Conyers urges legislation to prevent gun violence in wake of Giffords shooting

Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., ranking minority member of the House Judiciary Committee, is calling on Congress to take action on gun control in the wake of the January shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz.

At a March 14 Newsmaker, Conyers advocated checks on gun buyers, standing up to the National Rifle Association and a reenactment of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, which expired in 2004.

"Gun violence takes more lives than the two wars," the Detroit lawmaker, second longest serving in the House, said. "I had thought at last we reached the point to come to some improvement in (limiting) magazine clips capacity, automatic weapons, gun show loopholes, and checks on everybody who buys guns to make sure they are not prohibited. But that has not happened. There have been over 2400 gun deaths since the Giffords tragedy."

Asked about the NRA’s influence, Conyers responded, “The NRA is the most powerful lobby of all — inhibiting, difficult to overcome. There are things we can do to escape the wrath of the NRA. This isn't about the second amendment anymore. Gabrielle Giffords' shooting is the main reason we can reexamine this issue."

Conyers praised President Barack Obama's recent Arizona Daily Star editorial calling for legislative action on gun control, saying it might help with gun checks and magazine capacity.

The Detroit Democrat also commended former Vice President Dick Cheney, who recently endorsed reduced magazine capacity. "Thre are some things Dick Cheney and I agree on,” Conyers said.

Conyers, though, said Obama had more work to do on other issues.

"I'm sure he realized what he was getting into," Conyers said. "He tried to close Guantanamo; he was against tax cuts to the wealthy; we keep getting a longer and longer list of things that he wanted to do, wished he could do, and of course is having a big problem. The only thing that saves him, of course, is there doesn't seem to be anybody to run against him next year."

Conyers called on Obama to focus more on job creation.

"It's one things I'm trying to get the president to move on," Conyers said. "He's a little slow, though. The economy might have bottomed out, but with a high employment rate, very little has come to places like Detroit, where the unemployment rate is 38 percent."

He defended health care reform, saying that although it did not address all the problems, it provides "a platform to move forward."

"The recent debate on health care has obscured the truth that the bill has over 60 good reasons to support it, including provisions covering pre-existing conditions, providing care to children though age 26, and raising the income limit Medicaid covers," Conyers said. "However, we still need a single payer approach to solve the crisis of health care and cost.”