Letter: 'Disappointed, Frustrated' in Failed Gun Bill

Dear Editor,

Voting for Expanded Background Checks was the least the Senate could do. And, I mean that literally, it was the very least, most watered down gun bill that could have been presented. But in the words of NY’s own Senator Schumer, don’t let perfection get in the way of good. The bill was presented in a patriotic, bi-partisan way. It was smart. It was easy. At the very least, it was something. It failed.

Forty-five senators failed to do their job based on political fear and calculations about the money of special interests like the NRA, which in the last election cycle spent around $25 million on contributions and lobbying. 42 of the 45 Senators who voted against the Background Check receive money from the gun lobby.

I’m disappointed and frustrated. I’m flat-out, ticked off that Senators would so blatantly ignore 90% of Americans on a topic of community safety. I’m heart-broken for the Sandy Hook families who pleaded face-to-face with many of these Senators who blocked common-sense legislation that would have made it harder for criminals and people with dangerous mental illnesses to possess firearms. It was something. They did nothing.

I’m moving on past their spineless, cowardly act of do nothingness. I will not be deterred. I will not quit. Former Senator Gabby Giffords said is best in her NY Times op-ed piece, “if we cannot make our communities safer with the Congress we have now, we will use every means available to make sure we have a different Congress, one that puts communities’ interests ahead of the gun lobby’s.” We will go to the polls at the next elections to change the Congress, one vote at a time.

Before December 14, before those 20 precious innocents lives and the lives of 6 brave educators were brutally taken by a mentally-ill man with too many bullets, too large of ammunition magazines and a weapon designed for efficiency on a battle-field, before all that, I left activism in the hands of others and I blindly accepted that our country's leaders were working in the best interests of safer communities. I see things more clearly now. I am awake and engaged and so are tens of thousands of citizens like me. We may have lost this first battle, but it’s only been 4 months since many of our coalitions have formed and we continue to gain momentum, national media attention and the respect and support of many legislators. We will stay on and fight until our children look back in disbelief, as we do today, when we reflect about women’s suffrage and civil rights.

The game has changed. The violence is different and our federal laws must reflect a changed society. We must not accept the status quo. That’s why I support the NY SAFE ACT and created a petition signon.org/sign/rockland-county-legislature/ to counter the Rockland County resolutions against it. That's why I joined Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America atmomsdemandaction.org and helped to start a Hudson Valley Chapter. If you are outraged too, join me and we’ll make a difference together. It's the least we could do. 

Gina Daschbach
Piermont