Barber: “The time for talk is over. We have to act.”

by David Safier

Please sign the petition to encourage Ron Barber to take a lead on common sense gun laws.

In his strongest statements yet, Congressman Ron Barber has made it clear, he, along with Raúl Grijalva, stands for common sense gun laws as well as better ways to address problems of mental illness.

The massacre of 20 young children in Connecticut is moving Congress toward action to prevent the next mass shooting.

That's the view of Tucson's two congressmen, Democrats Raúl Grijalva and Ron Barber, who said Monday they support banning the sale of so-called "assault rifles" as well as high-capacity magazines.

They also called for action to help address mental illness.

"I think we have to stop talking about doing something and actually do something," said Barber, who was wounded in the mass shooting in Tucson on Jan. 8, 2011.

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Grijalva and Barber say especially deadly weapons and components such as the ones used in Newtown, Conn., and in Tucson must be taken off the market, even though millions of the guns and magazines are already in private hands.

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"We can't wait for another tragedy to deal with this," Barber said. "I don't want this to happen in any other school, with any other children."

Barber also wrote an oped in the Star which is a stronger version of what he wrote for the Republic on Sunday. I'm encouraged by Barber's increasingly direct statements on the issue and hope we will see and hear him as a strong and frequent national voice.

Today's Star gives a great deal of coverage to the movement toward curbing some of the excesses the NRA and the deep-pocketed supporters of the gun industry have managed to push through over the years. It also published a strong editorial. Kudos to the Star for giving Tucson the information it needs on the issue.