Agreeing With Ted Nugent's Brother On Background Checks

Most of my relatives have guns and love to hunt.  I think that is fantastic and support them 100%.  I read an article, by Ted Nugent's brother Jeffrey, which is very thoughtful and well written.  It appears in today's Washington Post .  Jeffrey Nugent is listed as the former president and chief executive of Revlon.  The article is titled, "Jeffrey Nugent says his brother Ted Nugent is wrong on background checks".

Mr. Nugent states, "'I believe strongly that expanding and improving mandatory background checks will keep a lot of people who aren’t entitled to Second Amendment rights from having easy access to guns. As of today, a convicted felon can find a gun show or a private seller and buy a firearm without a background check. That loophole should be closed. Every gun transaction must include a thorough background check. Why would responsible gun owners want to protect people who threaten not only our safety but our gun rights?"

Mr. Nugent goes on to say, "The NRA has it wrong: Irresponsible gun owners are bad for everyone. If you shouldn’t have access to a gun, then there should be no way for you to access a gun! Can anyone argue with that?

Consider the mentally ill, one of the biggest threats to firearm safety. How do we preserve their rights to health privacy while keeping firearms out of their hands? It’s a huge concern, given the role mental illness has played in recent gun-violence tragedies. While some states have made progress, it’s far from universal.

But convicted felons, people with restraining orders against them and those with a history of mental illness can still find ways to purchase weapons. No one should stand for this."

According to another article that appeared in April in the Washington Post (that is often quoted):

 "Nine in 10 Americans support expanding background checks on gun purchases in a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, an extraordinary level of agreement on a political issue and a finding that’s been duplicated in nearly every major public poll. "
 

The actual number is 91% of ALL Americans want background checks.  Of course this makes sense. But, as we all know, most politicians do not listen to the American people, they listen to what affects their wallets.  What affects their wallets is donors and lobbyists.  Most politicians are scared to death of the NRA and afraid that they will be "scored by the NRA" or "primaried" and lose their jobs and thus their income.

It has been stated by some pundits that it certainly appears that the NRA was for background checks until President Obama was for background checks:

"New York magazine, in a January 2013 story, dug up the advertising campaign LaPierre mentioned in his testimony. Titled "Be reasonable," the NRA ads that ran in national newspapers said, "We think it's reasonable to provide for instant checks at gun shows just like at gun stores and pawn shops. But what's unreasonable is how the proposed Lautenberg legislation ignores the 250,000 prohibited people, like felons, who've walked away from gun stores — instead of being prosecuted for a federal felony for trying to buy a gun."

Mr. Nugent ends his well written article with, "Let’s see if the NRA and its new leaders step up and do what is right. If not, it will get done without them. We all have a role here, especially to protect our children. Who is going to be the voice for them?

This requires nothing less than a major culture shift. It’s been done before. We just have to do it again."

Mr. Nugent is partially right.  It will require an organization that has the money and leadership that the NRA has and is in it for the long haul.   Maybe "Mayors Against Illegal Guns" can do it.  We'll see....