When the subject of gun control legislation comes up, those who clamor that it didn't work before point to the failures. There are no headlines when regulation works, there is no acknowledgement of its success. How could there be any headlines — the angry, disturbed, or criminal person didn't get a weapon and no shootings occurred. Successes of the ban are invisible.
We don't know how many were saved by the previous ban, nor how many will be saved by any action taken now. We only know how many are doomed by the inaction of our representatives.
It is time to ban weapons designed for war, ban large capacity magazines, require universal background checks, greater penalties for gun trafficking, improvements in mental health care, and greater care so as not to desensitize our young people to violence (video games and movies).
Even with an all-of-the-above approach, there will be failures, and some will say, "See it didn't work." But you know that there will be more successes than failures if our representatives act.
— William Harbin
Anchorage