Gun Control Group Exploits Shootings that Background Checks Couldn’t Stop

On August 11 Sandy Hook Promise founder Nicole Hockley pointed to the Lafayette theater shooting and the August 9 shooting in Ferguson as justifications for more gun control.

She did not not mention that alleged Lafayette gunman John Russell Houser passed a background check for his gun while alleged Ferguson gunman Tyrone Harris used a gun that had been stolen in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, in 2014.

In other words–background checks could not and did not stop either incident from occurring, but Hockley exploited both incidents to push gun control nonetheless.

Writing in Politico Magazine, Hockley referenced losing a child in the Sandy Hook attack and said she meets with other families who have lost members to gun violence and they ask, “How will we stop this?”

Hockley’s answer:

Sadly, we’re not yet stopping it. Gun violence goes on unabated. In late July another shooter entered an American movie theater, this time during the showing of comedian Amy Schumer’s movie, “Trainwreck,” in Lafayette, Louisiana, and killed two people, injuring nine others. Afterward, Schumer and her cousin, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), announced they were teaming up to push for new gun-safety legislation. More shootings erupted across the country this week, starting in Ferguson, Missouri, which was placed under a state of emergency on the anniversary of the killing of Michael Brown.

Again–the alleged gunman in Lafayette passed a background check for his gun. Moreover, he committed his heinous act in a gun-free movie theater, a venue with 100 percent gun control–just like Sandy Hook Elementary. But the combination of background checks and 100 percent gun control proved impotent to stop a man with criminal intent.

In Ferguson, Fox News reported that Harris allegedly opened fire on police with a stolen gun. Background checks were in place, but just like Adam Lanza at Sandy Hook, Harris got around the checks with a firearm that was stolen.

What new law does Hockley suppose would be sufficient to stop people who meet all the gun control criteria and then commit a crime anyway and people who use stolen guns, thereby rejecting all gun controls to begin with?

It is interesting to note that Hockley’s gun control group–Sandy Hook Promise–is the group for which Tim McGraw held a fundraiser on July 17.

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.