There were fireworks at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence today when Democrat and gun control advocate Illinois Sen. Dick Durban decided to puncture one of the key talking points delivered by NRA bigwig Wayne LaPierre. The bottom line on LaPierre and the NRA’s position on gun regulation is: Just Say No To Any New Laws or Regulation. And that includes what many had (incorrectly) assumed would be one of the most basic changes both sides could agree on, the need for more extensive background checks.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.