The Right to Life and Guns
Why is the right to life trumped by the right to bear arms? Those believing in life should consider joining the following organizations. Their 501(c)(4) designations allow them to lobby for stronger control on ammunition and guns.
Giffords: Courage to Fight Gun Violence: Today former U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords is working to change our culture of accepting gun violence.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence: The Brady Campaign focuses on strengthening gun control laws and finding sensible solutions to end gun violence.
Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV): CSGV is a thought leader in the modern gun violence prevention movement, working tirelessly toward a future without gun violence.
Some states have laws that control ammunition and gun sales, including California which currently has or will have the following strong laws aimed at regulating ammunition:
*All licensed ammunition dealers must keep logs of bullet sales. These records help the police to identify suspects located at a crime scene. Soon California will require a “point of purchase” 
background check on those buying ammunition.
*A Federal law prohibits those who are banned from purchasing guns from purchasing ammunition as well. Despite its intent, this law is often poorly enforced.
*Enforcing the minimum age restrictions on purchasing ammunition. However many gun sellers do not check the identification cards of the buyers.
*Instituting a microstamping system to identify both bullets and guns, allowing the police a better opportunity to find those involved in crime. Opposition to this idea is pretty strong.
*Restriction on internet sales requiring bullets be mailed to licensed dealers who record the sales, and not mailed blindly to the buyer.
*A Restriction on the purchase, sale, or ownership of magazines that hold more than 10 bullets is law in California. A 100 round magazine for an AR-15 costs about $99 by mail.
Massachusetts also has among the strongest gun laws in the U.S., including many of the following:
*A license to carry a gun, and a firearms identification card is required to purchase, possess, and transport guns and ammunition.
*An individual must be 21 years old in order to purchase or own a gun.
*All guns must be stored in a locked container or equipped with a tamper-resistant mechanical lock or other safety device.
*Family members and others with a close connection to someone known to be violent may petition the court to remove weapons from this violent person. Four states—California, Connecticut, Washington and Oregon—have all passed similar “extreme risk protection orders.”
*Ban the sale of assault weapons and bump stocks. Sales should be banned in private and in Internet sales as well as those from licensed dealers.
*Nine states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Washington, DC) have all passed laws requiring universal background checks before almost all gun sales, including private sales by unlicensed dealers. These background checks apply to gun shows and have resulted in the nation’s strongest gun laws and lowest death rates. [Learn More]
If you have an opinion about these issues, make sure you vote for those who agree with you. We also encourage you to speak with the elected officials in your state.
