"294 mass shootings in 274 days

[elleng]

I have been to a lot of funerals. When I was elected in 1999 as Mayor of Baltimore it was not because Baltimore was doing well, it was because we had allowed drive-by shootings to become far too commonplace—where 2, 3, 4 or 5 people lost their lives on a week-to-week basis.

We had to forge a new consensus to turn that around.

We are now 278 days into 2015 and have witnessed 294 mass shootings nationwide. We must act. As we did in Maryland, we must remind each other of the powerful beliefs we share. A belief in the dignity of every person. A belief in our own responsibility to advance the common good we share. And an understanding that we’re all in this together.

All of those beliefs are far more powerful than any lobbying effort the NRA can possibly send to a state capitol or to the United States Congress.

Regardless of which candidate you support in this race, commit today to striving for meaningful change when it comes to gun violence. Read the remarks I delivered in New Hampshire last night, and share:

http://omly.us/gun-reform-remarks

There is not another developed nation on the planet that has as big a problem with gun violence as we do. There is not another advanced nation on this planet that puts as many of its sons and daughters in coffins from violent deaths from guns.

I believe we can achieve my goal to cut gun violence in half in 10 years by implementing the following reforms, and last night I asked Senator Sanders, Secretary Clinton, Governor Chafee—all of those in our race to lead this great nation—to join me in building a new consensus. This includes:

1. A ban on the sale of combat assault weapons.
2. A requirement that every person who purchases a gun gets a license and is fingerprinted so that law enforcement will be able to quickly trace any gun used in a crime back to its source.
3. Using the full power of the federal government, refuse to buy guns from any company that doesn’t use the latest and best safety technology, like micro-stamping and internal serial numbers that cannot be defaced.
4. Make illegal gun trafficking a federal crime.

My plan also calls for safe storage laws, mandatory reporting of lost and stolen weapons, and a national gun registry: a comprehensive, centralized firearm registration system, where records would be maintained electronically and indefinitely.

These are common-sense solutions that can save lives. Read and share my Medium op-ed, my speech from New Hampshire last night. Make sure your friends—supporters of me, Secretary Clinton or Senator Sanders—commit to meaningful gun safety reform.

It doesn't matter who you support in this race—common-sense gun reform is something we should all fight for. For the children who died in Newtown, for the teenagers and educators who died years ago at Columbine, for the three-year-old who fell victim to gunfire in the backseat of her mom's car in Ohio, for the victims of a shooting we may see tragically next week, next month. Maybe tomorrow.

Let's act now.

Thank you,

Martin O'Malley'

[Fred Sanders]

1. ONE picture of the aftermath of the Sandy Hook massacre or Oregon or any...the conversation would

change.

ONE picture of what bloody carnage one gun can do as it rips flesh and bone and maims and kills with such efficiency and ease.

Why are these pictures suppressed? Do not tell me dozens do not exist. They do but are not even mentioned.

Would this offend the gentle sensibilities of gentle America where you can turn on a TV for an hour and witness moving pictures of carnage of all kinds?

If fetuses are human beings for which the GOP has no problem with showing gruesome pictures of these dead "babies"....then what is the objection to gruesome pictures of older children slaughtered by guns?

Gun death and mayhem is gruesome beyond imagining. Daily happening in America....and look, ma, still no terrorist killings at all - other than the daily terrorism of The Gun.