Gabby Giffords: Universal Background Checks Not Enough; Oregon Needs More Gun Control

Gun control proponent Gabby Giffords met with Oregon “law enforcement leaders” at the YWCA in Portland on Friday to contend that the universal background checks instituted last year and the closure of the “gun show loophole” in 2000 are not enough; more gun control for Oregon is needed now.

According to KGW, Giffords looked beyond background checks to gun storage requirements and expanded bans on gun ownership for people with certain mental health problems. Giffords said, “Stopping gun violence takes courage. The courage to do what’s right. The courage of new ideas. We must never stop fighting.”

It is important to notice Oregon’s slow but steady slide toward California-style gun control. In 2000, the state instituted a law requiring background checks for every gun sold at a gun show, thereby closing the so-called “gun show loophole.” But in April 2015, Everytown for Gun Safety argued that the gun show requirement had not gone far enough; they contended that it should be applied to every gun sold in the state–whether the gun is sold privately or via retail. Giffords and her husband joined Everytown in pushing for universal background checks, and they were signed into law on May 11, 2015.

Now, less than a year later, Giffords is back in Oregon suggesting universal background checks are not enough. She believes new bans on gun possession and mandates for gun storage must be added.

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.