Editorial: Guns: Enough

SPANISH VERSION
Whenever gun massacres occur and we ask ourselves why the murderer was able to purchase guns so easily, we always hear the same complains, but we are asked to be quiet and the debate is postponed.

The most recent tragedy happened on July 23. John Russell Houser, a man with a history of mental illness and political extremism went into a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana, and killed two people and injured 9 others.

Around the country, political and social leaders try to find ways to distance themselves from the easy access to the most lethal firearms, which end up in the hands of people who are not qualified to possess them and who use them to commit atrocious crimes. However, we remain vulnerable to those bullets.

In New York, illegal guns are increasingly being brought into from other states. In Los Angeles, the City Council decided this week to ban the possession of firearm magazines holding more than 10 rounds. At the federal level, in Washington two senators are asking Congress to expand background checks for those seeking to purchase firearms. But, as always, the measure thus far remains just a good intention, with not enough support to bring it to a debate and to a vote.

The problem is equally critical in our community.

Between 1999 and 2013, over 47,000 Hispanics died of firearm wounds. Two thirds of them were murdered, more than a quarter committed suicide, and the rest died by accident or at the hands of the police.

Since 2010, more than 15,000 weapons were sold throughout the country to people with criminal records because the sellers did not wait until the background check was finished.

It is almost impossible to believe that the question of protecting the citizenship from guns still draws political party lines. That is why every step to reduce gun violence is a struggle. That is why it gets worse.

We will not falter in our efforts to demand from our leaders the compassion to fight headlong the easy access to firearms. We do not want more killings.