We must be vigilant on gun restrictions

As a Virginia Tech student at the time of the massacre, I know all too well the horrible consequences of failed gun laws.

While I was not in class that day, my friend, Jeremy Herbstritt, was among the 32 killed. His loss is all the more enraging since it could have been prevented by any number of common-sense gun laws.

That is why I am grateful that my Congressman Mark Kirk, has led the fight to tighten our nation's gun laws and keep firearms out of the hands of criminals and the mentally unfit.

The Virginia Tech killer had a long history of mental illness, even before college. After he was found stalking two female students, he was declared mentally ill by the state of Virginia and it was recommended that he be committed to a mental health facility.

This declaration should have kept him from purchasing firearms. But the National Instant Check System, constantly limited and sabotaged by pro-gun groups, did not know of the ruling. Congressman Kirk voted to improve the NICS to keep such an oversight from ever happening again.

Last year, a Park Ridge gun dealer was stripped of his federal firearms dealer license by the ATF after it was discovered that he'd been selling guns to violent drug gangs.

The loss of his license should have kept him from selling them any more. But due to the "fire sale" loophole in the law, he was able to sell off the rest of his inventory as a private seller.

Those guns that he was able to sell have been linked to dozens of crimes and killings. Kirk introduced legislation to close the loophole forever.

Finally, most people would agree that if the government won't let you get on an airplane, then you probably shouldn't be able to buy a gun either. However, right now that is not the case.

A terrorist denied the opportunity to board an airplane could buy a rifle to shoot at it instead. Kirk has been instrumental in bringing the public's attention to this shocking oversight.

Gun ownership is a right. The Supreme Court recently confirmed that.

But with any right comes the obligation to exercise it responsibly. Failure or inability to do so should result in the forfeiture of that right.

Kirk knows that we must be certain only law-abiding, sane people have access to these powerful weapons. We must be vigilant; the price of failure is far too high. I saw that firsthand.

William Murphy

Des Plaines