Another mass school shooting breaks our hearts. Yet Congress refuses to legislate universal background checks that most Americans want.

A June 2016 CNN/ORC poll found that “92 percent of respondents wanted expanded background checks, 87 percent supported a ban for felons or people with mental health problems and 85 percent would ban people on federal watchlists from buying guns. Among Republicans, that number was 90 percent.”

Don’t blame NRA members. The NRA leadership is now controlled by gun manufacturers hell-bent on selling as many guns as possible to anyone who has the price. Their first tactic is to fund Congress members. These include Dave Reichert, Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Dan Newhouse.

Second, they aggressively spread misinformation. For example, they claim all we need to do is enforce current laws. Their dirty little secret is that they successfully lobbied congress for the 1978 Tiahrt Amendments which hamstrings the ATF and FBI from enforcing our laws.

According to the CDC, the were over 34,000 US gun deaths in 2014. That’s the equivalent of two jet airliners crashing every week and killing 325 passengers each time. Would that get their attention? Then why not these gun deaths?

Please email your Senators and Congressional Representative, or call their local offices. Ask them to introduce legislation that would eliminate roadblocks to effective universal background checks. Almost everyone agrees that guns do not belong in the hands of convicted felons, terrorists and the mentally ill.

Peter D. Bullard

Snoqualmie