Today's update was to be on the real reason we have the second amendment (it was to enable slavery to continue when the 13 colonies became a country). Tomorrow, I will discuss this in depth. But, today we have another copycat school shooting. This is more evidence that we are living under a gun violence epidemic and why we launched a petition asking President Obama to declare a state of emergency using his authority under the National Emergencies Act. We do not have the details on the Northern Arizona University shooter yet but we do know that the 11 recent mass murderers (including the Umpqua Community College killer) passed their background checks. Was the NAU shooter clearly known by the people in his world (family, friends, neighbors, teachers, doctors etc.) to be mentally disabled? Did he have an arsenal? Did he give signs of what he was planning on Facebook? If so, he is like the last hi-profile mass shooters. At NGVAC we dispute the two refrains heard after mass shootings--that “the real problem is mental illness” and “no law could have prevented the shootings.” Every developed country in the world has mental illness and they have laws that prevent such mass shootings. President Obama says he is considering executive actions but his first priority--closing background checks loopholes--will not get to the root of the problem. We need the loophole closed in conjunction with the right kind of background check--one similar to what occurs when would-be parents want to adopt a child. This is similar to many EU countries which interview the prospective gun owner’s doctors, family, neighbors, contacts and the gun applicant before allowing a purchase. Today, States do not have to report mental health data to the background check system and 90% of such records are missing. Records of anyone who passes a background check must be destroyed within 24 hours. This means the data needed to stop the epidemic is not available. . It is impossible to know the identity of gun owners who have become mentally ill since buying their weapons and are planning a rampage. The public space is no longer safe. Americans are losing their lives when they go to restaurants, movie theaters, church, national parks and college campuses. We call on the President to address these—and other relevant issues—by declaring a state of emergency and issuing appropriate executive orders. These would include reviewing requirements for carrying guns, immediately making gun trafficking a felony and appointing an industry-free commission on gun violence. Elliot Fineman CEO. Founder National Gun Victims Action Council www.gunvictimsaction.org