Yesterday, Congress began to look into how we can take some common-sense steps to curb the sales of firearms to criminals those mentally unfit for firearms ownership. The Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism held hearings on the Fix Gun Checks Act – a product of a nationwide, grassroots campaign led by Mayors Against Illegal Guns (for whom I consult) and Omar Samaha, whose sister was murdered at Virginia Tech in 2007.

The hearings, highlighted by a pilgrimage to Capitol Hill by over 50 survivors of massacres at Virginia Tech, Tucson, Columbine and other tragedies across the country, marked the first time since these terrible incidents occurred that Congress has taken the time to seriously consider how we can better keep guns out of the hands of criminals, and mentally ill individuals.

Since January 8th, when a violent, mentally unstable individual--who had no right
to own or carry a firearm under our law, according to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in the recent Heller vs. DC decision--gunned down Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 19 others in Tucson, nearly 11,000 Americans have been needlessly murdered with guns.

A good first step in lowering this tragic statistic in the future would be to improve the national do-not sell database and close the loophole that allows "private sellers" to get around performing background checks by claiming not to be "in the business" of selling guns (quite often a blatant falsehood). These types of regulations, while doing nothing to impede the acquisition of guns by people who are legally allowed to buy them, will do a great deal to limit the acquisition of guns by individuals who are violent, criminal, mentally ill or in cahoots with drug cartels and/or terrorists.

I applaud Congress for finally holding hearings on a bill that a plurality of Americans already support and, which, if enacted, will finally begin to stem the tide of needless gun violence that victimizes the 99% in the same way as Wall Street--by allowing plutocrats (in this case of the arms dealing variety) who never have to mingle with the rest of us in public places become enriched by every gun bought whether used to hunt or walk into a McDonalds and open fire. They simply make no distinction, because they don't have to.

That needs to change and this is a good start.

Follow me on Twitter @cliffschecter