During testimony punctuated by the recollection of the death of his nephew by gun violence, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., detailed his efforts to enhance gun control at a news conference at the National Press Club.
"Most Americans already think gun trafficking is a federal crime. I have news for you, it's not," Cummings said. Straw purchasing guns, or buying them on behalf of felons and others who cannot purchase them legally, is considered a paperwork violation and draws penalties similar to those for speeding, Cummings said.
He is one of the chief advocates of the Gun Trafficking Prevention Act of 2013, which would increase the maximum penalty for straw purchasers to 20 years in jail.
"There are only two groups who should oppose this bill. Criminals and people who want to buy guns for criminals," Cummings said.
The bill has not cleared the committee stage. The Representative said he would like the full House to vote on it this summer, but acknowledged that securing its passage will be a challenge. "I've learned in 37 years of being a legislator that you just keep pushing and keep pushing."
A similar measure passed the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The National Rifle Association has proposed draft language that would significantly weaken attempts to punish straw purchasers by requiring law enforcement officials to prove that the purchaser knew the recipient of the gun was not allowed to purchase the gun or intended to use it to commit a crime, the Washington Post reports.
"It basically waters down the bill tremendously," Cummings said. "I would hope that our friends in the NRA would reconsider that."
Immediately following Cummings’s news conference, the NRA held a news conference of its own in a neighboring room that provided elaboration on its National School Shield program. The program to provide armed guards at schools was announced soon after the elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn., which left 26 dead, including 20 children.
"I wouldn't throw it out the window," Cummings said of the plan. Some Howard County schools in his congressional district employ armed guards, he said.
But Cummings believes the Newtown tragedy should advance his longtime cause as well. He described it as a "transformative moment" that should not be squandered by inaction in Congress, saying "I do believe that we survivors do not have the right to be silent."
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