HOLOCAUST MUSEUM SHOOTING: TRAGIC EXAMPLE OF WHY GUN AMENDMENT IS A DEADLY PROPOSITION FOR DC

[Guest Linda Boyd]

HOLOCAUST MUSEUM SHOOTING: TRAGIC EXAMPLE OF WHY GUN AMENDMENT IS A DEADLY PROPOSITION FOR DC

 

“DC Councilmembers Michael A. Brown and Phil Mendelson Call for Congress

 

To Immediately Take Notice of Risk Caused By Effort to Gut DC Gun Laws”

 

 

Washington, DC – Profoundly concerned about today’s tragic shooting at the National Holocaust Memorial Museum, District of Columbia At-Large Councilmembers Michael A. Brown and Phil Mendelson expressed their deepest sympathy to the family of Museum security guard, Stephen Tyrone Johns, who was gunned down while protecting others.

 

 

“Today’s event should be a wake-up call for why we must work to fend off the controversial gun amendment that was most recently attached to the DC House Voting Rights Act, and will certainly resurface as part of future legislation,” said Councilmember Michael Brown.” Loosening the Districts gun laws is a deadly proposition.”

 

Yesterday, House leaders withdrew from consideration the DC House Voting Rights bill because of a lack of consensus among congressional and local leaders, and the inability to take up the legislation without the addition of the Ensign (R-NV) gun amendment backed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), which would gut the District’s gun laws.

 

“Congress needs no more evidence than today’s tragedy, which occurred blocks from the White House, for the justification of the District’s strict gun laws, which protect the President, Members of Congress, DC residents, and millions of tourists who travel to Washington, DC each year to visit monuments and other sites like the Holocaust Museum.” said Councilmember Phil Mendelson.

 

Both Councilmembers believe that the Ensign amendment, which eliminates the licensing and registration requirements of our current law, would create a situation in the District of Columbia where anti-government, radical groups can legally stockpile arms to use for criminal and political purposes, such as evidenced by the incident today.

 

 

The current District of Columbia gun laws allow for adequate access to guns for self and home defense. The NRA-backed amendment would loosen the District’s gun laws and permit sales at gun shows and private sales, which legally permit convicted felons, such as today’s shooter, to purchase guns. Rather than loosen our registration laws and make it easier for convicted felons to access firearms, including assault weapons and .50 caliber sniper rifles, which would be the case under the amendment, we should insist that our neighbors in Virginia and Maryland tighten their gun laws to prevent a situation such as occurred today.

 

Councilmember Michael A. Brown, who chairs of the Council Special Committee on Statehood and Self-Determination, and Councilmember Phil Mendelson, chair of the Council Public Safety and Judiciary

 

Committee, call on congressional leaders to immediately reconsider a clean DC House Voting Rights bill and urge Democrats and Republicans alike to reject the NRA’s pressure to tack on a gun rider.

 

Brown and Mendelson applaud the bravery of security officials at the Holocaust Museum who acted promptly to prevent further harm to museum visitors. “Our prayers are with the guard’s family, as well as with the visitors to the Holocaust Museum who were traumatized by today’s regrettable and senseless act of gun violence.”

[Guest LAW]

Von Brunn was in prison in North Carolina awaiting trial for the shooting. He faced the death penalty. Instead of standing trial, he died in the prison complex at the local hospital in Butner, North Carolina. He had been transferred there from the prison because of congestive heart failure, sepsis and other health problems. His health problems had complicated the legal system’s attempts to conduct psychiatric evaluations on the prisoner in preparation for his trial. He was known to have written racist and anti-Semitic rantings on the internet prior to the shooting.

 

Officials of the museum and the wounded officers expressed admiration for Officer Johns who gave his life defending people who were in the museum. One of the guards said he had mixed feelings about von Brunn’s death. He said he was glad he was gone, but wishes he had had to face his charges in court. He faced a seven-count indictment including first-degree murder, killing in a federal building, bias-motivated crime, seeking to intimidate Jewish people.

 

James von Brunn’s attorney, A. J. Kramer called his death ‘a sad end to a tragic situation’. I’m afraid that I have to disagree with Kramer’s assessment. The Holocaust shooter dying is not ’sad’ and the museum shooting was not a ‘tragic situation’. It was murder by a deranged person, pure and simple.

[Guest Human]

Basically what you "Law" and Linda are saying; Is that the residents of Washington D.C. can't be responsible with owning a gun?

 

That Anyone in Washington D.C. WILL BE VIEWED as a "Von Brunn"?

[Luke_Wilbur]

Being a resident of DC and witnessing gun battles with automatic weapons in my neighborhood has jaded my view. Too many kids and innocent people getting killed.

[Guest Paul Helmke]

Once again, we are losing too many Americans to gun violence every day. As we start a fresh year, we should freshen our resolve to change our culture and our laws regarding guns. Already this year, it is estimated that 2,100 Americans have been shot. Almost 600 of them have died by gunfire. As a nation, we need to make it a priority to take the necessary steps to protect our families and communities from gun violence.