Shortly after 9/11/01 Peter Troy, I man with a history of psychological problems and a multiple restraining orders, purchased a riffle and killed my Aunt Eileen & Father Larry Penzes as he prayed in Our Lady Peace church.
I penned a diary about it back in 2008
Eileen survived the death of two sons, a childhood of poverty and horrible abuse, but she was no match for the mad man with a semi-automatic rifle that opened fire on the parishioners of "Our Lady of Peace" church on March 13th 2002. When the smoke cleared my aunt and Father Lawrence "Larry" Penzes were dead.
I share this background to reinforce that my family has been directly touched by gun violence. Bernie Sanders has come under attack from some Democratic supporters for being “pro-gun” because he does not support providing families of gun violence victims the opportunity to sue the gun manufacture. I guess my family would fall into this category of possible claimants. While the fantasy of suing Browning for the death of my aunt might on the face of it seem swell; I know it’s a absolute non-starter. The wave of suits from all the potential cases that could be brought forward would put every gun manufacturer in the US out of business. That will never happen. The fact is; Peter troy didn’t get the mental health help he needed because we had (and still have) a broken health care system. He was able to buy a gun because the background check system we had (and still have) in place is broken. The gun itself worked exactly the way it was intended. Under current law gun manufacturers are permitted to create devices that accelerate tiny metal projectiles to lethal speeds. The gun manufacture did nothing wrong in building the gun and selling it to a licensed gun dealer. While their lobbying efforts have been hurtful to fixing the background check problem, nothing they did was illegal. So in evaluating which candidate will actually get more done on gun control the ability to sue gun manufacturer (the sole difference in gun control policy between Hillary and Bernie) doesn’t even register. It simply will never happen and probably shouldn’t. What can happen is implementing better funded, more accurate and faster background checking systems, reinstatement of the assault weapons ban, and trigger guard sales with gun purchases. I believe Clinton and Sanders will work equally hard for all these things. Past that; a single payer health care system that covers mental health is only being offered by one candidate, Bernie. Bernie is the candidate pushing for an educational system that will give everyone a chance at a higher education. Education that will improve the communities they bring those skills back home to, reducing crime and gun violence. Bernie is the strongest candidate to get a living wage for everyone who wants to work. I living wage that will make a criminal lifestyle less appealing.
So when it comes to gun violence, Bernie has my vote.