Napa Valley Register - Cooperative Efforts Can Reduce Gun Violence
January 15, 2013
By Cameron Baker
The Jan. 9 article “Gun control debate stirs Napa crowd,” covered well the gun violence prevention public forum held in Napa by our Rep. Mike Thompson to bring together law enforcement members, elected officials, mental health experts, school officials and the public to have a comprehensive discussion on how we can reduce and prevent gun violence in our community while protecting the Second Amendment rights of individuals.
The intent of the forum was to gather a wide variety of viewpoints that may help shape legislation, which will be advanced by the task force Mike is chairing in Congress. Mike indicated his strong support for the Second Amendment, and stated that several members of the task force were members of the National Rifle Association (NRA).
Mike was looking for solutions, as often the best ideas have come from the community. He extended the one-and-a-half-hour meeting by an additional hour so that 55 of the 250 people who attended could present their views. Mike was fair, balanced and very patient. He conducted the meeting in a manner in which we can all take pride in the fact that he is our Congressman.
Gun violence in our country is an extremely critical and complex issue. Hundreds of people have been killed by guns since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and now there's another shooting at Taft Union High in California. As outrageously wicked as the school shootings are, the overall gun violence problem is even greater.
According to the Brady Center, in one year almost 100,000 people in America are shot in murders, assaults, suicides or by accidents â€" almost 31,000 die and almost 20,000 are children and teens. We should all be able to agree that there are just too many victims of gun violence and we must find a solution now.
In 1993, at 101 California in San Francisco, a gunman suddenly came into our offices and others and randomly killed eight people, including very close friends. That tragedy is seared in all our memories.
The gunman had two semi-automatic assault guns with clips of 50 and would have killed more if his guns hadn't overheated. It's almost impossible to stop such an assault, as even the skilled and armed Secret Service couldn't prevent President Reagan and Jim Brady from being shot.
We are one country: the United States of America. We need to come together in a bipartisan way to make significant progress on this issue. The status quo is simply not acceptable.
Strong opinions are held by all sides so we need to reduce the level of the rhetoric and emotion so we can together forge solutions that are rational, commonsense and held by more than a majority of our citizens.
Public involvement and support is essential. As Abraham Lincoln said, “Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed.”
In his open letter in the Napa Valley Register, (also on Jan. 9), Kevin Hangman said to Thompson the real issue is: “Should citizens have the right to defend themselves?” He then asked: “Mike, do you have the courage to ask the real question and have a real discussion?”
And the answer at the forum was clearly “yes.” By holding hearings in Napa, Vallejo and Santa Rosa, and chairing the task force, Mike has been open to discussing any issues and having comprehensive, real discussions.
The ultimate question is: How can we all come together to reduce the gun violence in our country now? Other similar industrialized countries have done so, and we are certainly capable of doing so as well.
We have a responsibility, as citizens, to keep our communities and our country safe. Everyone should be a part of that discussion and bring facts and propose solutions to the table, and leave behind the rhetoric and unproductive emotions. May we succeed together in making progress now. Look forward to it.
Baker lives in Calistoga.
The intent of the forum was to gather a wide variety of viewpoints that may help shape legislation, which will be advanced by the task force Mike is chairing in Congress. Mike indicated his strong support for the Second Amendment, and stated that several members of the task force were members of the National Rifle Association (NRA).
Mike was looking for solutions, as often the best ideas have come from the community. He extended the one-and-a-half-hour meeting by an additional hour so that 55 of the 250 people who attended could present their views. Mike was fair, balanced and very patient. He conducted the meeting in a manner in which we can all take pride in the fact that he is our Congressman.
Gun violence in our country is an extremely critical and complex issue. Hundreds of people have been killed by guns since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and now there's another shooting at Taft Union High in California. As outrageously wicked as the school shootings are, the overall gun violence problem is even greater.
According to the Brady Center, in one year almost 100,000 people in America are shot in murders, assaults, suicides or by accidents â€" almost 31,000 die and almost 20,000 are children and teens. We should all be able to agree that there are just too many victims of gun violence and we must find a solution now.
In 1993, at 101 California in San Francisco, a gunman suddenly came into our offices and others and randomly killed eight people, including very close friends. That tragedy is seared in all our memories.
The gunman had two semi-automatic assault guns with clips of 50 and would have killed more if his guns hadn't overheated. It's almost impossible to stop such an assault, as even the skilled and armed Secret Service couldn't prevent President Reagan and Jim Brady from being shot.
We are one country: the United States of America. We need to come together in a bipartisan way to make significant progress on this issue. The status quo is simply not acceptable.
Strong opinions are held by all sides so we need to reduce the level of the rhetoric and emotion so we can together forge solutions that are rational, commonsense and held by more than a majority of our citizens.
Public involvement and support is essential. As Abraham Lincoln said, “Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed.”
In his open letter in the Napa Valley Register, (also on Jan. 9), Kevin Hangman said to Thompson the real issue is: “Should citizens have the right to defend themselves?” He then asked: “Mike, do you have the courage to ask the real question and have a real discussion?”
And the answer at the forum was clearly “yes.” By holding hearings in Napa, Vallejo and Santa Rosa, and chairing the task force, Mike has been open to discussing any issues and having comprehensive, real discussions.
The ultimate question is: How can we all come together to reduce the gun violence in our country now? Other similar industrialized countries have done so, and we are certainly capable of doing so as well.
We have a responsibility, as citizens, to keep our communities and our country safe. Everyone should be a part of that discussion and bring facts and propose solutions to the table, and leave behind the rhetoric and unproductive emotions. May we succeed together in making progress now. Look forward to it.
Baker lives in Calistoga.