Again, Gun Ban Advocates Use Mass Murder to Push Gun Control

Christina Bellantoni and Katelyn Polantz have this story on PBS.org on how talk has turned to gun control after the mass murders in DC at the Navy Yard yesterday.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., an advocate for gun control since the assassinations of San Francisco's mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk in 1978, went there.

"Congress must stop shirking its responsibility and resume a thoughtful debate on gun violence in this country. We must do more to stop this endless loss of life," she said Monday.

Reports are that the shooter entered the Navy Yard with a shotgun purchased in Lorton, VA, and later took an AR-15 and handgun from one or more of his victims.  It has also been reported that he was a federal contractor, and that he had previous run-ins with the police. 

So, if he was a federal contractor, apparently he was not prosecuted on the previous charges, or at least not with a charge that barred him from legally purchasing a firearm or holding a federal job because contractors go through the same background checks that federal workers are required to undergo.  It would appear, based on what we know at this time, this is not an issue of gun laws being to lenient, but of a criminal justice system that once again let someone slip through the cracks that should have been stopped long ago (as far back as 2004), whether for violations of the law, or for other issues that have come to light after the shooting.

Hat tip to From the Barrel of a Gun.