Agenda 2000 - 2001

Stemming Violence in America

POLICY
The JCPA supports strong federal, state and local measures to control and reduce the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns and other non-sporting firearms and ammunition, including stricter, enforced regulation of gun dealers; expansion of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban; appropriate waiting periods to permit background checks; training and licensing of gun owners; registration of handguns; limiting handgun purchases; requiring the sale of childproof safety locks with all handgun purchases; penalties for those selling guns to juveniles; penalizing negligent gun owners if their guns are used in violent acts, especially by children; improved regulation of interstate sales of weapons; improved prosecution of those who sell or obtain firearms illegally; and community efforts to reduce the quantity of guns and ammunition on the streets. The JCPA will continue to oppose legislative "anti-violence, pro-values" initiatives, which contribute little to violence reduction and further erode church-state separation.

 

The shootings in Chicago, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh and elsewhere have been cited not only as evidence of the persistence of pockets of violent hatred in America, but also as proof of the deadly results of gun proliferation in the United States. Americans have been horrified by the specter of young adolescents walking into schools with military-style weapons, taking innocent lives. These shooting sprees highlight the dangers of easy access to guns in the United States, where sale and ownership of cars, boats, and dogs are all regulated more heavily than the sale or ownership of a deadly weapon that can take scores of lives in a matter of seconds.

We have a responsibility as Americans to work towards a more secure future for all of this nation’s children. The tragedy at the North Valley Jewish Community Center in Los Angeles, and other similar incidents, reminds the Jewish community that it cannot shelter itself from the prevalence of violence in society. Stricter gun control alone will not eradicate violence. However, such laws can be an important step in arriving at long-term solutions to this complicated problem. The JCPA and its member agencies will therefore be called upon to intensify their efforts to promote such legislation at the federal and state levels, as well as to pursue other promising national and grass-roots violence reduction initiatives.

The JCPA regrets that high-profile tragedies such as the shooting in Littleton, Colorado have provided an easy excuse to promote the unconstitutional introduction of religion into public schools and other government settings. Measures such as those that would permit the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools, or permit government-sponsored or endorsed prayer in public schools, will do little, if anything, to stem violence among American youth, and in fact violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The JCPA will continue to oppose such proposals, and to seek permanent, lasting solutions to the very real societal problems epitomized by this spate of violence.

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