Marin lawmakers renew calls for gun control action after Orlando massacre

June 13, 2016

A day after the American-born son of Afghan immigrants shot and killed 49 people in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Marin’s representatives in state and federal government called for renewed efforts to pass tougher gun control laws.

“It is time to get assault weapons off our streets once and for all,” said Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-San Rafael, speaking Monday at a San Francisco press conference along with other Assembly members backing gun control legislation pending in the state Legislature.

Omar Mateen, the alleged shooter in Orlando, used an AR-15-type assault rifle, which is capable of firing off many rounds of ammunition very quickly with a high degree of accuracy. The same type of rifle was used to gun down 20 children and six adults in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012 and to kill 12 people and wound 70 in an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater earlier that same year. It is also one of the weapons used by Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik in December when they killed 14 people in San Bernardino.

Levine and Assemblyman Phillip Ting, D-San Francisco, introduced Assembly Bill 1664, legislation that would expand the state’s assault weapons ban to include firearms that have an ammunition feeding device that can be easily removed from the firearm with the use of a tool.

“Taking away the bullet button will make these weapons less lethal, it slows down the attacker’s ability to reload magazines full of ammunition,” Levine said, referring to the button that allows a shooter to remove a magazine by pressing it with the tip of a bullet or other small tool.

That bill and four others related to gun control are expected to be voted on by the state Senate Committee on Public Safety on Tuesday.

Regarding AB 1664, Levine said, “I feel optimistic. We’ve proven that we have the votes. Now it’s a race to the governor’s desk to ask for his signature.”

Rep. Jared Huffman, D- San Rafael, is anything but optimistic, however, that the Orlando massacre will cause the Republican leadership in Congress to change its mind on gun control.

“I’ve been co-sponsoring a full range of bills from seemingly simple measures like closing terrorist watch list loopholes on background checks to more aggressive measures like banning assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips,” Huffman said. “But none of these have been allowed a debate or a vote under current management in Congress.”

Huffman said he expects Republicans, who control both houses of Congress, to react to the tragedy in Orlando with the same empty symbolism they have demonstrated following other recent mass shootings.

“It happens every time,” Huffman said. “I can guarantee you that some time this week the Florida delegation will gather on the floor, the Speaker will gavel the House to order, someone will offer their thoughts and prayers, there will be a moment of silence and that will be the end of it. They are just completely immune to these slaughters.”

Huffman said an upwelling of action by voters is the only hope for a different result.

Dale Mensing of Garberville, Huffman’s Republican opponent in the upcoming Nov. 8 election, said, “I’m horrified like everyone else — all those innocents just trying to live their lives. We’re certainly in a different time now that these kind of things keep happening.”

But Mensing, a cashier at Shop Smart Foods in Redway, said he opposes banning assault rifles, “Because if guns are outlawed then only outlaws will have guns.”

“It’s just an understood fact that if someone wants a gun like that they’re going to get one,” Mensing said. “They’re available on the black market. Making them illegal is a violation of the Second Amendment.”

Greg Allen, Levine’s Republican opponent in the November election, could not be reached for comment. When interviewed in May, Allen said he opposed AB 1664.

“It’s an effort to outlaw all guns,” Allen said then, “and I’m definitely not in favor of that.”

Donald Trump, the Republican party’s prospective nominee for president, reacted to the Orlando shooting by asserting that it proved the wisdom of his call for a ban on Muslim immigration.

Earlier this year, Levine introduced Assembly Joint Resolution 39, which calls on members of Congress to speak out against and reject efforts to prohibit Muslims from immigrating to the United States.

Levine said Monday, “Please know that Muslims are welcome in California with open arms.”

Jennifer Malone, executive director of the Spahr Center, the nonprofit that combined the Marin AIDS Project with the Spectrum LGBT Center, said Monday, “We have heard from people today asking about how they can donate to people in Orlando. In our community and across the country, we are holding the people of Orlando in our thoughts and hearts.”

Malone said the Spahr Center is forwarding donations to Orlando. Anyone interested in making a donation may contact the Spahr Center by visiting thespahrcenter.org or by calling 415-457-2487.


Source: by Richard Halstead