\nThe Second Amendment Foundation and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has proposed a national commission to study the causes of violence. Rather than focus solely on the tools, i.e., guns, they are proposing to find the root cause of why you have people go so far off the rails as in Aurora or Newtown. I think this is a much more valuable approach to the tragedy in Newtown than passing more laws that will never stop a madman but might prevent the good people from defending themselves.<\/p>\n
\n
BELLEVUE, WA \u2013 Two leading national gun rights organizations are calling
\n for the creation of a national commission to study the causes of
\nviolence in America, and offer possible preventive measures.<\/p>\nThe Second Amendment Foundation and Citizens Committee for
\nthe Right to Keep and Bear Arms said that a national dialogue on
\nviolence has already begun in the wake of the Sandy Hook school tragedy,
\n but that a national commission would be more able to address the
\ncomplexity of this dilemma.<\/i>
\n <\/p>\n\u201cIf we don\u2019t identify and get at the root causes of
\nviolence,\u201d said CCRKBA Chairman Alan M. Gottlieb of Bellevue,
\nWashington, \u201cit won\u2019t matter how many guns you ban, you will still have
\nviolence. There were no guns around when Cain slew Abel, and throughout
\nrecorded history, mankind has engaged in considerable violence. Only in
\nthe past two centuries have firearms played a historic significance.\u201d<\/i>
\n <\/p>\n\u201cConnecticut already has laws regulating firearms and even
\nmodern semi-automatic rifles,\u201d noted SAF President Joseph Tartaro of
\nBuffalo, New York. \u201cThey did not prevent what happened in Newtown, any
\nmore than Norway\u2019s laws, or Germany\u2019s or Russia\u2019s prevented some of the
\nrecent mass murders in those countries.<\/i>
\n <\/p>\n\u201cIf the public policy debate which is sure to follow,\u201d
\nTartaro continued, \u201cfocuses solely on gun law solutions and ignores all
\nthe other key questions, we will have done a disservice to the memories
\nof all the victims of such madness in Connecticut, in Colorado, in
\nOregon, or anywhere else.\u201d <\/i>
\n <\/p>\nBoth gun rights leaders noted that violence is a problem in the United States, and \u201cwe need to solve it.\u201d<\/i>
\n <\/p>\n\u201cGun owners are like anyone else,\u201d Gottlieb observed. \u201cWe
\nhave families, we have children and grandchildren. We want to keep them
\nsafe. We walk the same streets as any other citizen, and many gun owners
\n have decided to protect themselves and their families. Our rights as
\ngun owners should not be sacrificed in the interest of providing the
\nillusion that \u2018something\u2019 is being done.<\/i>
\n <\/p>\n\u201cAny meaningful discussion on violence,\u201d Gottlieb added,
\n\u201cwould need to include mental health, violent video games, television
\nshows and films, media malpractice that sensationalizes violence and the
\n dangerously false sense of security created by so-called \u2018gun-free
\nzones\u2019.\u201d<\/i>
\n <\/p>\n\u201cIf we have a debate,\u201d Tartaro concluded, \u201clet\u2019s make it a broad and meaningful one.\u201d<\/i>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n