President Obama is holding pep rallies and ferrying around in Air Force One the families of Sandy Hook shooting victims on his campaign to yank more gun rights. It’s a sad sight. Imagine if President Bush had ferried around the families of victims of 9/11 to campaign for tougher laws against terrorists. Though it would have made more sense, the optics would have been equally as sickening. 

Family members of victims are seldom the best sources for solutions to the nation’s ills. As I pointed out here I know whereof I speak. 

The testimony of the daughter Cindy Yuille who was shot by a crazed gunman at Clackamas Town Center in December is a case in point. 

The testimony before Friday’s Oregon State Senate Judiciary Committee meeting which I live blogged here showed why we should sympathize and grieve with victims and hold off changing the laws on their tearful say-sos.

Here are my real time notes of the testimony of Clackamas Town Center shooting victim Cindy Yuille’s daughter who says even though the four gun laws under consideration on Friday would not have any impact on a future shooting, something must be to “show we’re serious,”

The Victoria Taft Show Janet Hasalaqua [Passalacqua]is daughter of nurse Cindy Yuille killed at Clack Town Center. urging passage of any bills that stop violence. [Weeping] There are smart reasonable ways to prevent gun violence. This is not about taking guns away, however we must take responsibility for our guns. What happened at Clack Town Center could have happened to anyone. If the shooter hadn’t known how to properly operate his weapon many more would have been killed [says nothing about guy with gun who stopped shooting] these bills won’t stop another CTC but it shows we’re serious about it. The gun that was used to kill my mother was stolen. Something needs to be done about this. it should have been locked up.

I agree the gun owner should have had his gun locked up or hidden from the murderous thief. But left out of Passalacqua’s testimony was the story of the lives saved by another man with a gun. A good guy with a gun. Nick Meli was there when he heard the bad guy’s gun jam and drew down on him. (see posts here, here, here and here).The bad guy cleared the gun, ran away and the next shot that rang out in the cavernous Clackamas Town Center was the one the suspect used to kill himself. 

Worse? Passalacqua’s do-something-anything response that even she admitted would have no bearing in the shooting that senselessly took the life of her mother. 

“…[T]hese bills won’t stop another CTC but it shows we’re serious about it. The gun that was used to kill my mother was stolen. Something needs to be done about this.”

She’s young (24) and grieving. I understand. But her testimony shouldn’t hold anymore weight than any one of the dozens of people who testified Friday. 

She told Jeff Mapes of the Zero that she is considering using her experience to urge more gun control.

It seems to me we have enough people attempting to make gun laws that will do nothing except to harass legal gun owners. One Ginny Burdick is enough.