In almost no time after someone misuses a firearm, politicians and many in the media attack (as always) the lawful ownership and use of firearms. This is done before the facts are in, and in some cases, before the investigation has even started! This is pathetic. It is, unfortunately, all too predictable. Instead of pandering for votes or ratings, these folks ought to consider looking for solutions that would go after criminals and respect the rights of gun owners. 
 
This much is clear. These crimes are disgusting. The criminals who misuse their firearms against our neighbors and loved ones are a scourge on our communities. But remember, they are not us.  We won’t be defined by the actions of criminals. They do not represent the more than 100 million law-abiding Americans who responsibly keep and bear arms every day.
 
We won’t let others paint us with the broad brush of misinformation.

We are the firearms industry, the same industry that conceived of and supports the national instant criminal background check system (NICS) for every firearm sold at retail. We are the industry that championed the bipartisan Fix NICS Act in Congress. This legislation — which bears the name of one of our flagship safety programs — was signed into law to ensure all disqualifying mental health and criminal records are submitted into the NICS system. Its goal is to make sure our background check system works as intended. The bill was named after our ongoing FixNICS® campaign, which we launched in 2013 to have states submit disqualifying records to NICS to keep guns out of the hands of those that should not have them. Since 2013 we have successfully changed the law in 16 states, and increased submissions of disqualifying records from 1.7 million to over 5.6 million today – an increase of 241 percent.
 
Also, it was the National Shooting Sports Foundation® that created Project ChildSafe®, the partnership with over 15,000 law enforcement agencies and community partners throughout the country that has distributed over 38 million firearms safety kits that include a free gun lock, in every state and U.S. territory. The firearms industry also has a long-standing partnership with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to prevent straw purchases of firearms through our Don’t Lie for the Other GuyTM campaign. It is the firearms industry that is committed to ensuring that firearms stay out of the hands of those who should never possess them.
 
The firearms industry is committed to Real Solutions℠ for safer communities. We are willing to work with others who are committed to the ideals of ensuring and promoting responsible firearms ownership, safeguarding lives, while at the same time insisting that our rights as firearms owners are protected.
 
This is our commitment, and these are our communities. We won’t surrender them to murderers, and we won’t give in to demagoguery or politicization. Our neighbors deserve better.

— Joe Bartozzi is president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation in Newtown, Conn.