Yoko Ono has announced she backs a plan by 550 U.S. mayors and led by the mayors of New York City and Boston to strengthen background checks for gun sales.
The campaign, called Fix Gun Checks, led by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Tom Menino, says it wants to increase the size of the gun registration database with names of those who should be rejected after background checks, including drug abusers and the mentally ill, according to the campaign's website. The group would also would require background checks on every gun purchase in the United States.
"The coalition has come together around a simple, straightforward idea: respect the rights of responsible law-abiding Americans and keep guns out of the hands of criminals, drug abusers, the mentally ill, and other dangerous people," says a statement on the Fix Gun Checks website.
In a letter dated Monday, Ono wrote, "Many lives will be saved by Mayor Bloomberg’s sensible proposal to improve background checks for the purchase of guns. I fully support Mayor Bloomberg’s wise proposal. Thank you, Mayor. We New Yorkers are all very proud of you for your wisdom and courage. With deep respect and love, Yoko Ono Lennon."
According to the group, "Under current federal law, only persons 'engaged in the business' of selling guns are required to get a license, keep paperwork, and conduct background checks." The group says buys at guns shows, through classified ads or on the internet don't require a background check. They also say experts estimate that over six million guns a year – possibly 40% of sales – are made by unlicensed private dealers and are not subject to checks.
It also said that the database for background checks, called NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System), used to conduct background checks on possible gun buyers, is missing many relevant records. The group is calling for tighter deadlines and bigger fines to get states to comply with submitting information.
In a press release Monday, the group cited the recent shootings in Arizona that included Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) as a reason why the changes needed to be made. "The shooter, Jared Loughner, was able to buy a shotgun less than a year after admitting to the U.S. Army that he was a regular drug abuser because the armed forces had not forwarded his name to NICS," the group said in a position paper explaining its proposal.
- More information: http://www.fixgunchecks.org and http://www.MayorsAgainstIllegalGuns.org.
- You can sign a petition in favor of the campaign through a link on Yoko's Imagine Peace website.
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Comments
I'm with Yoko on this one, but the NRA and there lobbyist will see that it never pass's. GOOD LUCK !!!..You'll need it.
I'm with Yoko on this one, but good luck going up against the NRA and there lobbyist, they but the kibosh on anything they feel is a threat to there freedom to Point & Shoot.
I'm with Yoko on this one, but good luck going up against the NRA and there lobbyist...they feel they have a god given right to Point & Shoot.
Well, it won't be her alone against the NRA. It'll be her and a lot of U.S. mayors. It'd be more interesting to see if the NRA does anything to mobilize against them.
It's about time. Why hasn't she done that earlier? 30 years after John's death...come on, only talking about peace, telling people to think peace, in the end selling John for peace was the wrong way after 1980.
Hope she is at least fortunate on this attempt....this should have been done first, not such fruitless attempts over 30 years. It is a shame....
Is it at all possible in your thinking that Yoko could have been protecting her young son from the same thing that killed here husband...Maybe she really was "Walking on thin ice"....think about it.
You might not be aware that John & Yoko gave a contribution to the NYPD in 1980 to help pay for bullet-proof body armor. They have ALWAYS stood up for gun restrictions, even before John was murdered.
This group is relatively new. It's also backed by a coalition of mayors, so it's not strictly a grass roots group.
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