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 … Read more
by David Safier
Ask Ron Barber to lead on sensible gun policies.
This is a personal rumination, certainly not fact, not even analysis. These are just some thoughts that have been rumbling around in my head since last night.
I went to the memorial service Sunday night held at Roberts-Naylor School. It was a somber, nonpolitical event, as it should have been. Ron Barber was one of the speakers, and what he said was low-key and appropriate.
But something struck me after he finished. There was nothing of the Congressman about him. Barber didn't approach the podium with a sense of personal importance. As he spoke, he wasn't trying to make an impression. He seemed like a guy who had a microphone placed in front of him almost by chance, like he was willingly, but reluctantly, doing something he had been asked to do.
As I followed this thought further, I realized Barber doesn't have politics in his DNA. He was Gabby Giffords' employee and was thrust into the national spotlight on January 8, 2011, then thrust into a far more glaring spotlight when he was urged to run for Gabby's unfinished term. There was a feeling of reluctance on his part when he accepted the assignment. True, he chose to run for a full term, but really, his status as Congressman is more the result of an unusual circumstance than personal choice.
For me, that explains part of Barber's reticence to jump into the middle of the discussion about gun regulation. It's said of some politicians that you risk injury if you get between them and a TV camera. Not so Ron Barber. He doesn't seek the spotlight. If he did, he would know this is his moment to become part of history.
By Michael Bryan
Ask Ron Barber to lead on sensible gun policies.
Let me preface this post by stating a few facts: I am a gun owner, I am a sportsman (though much more so when I was younger, than now), I had a concealed carry permit (when such a thing was still required in AZ), and I am a prosecutor who has seen first-hand the tragic results of guns in the wrong hands.
The growing epidemic of mass shootings in this country now stands at 62 incidents since 1982, according to a Mother Jones magazine investigation. The nexus between gun laws becoming ever-more lax and poor mental health care and invervention has been and remains a major public safety issue in this country.
Yet Congress has done almost nothing to address the very real and present danger to public safety posed by the combination of madness and easily available weapons designed to kill many people very quickly.
Our political system has become so dysfunctional that even a problem that is murdering innocents on a regular basis cannot seem to be addressed. Our policy-making systems are so captured by special interests, so riven by ideological extremism, and so paralyzed by an unconstitutional and anti-democratic super-majority requirement in the Senate, that it seems naive to even hope that our leaders can propose and pass reasonable policies to slow the carnage.
by David Safier
NOTE: Please sign the petition urging Ron Barber to "Take the lead in Congress to address the epidemic of mass shootings."
I'm taking Congressman Ron Barber's op ed in today's AZ Republic as a hopeful signal that he plans to stand up.
I am a strong supporter of the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms — but we must take action to deal with the easy availability of assault weapons and extended magazines.
We must take action to prevent people who are a danger to themselves and others from getting access to these weapons.
We must not wait any longer to address this crisis. But we must also recognize that these issues are not the only pieces in a complex problem to which there is no single answer.
Barber goes on to discuss the links between mental illness, gun availability and mass shootings:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is charged with keeping our air and water clean. Clean air and water are tied directly to public health and long-term well-being of our citiznes, so you'd think everyone would be on board with these goals.
Not so much.
Keeping air and water clean costs money. Capitalist polluters prefer low costs and high profits, and consequently, they fight EPA regulations at every level (particularly in the halls of Congress) or try to get someone else (like taxpayers) to clean up their subsequent messes.
Arizona has multiple coal-fired power plants. The EPA recently reviewed the Apache Generating Station operated by Arizona Electric Power Cooperative (AEPCO) in Cochise, Arizona and recommended extensive upgrades– like $160-200 million worth– to reduce emissions and minimize haze in Southern Arizona. AEPCO wants to make less extensive upgrades– like $21 million worth– and threatens to raise rates on consumers 20% if the EPA insists on continuing their quest for reduced emissions and haze in the valley near the Cochise Stronghold.
In a raucus public hearing, the people of Cochise County, said, "Hell, no!" to the EPA back in August. Environmental activists at this meeting were woefully outnumbered, and some were even booed when they spoke in favor of the EPA recommendation to the crowd of 250-300 people. Is it surprising that Bensonites prefer haze over the Chiricahuas? NO. What is Congressman Ron Barber's position? Keep reading after the jump.