On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed a bill extending the law that bans plastic guns, or guns not traceable with a metal detector. The law was originally created in 1988, but given recent events like the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, there was a greater push for more intense regulations to be tacked onto the bill. However, Democrats let the bill move forward as-is in order to ensure that it would in fact get its 10-year extension.
Protestors and anti-gun activists are impatiently waiting for new legislation on gun control to be passed, but Congress lacks the same sense of urgency. “If we only define ourselves by this Congress, we’re in trouble because they don’t do anything,” said Joshua Horwitz, the executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. “You have to look at this issue in terms of overall congressional dysfunction.”
Many people are now looking forward to the 2014 mid-term elections as an opportunity for action. “I think the 2014 elections are completely key,” Horowitz said. “People are sick of it and I think people are energized at the state and local level.”
