Now where do we go with gun control?

There is a stack of research next to me. News reports on that failed vote Congress took on a bipartisan gun control bill last month. The bill was an effort to reduce the frequency of mass shootings and gun violence. It was a measure put forward in an effort to try to stem the tide of senseless violence. Who knows what will become of this effort, but I am going to speak my mind about it.

It failed right under the noses of the survivors and families of the victims. Parents from Newtown, Conn., who had buried their own children were in the gallery that day overlooking the Senate floor.

The senators looked up when a voice from the gallery shouted ,“Shame on you.” It was Patricia Maisch, a survivor of the shooting in Tucson, Ariz. You know, the one that nearly took the life of U.S. Sen. Gaby Giffords. From reports I have read, she also was furious about this vote.

I can’t blame her. The American people are tired of this violence. And after the Newtown shootings, the nation had enough. Something would be done.

Or so we thought. Now it seems likely that nothing will be done about it.

The president was clearly frustrated when he spoke to the press that day. So were the people behind him who some accused him as using for props. They were not props. They were advocates who had spent days going to Senate offices in the Capitol to make their case and their cause known to all. They were the same families who watched from the gallery when that bill failed in the Senate.

In the end, the bill failed because senators were cowed by a very powerful group that wanted them to do nothing — nothing about background checks; nothing about beefing up those laws and others like going after illegal gun running, making it a federal crime; nothing about taking steps to keep the mentally ill from obtaining a firearm; nothing at all.

This group has a split personality, a Jekyll of the grassroots and a Hyde of immense political power. I’m speaking of the NRA. One half, the Dr. Jekyll good side, is the grassroots organization that is made up of families of firearms owners. This branch of the group puts on gun shows, and hunter safety and firearms training classes. They encourage safe firearms ownership for hunting, collecting and sport, aeducation in our Second Amendment rights. These are all things I support.

The other half is the beast known as Mr. Hyde. The political/lobbyist arm of the NRA is corporately funded along with membership dues to build a huge multi-million dollar war chest. This group has been the bane of Congress and nearly every sitting president — including Ronald Reagan — for decades.

Tactics they used to render this vote a failure are the reason I’m writing this. Tactics like misinformation, intimidation, bile, out-right lies and just a plain uncooperative mean streak. They were very successful this time as they have been many times before. This beast is the one main reason I will never become a member. Even though I admire the other half in many ways, I won’t be party to the tactics of the beast.

It became clear to me that the beast was in fine form leading up to this vote in the Senate. It also became very clear after the dust settled that it wasn’t Congress or the people who elected them running the show. Instead, the political arm of the NRA was running the show — at least for this vote. Last time I checked, they were never elected to serve in Congress.

Now as to Sens. Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski, who both voted no on it. Even though they do a great deal of good for this state and all Alaskans, I must say, with all due respect, I am frankly disappointed and disagree with their actions on that day. I do hope they will find the courage to stand up for what is right and not give in to pressures from the beast.

The events that happened on April 17 were a setback, but rather than shelving the issue, it must be reworked to remove any flaws. It must be bipartisan and it must be within the limits of the Second Amendment.

To give in and do nothing is a slap in the face to all those who died at the hands of madmen bent on wholesale murder.

We cannot seek solutions from either extreme on this issue. We must seek solutions that balance the rights and responsibilities of gun ownership. Common sense must prevail. Some say criminals don’t follow the law. True enough, but gun laws also are tools that we can use to hunt criminals down and try them in court. If convicted, then they go to prison. But it only works if such laws exist.

Background checks are tools that enhance the Second Amendment by giving the seller the ability to find out whether Mr. Smith, who has a squeaky clean record in one state, has been convicted of a felony in another state.

We also should make gun running a federal crime. Beef up those laws and bring those who violate the law to justice. We also must do everything to prevent the criminal and criminally insane from getting a firearm. The last point will be one of the most difficult.

I fully support the Second Amendment. But we also need to keep trying to prevent such violence from happening to our children and families. We must do that with laws. That is what this nation is based on — the rule of law. These efforts will not prevent all gun violence. But to do nothing is a far larger crime, and it’s a crime I for one cannot stomach.

In the words of President Barack Obama: “I see this as just round one.”

Wasilla resident Daniel D. Grota retired from the U.S. Army after more than 21 years of service.