Update
Five years ago, today — February 27, 2024 — we were awash in thoughts and prayers from another deadly assault on the American conscience.
And what did we do about it? Not enough.
But not nothing.
Two years ago — June, 2022 — the *Bipartisan Safer Communities Act* passed by majorities in the House (234-193) and Senate (65-33) and was signed into law by President Biden.
The law:
• Expanded background checks for gun sales by commercial firearm dealers to include private sales and transfers between individuals, with some exceptions.• Provides grants to states that implement "red flag" laws, which allow authorities to temporarily remove firearms from individuals deemed a danger to themselves or others.• Created a new federal offense for strawman purchasing, where someone buys a gun for someone else who is prohibited from owning one.• Strengthened penalties for gun trafficking and strawman purchasing.• Expanded the definition of "domestic violence" for gun restrictions to include dating partners and expanded background check requirements for individuals convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors.• Increases funding for school-based mental health services and expanded training for school personnel.• Expanded access to mental health services through telehealth for Medicaid and CHIP recipients.• Provides funding for community-based violence intervention programs.• Provides funding for states to develop and implement crisis intervention programs.• Created a federal clearinghouse on school safety evidence-based practices.• Provides funding for research on gun violence prevention.
We can continue our advance out of gun cult savagery by electing people who will lead that march — see, for example, the leadership of Florida Member of Congress Maxwell Frost ... the first Gen Z Member of Congress but certainly not the last.
Look, nobody loves the manifest falseness of tea and sympathy. William Barclay got it right: "What use is sympathy without some attempt to turn that sympathy into practical effect?"
