All it takes from Congress is courage

In November 2017, Sen. Feinstein and several other senators introduced a bill in the Senate titled "The Assault Weapons Ban of 2017." If passed, this bill would ban the military-style weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines from being manufactured, sold, transferred and imported. The bill was never brought up for debate and vote. The renewal of the previous ban that ended in 2004 was opposed by the NRA. How many fewer deaths would there have been if the original bill had been renewed? How many fewer deaths could be saved if our elected officials were brave enough to pass reasonable gun laws - something that is wanted by the vast majority of Americans?

I firmly believe that any elected official who does not take action to support a ban on assault type weapons for nonmilitary use holds partial responsibility for every death that is a result of their use. These so called "public servants" should recognize that not only might they have prevented the deaths of the children and heroic adults in Parkland, Florida, but they have the power to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future. All it takes is courage to do the right thing.

John Fiore

St. Charles