May 7, 2007

The following are excerpts from the remarks of Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign & Center to Prevent Gun Violence, to the National Press Club on May 1. Helmke is the former mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana and a past president of The U.S. Conference of Mayors.

“Thirty-two people were murdered at Virginia Tech…. Every day in our country, on average, about thirty-two people are murdered with guns. When you add suicides and unintentional shootings, the death toll from guns in America each day is about eighty people.”

“Since the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, while about thirty-seven hundred of our soldiers have died overseas, over one hundred and sixty two thousand of our citizens have died from gunfire here at home.”

“Americans are not more violent than everyone else. We are not more criminal. We are not more mentally disturbed or dangerous. Our movies and video games and music may be too violent, but they aren’t much different than those in other countries… But only in America do they have such easy access to guns – and extraordinary firepower at that.”

“Some have suggested that Virginia Tech is a wake up call. But consider all of our previous wake-up calls:

• When a sixteen year old shot nine students, killing two, at a Pearl, Mississippi school in October 1997, that was a wake-up call.

• When a fourteen year old shot eight students, killing three, at a school in West Paducah, Kentucky in December 1997, that was a wake-up call.

• When an eleven year old and a thirteen year old killed five at their Jonesboro, Arkansas school in March 1998, that was a wake-up call.

• The school shootings at Edinboro, Pennsylvania, and Springfield, Oregon, and Lake Worth, Florida, and the six year old who killed his classmate at a Michigan elementary school, and the school shooting at Essex, Vermont – they were all wake-up calls.

• And Columbine. And Red Lake. And just six months ago, the Amish schoolhouse in Nickel Mines… These were all wake up calls.”

“In almost every state there is no limit on the number of guns you can buy in a single purchase… Isn’t it obvious why it is so easy for gang members to get guns on the street?”

“In most states, a felon or other person prohibited from buying guns can simply go to a gun show to an unlicensed seller, and buy any and all the guns he wants, with no identification or background check, no questions asked.”

“Uzis, AK-47s, fifty round magazines, and all manner of military hardware are wholly legal for civilians to purchase under federal law. ”

“Suspected terrorists who are deemed too dangerous to fly on airplanes are allowed to buy all the guns they desire from any dealer.”

“After 9-11, the attorney general would not let the FBI see if suspected terrorists had purchased guns. Law enforcement can no longer check approved gun sales records, as most are destroyed within 24 hours. But the government can search library records to see what books a school kid has borrowed.”

“We used to get data that showed what types of guns were used in crime and where they came from. We learned that about one percent of gun dealers were responsible for selling almost 60 percent of all crime guns. But now Congress makes that data secret....”

“Even the few laws we have are not adequately administered and enforced. The Virginia Tech killer was barred by Federal law from buying guns because he was adjudicated mentally ill and dangerous. But Virginia, like most states, didn’t send the court orders about his mental health to the police, so he could simply lie and buy.”

“Here are three things we can do:

• Number One – Comprehensively and effectively apply the Brady background check system, so no one who we want to prohibit from buying guns can legally buy one.

• Number Two – Reduce access to weaponry that is not for sport and not for self-defense.

• Number Three – Give our police and federal law enforcement the tools and resources they need to fight gun crimes, including illegal gun trafficking and corrupt gun dealers.”

“We offered fair and principled criticism of the Republican controlled Congress for weakening America’s gun laws over the past six years. We intend to be equally critical of the new Democratic Congress if they choose to ignore this crisis.”

“Gun owners need to join this conversation. Almost all gun owners are reasonable, decent Americans, and I believe they’re willing to put up with minor inconveniences like a background check if this will stop guns from getting into the wrong hands.”

“I am publicly reaching out to Mr. La Pierre and the NRA. Let’s set aside past attacks and sit down to see if we can find common ground on some steps to make our communities safer.”