Boom

[Content Note: Guns; war on agency. There is an image of guns at the link.]

Missouri State Representative Stacey Newman has introduced legislation that would require the same steps for accessing a gun as accessing an abortion. To be clear, Newman isn't equating buying a gun with getting an abortion; she's calling out the fundamental inconsistency in "pro-life" conservative ideology, exposing its hypocrisy, and challenging them to defend why they refuse to take the same steps to save lives from gun violence as they have to stop abortions.

"Since Missouri holds the rank as one of the strictest abortion regulation states in the country, it is logical we borrow similar restrictions to lower our horrific gun violence rates," Newman said in a statement.

The bill, pre-filed Tuesday for the 2016 session, is doomed to die in Missouri's Republican-controlled legislature, something that Newman knows perfectly well. ...But at a time when frequent mass shootings, such as Wednesday's San Bernardino shooting that killed 14 people, have more Americans speaking up about access to firearms, Newman's bill comes across less as an activist stunt than as a concerning contrast in legislative approaches to two public health issues.

House Bill 1397 says that before Missourians could buy a gun, they'd have to:

* Meet with a licensed physician to discuss the risks of gun ownership at least 72 hours before attempting to buy a gun and obtain a written notice approval.

* Buy the gun from a licensed gun dealer located at least 120 miles from the purchaser's legal residence.

* Review the medical risks associated with firearms, including photographs of fatal firearm injuries, and the alternatives to purchasing a firearm, including "materials about peaceful and nonviolent conflict resolution," with the gun dealer orally and in writing.

* Watch a 30-minute video about fatal firearm injuries. (This requirement mirrors House Bill 124 from last year, which would have required women to watch a video with information about abortion they're already required to receive from doctors orally and in writing.)

* Tour an emergency trauma center at the nearest qualified urban hospital on a weekend between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., when gun violence victims are present, and get written verification from a doctor.

* Meet with at least two families who have been victims of gun violence and two local faith leaders who have officiated, within the last year, a funeral for a victim of gun violence who was under the age of 18.

"If we truly insist that Missouri cares about 'all life,' then we must take immediate steps to address our major cities rising rates of gun violence," Newman said.

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There is only one abortion clinic in the entire state of Missouri. By comparison, there are 115 gun stores just in Jefferson County, Missouri, alone.