Anyone falsely portraying this gun control debate is ‘trying to sell you something’

The Brady Campaign has been among the many voices demanding gun regulations in America. KIRO Radio’s Jason Rantz wonders if that means gun control and banning firearms.

“There is a very specific type of gun that we want banned – none of them,” said Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign. “All we are trying to do is keep guns out of the hands of people we all agree that shouldn’t have them. Whether you love or hate guns, you agree that a convicted violent criminal, domestic abuser, someone who is dangerously mentally ill, or a would-be terrorist should not be able to get their hands on guns.”

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The Brady Campaign was formed after the shooting of Jim Brady during an assassination attempt on then-President Ronald Reagan. Brady and his wife Sarah have since worked to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. And that’s a distinction that Gross stresses, especially on a contentious issue that has people continuously arguing over gun control.

“Anyone portraying this as a debate between the Second Amendment and people who want to take that right away, they are trying to sell you something,” Gross said. “Specifically, they are trying to sell you more guns. They know good and well that we can prevent a lot of tragedies, not all of them, but a lot of the tragedies that are happening just by keeping guns out of the wrong hands.”

Rantz pressed Gross if that meant what is commonly referred to in gun control circles as “weapons of war,” and targeting them.

“What we are focused on is every kind of gun,” Gross said. “Every gun is capable of killing in the wrong hands, or capable of recreation or defense in the right hands.”

“Whether it’s an assault weapon or a handgun, we are focused on keeping those guns out of the hands of the people we all agree shouldn’t have them,” he said. “Rather than focusing on taking certain guns away from all people, we are focused on keeping all guns away from certain people.”

For example, Gross points to domestic abusers or convicted violent criminals who should be denied firearms in the country. He said there are laws that bar them from owning a gun, yet there are loopholes that are abused.

“We have no way of enforcing those laws because right now that convicted domestic abuser can go into a gun show and buy a gun – no questions asked,” he said.

Gross also points his finger more directly at what he calls “bad apple” gun stores, such as Chuck’s Gun Shop outside of Chicago. It is not proven that the gun store has engaged in criminal activity. But Gross alleges otherwise.

“Chuck’s Gun Shop and Pistol Range, right outside of Chicago, right over the city limits,” Gross said. “Chicago did a crime gun trace report, that showed in five years Chuck’s sold 1,500 guns that were recovered on the streets after a crime. The average gun dealer in the area sold an average of three crime guns.”

“They know what they are doing,” he said. “They are not some big gun store, they are either selling guns to gun traffickers, to straw purchasers or selling them off the books and reporting them lost or stolen. We have yet to prove that in a court of law, but it is certainly way too striking for anybody to think it is a coincidence.”

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