In the aftermath of the January shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, President Obama wants the country to keep talking about the importance of gun laws.
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Over the weekend, he wrote an op-ed letter to the Arizona Daily Star, the daily newspaper in Rep. Giffords' congressional district, urging for stronger enforcement of gun laws.
President Obama advocated for enforcing the laws that are already on the books, like implementing legislation that strengthened the National Instant Criminal Background Check System and improving the recording systems that states use. Obama wrote:
"Porous background checks are bad for police officers, for law-abiding citizens and for the sellers themselves. If we're serious about keeping guns away from someone who's made up his mind to kill, then we can't allow a situation where a responsible seller denies him a weapon at one store, but he effortlessly buys the same gun someplace else. Clearly, there's more we can do to prevent gun violence. But I want this to at least be the beginning of a new discussion on how we can keep America safe for all our people."
Although the president didn't offer any concrete suggestions or new legislation, this op-ed will surely bring attention to an issue that has been on the back burner in the president's term so far.
While the verdict is still out on whether the terrible tragedy in Arizona will change how we look at gun controls laws, it's good that somebody, namely President Obama, is taking a first step.
Read more at the Arizona Daily Star.
In other news: Black Polo Team Makes History With Championship Title.
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