Common Sense vs. Politics on Gun Control

Common Sense vs. Politics on Gun Control

                        Robert A. Levine

There appears to be great hoopla among politicians in Washington over the new proposed gun control bill which will likely become law on a bipartisan basis. Unfortunately, it accomplishes very little because Republicans remain afraid of the gun lobby and the NRA. While it may put a crimp in the ability of 18 to 21 year olds to obtain guns instantly, they will still be able to get guns after an extended background check. The ‘red flag’ law may be of some value, but will depend on domestic partners, relatives or neighbors reporting someone as unsuitable to possess weapons. People may be reluctant to report individuals to the police because of repercussions if the weapons are not taken away or are returned after a certain period.

It is clear that the best way to prevent mass shootings is to ban assault weapons from the general public. While a case can be made for possession of pistols in the home for self-defense and rifles for hunting, there is absolutely no reason why civilians should be allowed to possess assault weapons or extended magazines. Assault weapons are weapons of war and large magazines allow more bullets to be shot at a faster rate without reloading. Why aren’t these weapons purposefully engineered for mass killings and quick killings during wartime banned for civilian use.

We all know why. Pure politics. The NRA and gun lobby gives campaign funds and advertises for those who support the easy purchase of assault weapons and advertises against those who want to make possession of assault weapons more difficult. During the ten years that an assault weapon ban was in force, from 1994 to 2004, mass killings were decreased, rising again when the ban was allowed to lapse. The initial ban on assault weapons was supported by Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter and received bipartisan backing in Congress.

Common sense tells us that if assault weapons and large magazines were unavailable to civilians, mass killings would decrease. America is the only developed nation in the world that allows possession of assault weapons by civilians, and gun deaths in America exceed those of any ten developed nations combined. The two major causes of death among young people are gun deaths and automobile accidents. It must also be emphasized that at the time the Second Amendment was written, assault weapons did not exist. The Founding Fathers relied on common sense when writing the Constitution and it is likely that the Second Amendment would have been altered if assault weapons had been invented by that time.

The goal of those in this nation who truly want to stop mass killings should be the complete elimination of assault weapons and large magazines in civilian hands. Polls have shown that the majority of the population agrees. Unfortunately, Republicans who refuse to ban assault weapons either lack common sense or are so dependent on support from the NRA and gun lobbyists, or are afraid of them, that they will not act in an appropriate manner to keep assault weapons out of civilian hands.

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Our Recurring Problem with Guns

Our Recurring Problem with Guns

                        Robert A. Levine 4-21-21

How can America solve its problem with guns? Our nation has more deaths and serious injuries due to guns than any other nation in the world. In fact, we probably have more gun deaths than all the other nations in the world combined. Recently, we have seen mass killings by guns on at least a weekly basis. Yet we can’t seem to get a handle on the gun dilemma and cut down on gun deaths. Perhaps that’s because we have more guns in civilian hands than any other country, greater than our population itself. Estimates are that there are about 400 million guns in America.

The obvious way to cut down on deaths due to guns is to cut down on the number of guns in civilian hands. However, even the thought of that action enrages gun owners who point to the 2^nd Amendment of the Constitution as the basis of their right to have guns. While the 2^nd Amendment is open to interpretation, we will not address that here. There are other ways to approach this problem that the majority of Americans seem to agree on.

Enhanced background checks are first and foremost and there are no valid reasons why these should be thorough and intrusive. Any criminal history, domestic abuse, suicide attempts and so forth should prevent a person from owning a gun. Civilian gun ownership should be approved for one of two reasons- for hunting, or protection in the home or on a dangerous job. This means that automatic or semi-automatic weapons should be banned. These are weapons of war and there is no reason they should be owned by civilians. Gun buyers should also be at least 21 before being allowed to buy guns.

For ten years, 1994-2004, assault weapons were federally banned, supported by Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter among others. Enhanced gun clips should also be banned, forcing people to reload after firing a number of shots. The majority of our population favors all the measures mentioned above. Though some states have passed restrictions on gun ownership, nearby states may have no limitations and buyers travel to these open states to buy guns. Or they get them at gun shows or over the Internet which are not tightly monitored.

Though the measures above are all common sense, the NRA has been opposed to any restrictions and the GOP in Congress and the Senate is afraid of the NRA. They should no longer be as the NRA is a bankrupt organization with little remaining power. Now is the time to get a bipartisan gun law passed in Congress to cut down on civilian gun deaths.

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