In the battle for the soul of the nation over gun control, one Congressman has a unique insight into the issue. U.S. Representative Jim Langevin of Rhode Island is the only paraplegic to ever serve in the House. His spinal cord was severed when he was a 16 year-old police cadet, standing near two officers who accidentally fired a gun. He often makes this case:

“My accident happened in what should have been one of the safest places to be: in a police station, at the hands of trained police officers. So more guns are not the answer.”

It’s not enough for Langevin that he’s a symbol of the damage guns can do; after all, he’s already been a constant presence in the House for seven terms. His current project is talking other Representatives into giving their tickets to the President’s State of the Union address on Tuesday to victims of gun violence. That way, when members of Congress–and the nation–look at the audience seated in the gallery, they won’t be able to avoid seeing the tragic toll that guns take.





Langevin’s cause is gaining momentum. Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota has joined in, also recruiting others to the cause in order to not let the momentum for a national dialogue slip away. Ellison says:

“This effort is a way to resensitize. Some of this conversation has been so callous. ‘Our rights, our rights, our rights.’ Well, what about the suffering of our colleagues?”

Langevin has long been involved in the issue of gun control, particularly on banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and holding gun dealers responsible for obeying the law. In January, he introduced the ‘Crackdown on Deadbeat Gun Dealers Act‘, pointing to an analysis of firearms sales that show one percent of licensed dealers sell about 60 percent of the guns connected to crimes. For his efforts, the lawmaker has received an ‘F’ rating from the National Rifle Association (NRA).

After the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Langevin wrote for the Providence Journal:

“While the accident that nearly took my life is a constant reminder that we cannot prevent every gun-related incident, it also leaves me at a loss that we have not taken every possible action to prevent the wrong people from acquiring the most destructive firearms and ammunition… No amount of heartfelt words or symbolic gestures will stop the next horrific shooting. And judging from the sobering counts of at least sixty-two mass murders in our country over the past three decades, and tens of thousands of gun deaths every year, these atrocities will continue without meaningful action to stop them.”

On Tuesday, the reminder that meaningful action must be taken will be in the sobering gaze of multiple victims, quietly watching Congress from the peoples’ gallery.

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