Advice from My Dad to Well-Intentioned Republicans About Gun Control

This is actual word-for-word advice that my dad gave a Republican on Facebook:

I don’t have to start with the statistics showing how much we differ from other developed countries and why. On most public policy issues, including this one, I look for what is likely to work. Five activist members of the Supreme Court (Scalia et al.) ignored a precedent that had stood since 1791, and instead ruled in D.C. v Heller in 2008 for the first time that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia. All five are still on the Court.

While Heller covered only the possession of handguns in the home for purposes of self-defense, handguns account for 75% of the homicides committed with firearms. I am not optimistic that this 75% will be addressed effectively in the near future or even in my lifetime, but that does not mean we should not start the process of improving it. We need Supreme Court justices who might reverse the Heller decision.

The only likely candidate to begin this process is Hillary Clinton. So the most important first step is electing her. Keep reading even if you don’t agree with this one.

In the meantime I support the proposal to prohibit firearms sales to people on the no fly list, even though this idea seems likely to be within that 75% to which the Supreme Court objects. We can still work on the 25% (including the weapons used in the high profile mass shootings) in the state legislatures, city governments, and nationally.

I recognize that law-breakers don’t obey laws, and that no single law nor group of laws will stop every crime, but I know you won’t make those straw man arguments. Since we are a mobile society, federal laws are more useful than state or local ones, but any effective reduction of this mayhem is valuable.

Specifically, I have found the following list of currently constitutional legislative remedies, in no particular order, that seem sensible to me. Much of what follows was pulled directly from Martin O’Malley’s paper on gun violence, but I have made an effort to verify and edit each point:

Require a background check for every gun sale. All private sales would be processed through a licensed dealer or law enforcement agency that completes background checks.

End unregulated internet gun sales. Law enforcement should have the time they need to complete background checks.

End the ‘Brady exemption’ that allows permit holders to avoid background checks. States must provide complete and accurate data on persons prohibited from owning guns, including those with felony records and histories of domestic abuse. The federal government needs to help states modernize record keeping and share critical data.

Require all individuals who seek to purchase or transfer any gun to obtain a fingerprint-based license, and complete safety training with a waiting period, in addition to passing a background check.

Establish a federal minimum age of 21 for handgun ownership and possession.

Require the responsible storage of guns at home. Licensed dealers are already required to make sure that gun purchasers have safety devices.

Extend existing safety standards to all firearm sales. Administration should issue federal rules clearly defining the gun locks and safes that meet safety standards.

Reject the proposed federally mandated concealed carry proposal which would override existing state laws which limit who should be able to carry concealed guns within their borders.

Close the loophole that allows someone who is convicted of domestic violence in a dating relationship to still own and purchase guns. Prohibit anyone convicted of stalking from owning a gun.

Prevent those under emergency restraining orders from purchasing or possessing a firearm for the duration of the order. (Current law disarms only people who are under permanent restraining orders). The days following the service of an emergency order of protection can be the most dangerous, and it can take several weeks or longer for permanent restraining orders to be imposed.

Make it a priority to disarm those convicted of committing domestic violence, and to prosecute those who fail to comply with the law. Existing bans on gun ownership for domestic abusers and stalkers are reportedly too rarely enforced.

Revise federal law to establish a comprehensive, centralized firearm registration system, where records would be maintained electronically and indefinitely. All firearms purchases would be recorded and registered at sale, and re-registered when they are resold or transferred.

Federal law actually prohibits creation of a national system for registering firearms. This makes tracing guns back to their sale a slow, cumbersome, or even impossible process.

Firearm registration helps law enforcement officers identify and prosecute violent criminals, allowing them to quickly and reliably trace firearms recovered from crime scenes. Centralized registration systems and mandatory reporting of lost and stolen firearms also deter illegal sales, while encouraging gun owners to responsibly use and store their firearms.

Mandate that all lost or stolen firearms be reported immediately to law enforcement. These reports would be registered in the national database, helping law enforcement more quickly trace guns that are used in crimes — and identify individuals who routinely fail to report lost or stolen guns and may be trafficking firearms.

Require micro-stamping for all guns. Firearms can be designed to imprint a unique alphanumeric code onto a cartridge case when it is fired. This allows law enforcement to better trace the guns used in crimes, expediting investigations and further deterring trafficking.

Revoke licenses when dealers break the law. The ATF is often unable to revoke the licenses of dealers who break the law because of certain restrictions and a lack of resources.

Even when the agency does find serious violations, like gun sales to those who are underage, it can take one to three years for dealers to lose their licenses. Moreover, the ATF must meet the difficult standard of finding that dealers committed a violation “willfully” — even though dealers who break federal laws are a major source of trafficked firearms.

Ensure the ATF has the funding and authority it needs to do its job. This includes revising the standard by which dealers can have their licenses revoked, and increasing follow-up so that dealers who lose their licenses do not pass on their business to friends or relatives, or continue to sell guns as unlicensed sellers.

Ensure regular and unexpected inspections of licensed dealers. Currently, ATF may conduct only one unannounced inspection of each licensed firearms dealer per year. Because of a lack of federal resources, licensed dealers are inspected only once per decade on average.

Today’s A.T.F. operates with about the same number of agents it did 40 years ago, yet it is charged with investigating violations of federal gun, arson, explosive and other laws nationwide. The NRA makes the argument that we don’t enforce the laws we have, yet they work to cripple the ATF by fighting their budget and their ability to have directors confirmed by the Senate (there was no director from 2006–2010).

Increase federal penalties for gun traffickers. There is no clear and enforceable federal prohibition on gun trafficking. Rather, law enforcement uses prohibitions from selling guns without a license to go after traffickers — and the penalty imposed is the same punishment for trafficking chicken or livestock.

Make selling guns to a prohibited person a felony under federal law.

Require manufacturers that seek federal contracts to make simple design changes that advance gun safety and improve law enforcement’s ability to trace firearms, including hidden serial numbers that cannot be defaced, micro-stamping, and magazine disconnect mechanisms. We can treat firearms the way we treat automobiles.

End immunity for gun manufacturers. Every state holds manufacturers accountable for producing and selling products that cause harm. The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (2005) effectively wiped out gun liability laws in all 50 states. Overturn this Act, allowing states and cities to better protect their citizens from negligence, and giving victims of mass shootings the ability to hold irresponsible gun manufacturers and dealers accountable.

Ban sale or distribution of all military-style assault weapons, including assault pistols and long guns. Ban the sale or distribution of large-capacity magazines and armor-piercing ‘cop killer’ ammunition through federal regulation.

Allow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study the underlying causes of gun violence.

The CDC hasn’t done any such research since 1996. Congress threatened to totally defund the agency if the work continued, and appropriators ever since have included a prohibition on funding any research that might result in CDC findings recommending limitations on guns.”

We need to improve mental health care, especially for those without financial and/or family support, but the vast majority of homicides are carried out by outwardly normal people in the grip of all too ordinary human aggression to whom we provide nearly unfettered access to deadly force.