U. S. Senator Chris Murphy Releases New Report Detailing Extreme NRA-Backed State Legislation

Story and Photo By Paula Antolini

Today, March 5, 2013, U. S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn) released the fourth in his series of reports about gun legislation and the National Rifle Association (NRA), entitled "Pushing to the Extremes: How the Gun Lobby Advances a Radical Agenda in State Capitols Across the Country."  He described the report as "debunking the common mythology regarding the NRA." 

Murphy indicated that the reason he is releasing this report is because ever since the Sandy Hook tragedy they were hoping that the NRA would participate in "a common sense dialogue about how we change the gun laws in this country to prevent these kinds of tragedies."  He stated that in the past the NRA was always willing to talk about a change in the laws, even though the NRA took a strong stand in certain areas. Murphy said the NRA had always been willing to discuss change even as recently as the Columbine High School tragedy, when NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre said he was willing to support universal background checks. Murphy referred to LaPierre as "the very individual who now seems unhinged in most of his public statements." Murphy said the NRA has always been cooperative, but this time it is different.   

One week after the Sandy Hook tragedy, Murphy said LaPierre gave a speech Washington DC which showed that "the NRA is not what it used to be" and has become a "fringe advocacy group that is pushing policies designed to support the gun industry rather than policies designed to support common sense gun owners."

Murphy's report examines the laws that the NRA has promoted at the state level. He pointed out one law the NRA is advocating that "would allow individuals to carry guns into bars, and restaurants, and churches and sporting events."  Murphy said this is "wildly out of step with where the American public is and also out of step with where gun owners are.  Gun owners want to be able to own guns to protect themselves in their home or to shoot for a sport or to hunt but they don't all believe that you should be able to bring a gun into a crowded bar where there's obviously a potential for alcohol to mix with gun ownership in a particularly bad way, or to bring guns into a church."

Iowa and Tennessee have passed laws that allow guns in these places, Murphy said, "even though as the report shows, the majority of citizens in Iowa and Tennessee oppose those laws."  Murphy quoted an anonymous individual in Tennessee as saying, "We're not living in the 1800's. It's not like we're a bunch of cowboys. They need to leave their guns in their cars," referring to laws allowing individuals to bring guns into bars.

Murphy pointed out another law in Indiana that the NRA advocates, and said it is "the best example of how extreme the NRA has become."  

"This law amazingly would make it legal for a home owner to fire a weapon at a uniformed police officer if that individual reasonably believed that that officer didn't have a right to be in that person's home," Murphy said.  "That's crazy, and that law is completely out of step with where this country is and with where I think we can intuitively estimate most gun owners are," he said.

Murphy said that the reason the NRA is pushing a law such as this is because they want to perpetuate the mythology about the government's assault on our individual liberties because they have have a direct interest.  "Wayne LaPierre and the NRA want everyone out there to believe that the government's just a couple days away from coming and seizing all of your possessions.  By doing that they give reason for a very small number of gun owners who share that paranoia to buy large numbers of assault weapons which is right now driving the business of their most important members, which are the gun manufacturers," Murphy said.

"A lot less people own guns today than they used to. What's driving the industry is a small number of people buying a lot lot guns.  These laws and the rhetoric behind them drive the paranoia that right now feeds the gun industry,"  Murphy said.

Murphy wants people to know that if the NRA cannot even agree on something as simple as background checks in Washington DC, that in the state capitol the NRA has become even more extreme. 

Murphy stated, "Hopefully this report will be another break in the wall as we try to assemble an argument why members should do the right thing and vote for common sense gun legislation instead of listening to an organization which has largely abandoned the views of common sense gun owners."

Murphy is a leader in anti-gun violence legislation.  Murphy and six Members of Congress recently introduced the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013.  This legislation would ban certain military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.  Murphy also co-sponsored the Ammunition Background check Act of 2013.  This requires instant background checks for the sale of gun ammunition.  

NOTE:  The photo of U.S. Senator Chris Murphy in this article is a file photo from the Conference on Gun Violence with Vice President Biden last month at WCSU.  Photo by Paula Antolini