Democratic presidential contender O’Malley calls for stricter gun laws
Democratic presidential contender Martin O'Malley is calling for the end of legal immunity for firearms dealers who sell to mass shooters without background checks.
To help sell the proposal the former Maryland governor held a press conference Wednesday at the College of Southern Nevada with Sandy and Lonnie Phillips. The couple's daughter, Jessica Ghawi, was one of a dozen killed in the mass shooting in an Aurora, Colo., movie theater in 2012.
The parents sued the firearms dealer who sold the gunman 4,000 rounds without a background check, only to have their case thrown out under a federal law that gives dealers immunity.
That came after they found out the shooter bought the ammunition over the Internet without even needing to show identification.
"We were appalled and we were angry and we filed suit ... not for money but to change their business practices that would make us all safer," Sandy Phillips said.
They now owe the company more than $200,000 in legal fees.
O'Malley's platform also includes banning assault weapons, requiring universal background checks with fingerprinting, and using the buying power of the U.S. government — the industry's largest customer — to require more safety technology. Examples include micro-stamping bullets to trace them back to the gun that was used in a crime, and serial numbers on firearms that cannot be erased.
He also wants to make trafficking illegal firearms a federal felony.
O'Malley said the firearms industry has muscled its way into immunity.
"It's not right," he said. "It shouldn't be allowed."
The Phillips said national reforms are needed because states with weaker laws create loopholes that allow people to gain firearms.
The parents attended the debate on Tuesday in Las Vegas for Democratic presidential contenders, when O'Malley spoke of them and the need for better laws.
The Phillips, from San Antonio, Texas, travel throughout the country in a trailer, talking about the need to reform gun laws to prevent gun violence.
They own firearms and, like O'Malley, stress they aren't out to ban firearm ownership for hunting.
Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904. Find him on Twitter: @BenBotkin1
