comment promise, but some timing issues have surfaced on select legislation. The president has not publicly broken his promise to reinstate the assault-weapons ban, which is strongly opposed by the National Rifle Association. Still, the administration has taken a hands-off approach.

When Attorney General Eric Holder discussed the reinstatement of the ban in late February, the White House deferred comment to the Justice Department. Newsweek reported recently that White House aides subsequently told Justice Department officials to drop the issue. Even if Obama were to pursue the gun ban, it doesn’t have the votes to pass Congress.

-TheHill.com
So if we can't even stop semi-automatic military weapons from sale in some states, I doubt we can do much on concealed handguns. The GOP said that in the War on Terror, sometimes civil liberties have to be curtailed in the name of public safety/national security. Same goes for gun violence then; it may be our Constitutional right to bear arms, but not at the expense of public good. And it's getting even worse when thousands of American arms are being smuggled into Mexico to fuel their drug violence that has claimed thousands. Legitimately or not, our government and its affiliates have given/sold arms to conflicts around the world too, sometimes arming both sides. The US has jostled with Russia for top arms dealer status since WWII.

NRA background:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29953973/
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/6/27/supreme_court_strikes_down_dc_handgun

Gun control activists say they are baffled by the sway the gun lobby has over Congress. They argue the NRA no longer dictates election outcomes and that the group inflates its own importance.

"They operate on the principle of fear. They're trying to hold some mythical power from the early '90s over the heads of leadership that I think is totally irrelevant to what's going on today, but still has some long legs," said Paul Helmke of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Helmke said NRA's recent efforts to demonstrate its clout are partly "a sign of desperation. They realize this is probably their last gasp in terms of trying to be the force that they used to be."
-MSNBC.com