sidleypkhermit | Entries tagged with guns

"It is not coincidence or bad luck that the number of mass shootings and the number of deaths in the United States is accelerating. As with any public health crisis, contagion spreads without adequate intervention.

"Inaction on this issue is not a neutral stance; it is contributing to the problem. It is time for all of our leaders to decide whether they are in the business of saving lives or saving the gun industry. It is time to stop the bullets."

While Florida has a three-day waiting period for handgun purchases, anyone without a felony record, domestic abuse conviction or a handful of other exceptions can walk into a gun store, wait a few minutes to clear a background check, and walk out with an AR-15-style rifle, magazines and ammunition. ...

Congress explicitly banned AR-15s and other semiautomatic rifles that fit its definition of assault weapons from 1994 to 2004.

Since that law expired 14 years ago, in most states it has been just as easy to buy an AR-15-style gun as in Florida. (Buyers can also purchase the weapon in person or online from private sellers who are not required to perform a background check — an exemption known as the “gun show loophole.”)

The Names of the Florida High School Shooting Victims