Look to our heroes
I was honored to be endorsed by Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly yesterday — two real, true, living American heroes. They each dedicated their lives to service — the United States Congress, the United States Navy — and now have been on the path for years, selflessly giving us the courage to keep guns out of the wrong hands. And as much as we honor them, as much as we praise them, let’s be clear that not every room they walk into is a room filled with people who share their vision. They are traveling this country meeting with people, many of whom are opposed to common sense gun laws, many of whom are afraid of the NRA. And yet these two are so courageous, and in spite of the odds against them, they keep fighting, and fighting, and fighting for the ideals of our country. And that’s what makes them true patriots.
You know, some people would say when you’re critical of what’s not working in the country, then that invites a question of one’s love of country. Well, I reject that notion. I say there are two definitions of what it means to be a patriot. There’s the definition that suggests you defend your country whatever it does, and then there’s the kind of patriots that we have here today — ones who will fight each and every day for the ideals of our country. And let’s think of those ideals in this respect.
It is true to our ideals to say we will fight for justice. We will fight for a system that is fair. It is true to our ideals that when we see a false choice, we will reject it. So on the topic of reasonable gun safety laws, the false choice that is being proffered everywhere is the choice that suggests you’re either in favor of the second amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away. Well, that’s a false choice. And we have to reject that.
We have to understand that is it not reasonable, and a sign of a just society, that we might want to know before someone can buy a lethal weapon, whether they’ve been convicted of a violent offense? We just might want to know that. Is that not reasonable? Is it not reasonable to say, we just might want to know before someone can purchase a lethal weapon that they’ve been found by a court to be dangerously mentally ill? Isn’t that just reasonable? Isn’t it reasonable to say, like we have done in California, that we need to have universal background checks for the entire country? Isn’t it reasonable to say that weapons of war, assault weapons, should not be readily available in the neighborhoods, and the communities, and the streets? Is it not reasonable to say that?
Dianne Feinstein, California senator, was one of the champions to initially fight for and see passage of the assault weapons ban. But unfortunately it had a shelf life. It has since expired. We must renew that. It is in the best interest of keeping us safe, and ensuring that people who do us harm receive swift and severe accountability and consequence.
On the issue of assault weapons, I have seen assault weapons kill babies and police officers. I have friends that love to hunt. If you need an assault weapon to go hunting, you need to go back to hunting school. It’s just not reasonable. We need to renew the assault weapons ban in this country. And we need to have people who hold these positions of leadership to have courage like Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly. And for all of them who lack the courage, I say, look to your heroes, and be inspired.
