Talking gun control in Fredericksburg, Kaine looks to Calif. for solutions

FREDERICKSBURG — Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) held an open round table discussion on preventing gun violence at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Church in Fredericksburg.

This was the second of such meetings to take place that day, the first having taken place in Richmond.

“I’m afraid that our officials have been little more than bystanders in these events,” Kaine said.

Among the participants at the meeting were Fredericksburg Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Virginia State Secretary of Health and Human Resources Daniel Carey, as well as representatives of the Fredericksburg Police Department, various community leaders and activists, as well as members of the faith community.

Several proposals and ideas were offered during the meeting such as community-based programs that would mimic the efforts of other programs such as Oakland, California’s Ceasefire program.

According to the Oakland city website, the program combines the efforts of law enforcement, social services, and community groups to strategize on how to prevent and reduce gun violence in their community.

Since the Ceasefire program went into effect in 2012, the city has seen a decrease in shootings. According to their statistics, the numbers of homicides declined from 126 in 2012 to 83 in 2015 with the lowest incidence being 79 in 2014.

Other proposals included allowing the federal government to fund research on gun violence by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The federal government is currently prohibited from funding such research due to the Dickey Amendment, a provision that was introduced by then Arkansas Representative Jay Dickey and inserted into the 1996 federal government omnibus spending bill.

The provision states that “none of the funds made available for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may be used to advocate or promote gun control.”

The provision was lobbied by the National Rifle Association and passed.

Toward the end of the meeting, the public was allowed to ask questions and make statements to the assembled participants. The question and answer session was cut short when a member of the public accused the participants of lying about the issues at hand.

The meeting was formed in response to Governor Ralph Northam calling a special session of the General Assembly on July 9 to take up gun-control legislation.

At hand are two bills regarding gun control. The first would require a mandatory background check before purchasing a gun.

The other would attempt to close the so-called “Charlestown loophole” which allows gun sellers the option to complete the sale on a gun even if the mandatory three-day waiting period required has yet to be completed.

Using this loophole, mass shooter Dylan Roof was able to obtain the weapons he used to murder several people at The Charleston Church in June 2015.

Senator Kaine is an advocate for tighter gun restrictions, particularly universal background checks.