McCarthy reacts to Giffords shooting

Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, a longtime advocate of gun control, spoke out regarding the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 19 others in Arizona last Saturday. Shooting suspect Jared Loughner appeared in Federal court in Phoenix on Tuesday.

“One of the greatest privileges of being an American is the freedom to peaceably assemble in public,” McCarthy said. “One of the greatest pleasures of being an elected official is meeting with constituents in their communities in order to help them. As someone who’s experienced senseless gun violence firsthand, I’m praying for my colleague, Rep. Giffords, the others shot with her and all their families today.”

McCarthy entered politics in 1997 on a one-issue platform of gun control after her husband, Dennis was gunned down and her son, Kevin, was seriously injured by Colin Ferguson in 1993 as their Long Island Rail Road train was pulling into the Merillon Avenue station in Garden City. In what has become known as the LIRR Massacre, Ferguson was later convicted of murdering six people and injuring nineteen others in the incident. He is now serving 315 years and eight months to life at the Attica Correctional Facility New York.

Three years ago, McCarthy authored a bill that became law, requiring the National Instant Criminal Background Check System to stop gun purchases by convicted criminals and those with a history of mental illness. The legislation stemmed from the March 2002 shooting of the Rev. Larry Penzes of Our Lady of Peace Church in Lynbrook, and was also supported by Sen. Dean Skelos, and then-assemblyman Bob Barra. Penzes, 50, and congregant Eileen Tosner, 73, were killed in a shooting by gunman, Peter Troy, 34, who was eventually sentenced to two life sentence terms for the murders and 25 years for the attempted murder of a police officer involved in his capture.

According to Nassau County investigators, Troy bought a .22 caliber rifle from a Mineola gun shop only days before the murders were committed. Though he had a history of mental illness and was therefore barred by federal law from buying guns, a mandatory background check cleared him to purchase the gun. Troy had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and spent time in a mental institution.

“This is clearly an illustration of why we must all work together to fight gun violence in America and keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of the wrong people,” McCarthy said of last Saturday’s incident. She said that she plans to introduce a bill this week that would limit access to the type of ammunition clips and weapons used in the Giffords shooting.