Save lives, vote yes on Question 1

By Bert Heyman, Carson City

Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016 | 2 a.m.

There is plenty of passion on both sides of the background check debate, which Question 1 on the Nov. 8 ballot in Nevada addresses. The gun lobby uses fear, intimidation, scare tactics and misinformation to get us to vote no. It believes it’s the government’s plan to confiscate all weapons, but nothing could be further from the truth. The gun safety community uses common-sense statistics to prove that in states where background check loopholes are closed, violent crimes with guns against peace officers drop 48 percent, domestic abuse incidents invoving guns drop 46 percent and the suicide rate by gun drops 48 percent.

The gun lobby would have you believe Question 1 is funded entirely by Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City. What it fails to mention is that thousands of grass-roots supporters and volunteers here in Nevada also fund and support Question 1.

TheNational Rifle Association appears to have evolved into the lobby for gun and ammunition manufacturers rather than its gun-owning membership. The gun lobby is funded by the NRA, whose board of directors includes CEOs from gun manufacturers, and they depend on gun sales to increase each year to satisfy their stockholders. It’s gun sales at all costs; the thousands of gun-violence deaths every year in America are just collateral damage. In their eyes, if a background check is required on all gun sales, gun sales will be reduced, thereby affecting their bottom line.

On the other hand, Bloomberg, the founder of Everytown for Gun Safety, profits nothing from gun legislation or gun sales. What drives a billionaire philanthropist? Causes that are near and dear to his heart, that make a difference in the world and save lives, and that will leave a lasting legacy. We need to thank and support a man or woman who is willing to take on the NRA gun lobby for the common good.

Will Question 1 stop all gun violence deaths? No one law will accomplish that, but we can make it harder for felons, dangerous criminals, fugitives, domestic abusers and those adjudicated mentally ill to purchase guns while still respecting the constitutional rights of gun owners here in Nevada. Given a choice, I stand with Bloomberg and for Question 1. The mentality of profit before human life is un-American. Vote yes on Question 1, and let’s start saving lives.