How We Need to Act on Gun Control…
…And Why Hillary Clinton is the One to Do It
Before reading, I strongly recommend everyone watch the following video from Vox: “The State of Gun Violence in the U.S., Explained in 18 Charts”.
As the video quite accurately and powerfully states at the end:
America doesn’t have a gun problem. It has several of them.
Gun violence is an epidemic in the United States. It is a serious problem that is not being properly addressed, and there are too many willfully ignorant politicians backed by the equally benighted National Rifles Association. There is so much that needs to be done, but so little that is happening.
The problem, however, is that the way we need to act on gun control is often unclear.
There are many visions floating out there. This is mine.
Background Checks? Gun Show Loophole? What Should We Do?
One of the most fundamental problems about guns is the lax manner in which the character and history of the purchaser is checked. The first thing that we must do is to close background check loopholes so that people cannot buy guns at a gun show without going through any background checks. The gun show (or rather private gun sales and the secondary market in general) loophole, verified here, makes the secondary market a ridiculously easy place to get a gun without having to pass a background check.
Secondly, even if a person is subject to a background check, these background checks are, in fact, ridiculously flimsy and easy to pass. One can easily read up on where the gunmen in mass shootings in recent history obtained their guns, in this continuously updated article by the New York Times. For example, John R. Houser from the Lafayette shooting was legally sold a gun despite 1) not passing a state concealed weapon permit, 2) accused of domestic violence and soliciting arson, and 3) having concerns among family members that he was violent and mentally ill. In recent news, Omar Mateen from the Orlando shooting was on an F.B.I. watch-list for possible ties to ISIL, but was able to legally purchase a gun anyways. People on the no-fly list for airplanes are able to purchase a gun.
If you have watched the Vox video, you may have noticed just how strict the gun control laws in most other countries in the Western world with vastly lower gun violence rates, even after adjustment for population and population density. To note, countries such as Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Germany, Canada, and Norway have all of the following requirements in order to obtain a gun:
- License
- Registration
- Reason for purchase
- Safety training
- Safe storage
A proper license and license-obtaining process completely with a minimum one-week waiting period (to give adequate time for proper background checks), a written test, and a psychiatric evaluation would do wonders in contributing to the process of vetting potentially unfit gun owners. Registration allows the government and law enforcement across the country to better track guns and their owners. Safety training and a verified safe storage location prevents more accidental deaths from happening.
Is it so ridiculous to suggest learning from our friends across the pond, or even our neighbor to the North?
And then there is the fact that military-style semi-automatic rifles that can fire individual bullets as fast as the trigger can be squeezed are still legal to purchase. This is the AR-15, an extremely popular gun that was used in both the Orlando and the Sandy Hook shootings. If you want to get a concept of just how fast one can fire bullets out of this gun, watch this video.
Why are these semi-automatic rifles still legal? Do we seriously need these for “hunting deer” or “self defense?” Congress imposed a 10-year ban on weapons like these in 1994, but let it expire in 2004. All the mass shootings that used the AR-15 (San Bernandino, Aurora, Umqua Community College, Clackamas Town Center, etc.) happened after 2004. But, you know, “gun laws don’t work!”
“But hey,” you ask. “What should we do? What can we do?” Well, I’m absolutely sure we won’t be able to implement all of these policies in the near future. It’s difficulty with the gridlock in Congress from NRA-backed Republican congresspeople (and some Democratic ones). It’s also difficult due to America’s seemingly masturbatory obsession with guns; ammosexuals and their gun culture make it very, very hard.
But there are some smaller things that we can do right now to help pave the way for a gun-controlled America. This involves tackling small, generally unnoticed laws that significantly hamper the government and the people’s abilities to properly gather information and push our gun control agenda. I have identified three I deem most important, and they are the following:
- The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act of 2005
- The Tiahrt Amendments
- The Dickey Amendments
The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act of 2005
The black market is being fueled by licensed dealers and manufacturers who secretly supply the secondary market.
The national discussion about guns often completely ignores the accountability of gun manufacturers and dealers. While I no doubt believe that the majority of gun dealers and manufacturers are not participating in any unethical gun dealing and distribution, we only need a few to cause harm. There is a significant black market (or “secondary market”, whatever you prefer) where guns are traded illegally. Yes, this is where criminals buy their guns. Yes, gun laws will do something to stop it…because the black market is being fueled by licensed dealers and manufacturers who secretly supply the secondary market.
The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act of 2005 (PLCAA) was introduced by Sen. Larry E. Craig [R-ID]. It intended to protect gun owners and small gun dealers from frivolous lawsuits. However, there have been cases where very important lawsuits have been thrown out purely because of the PLCAA. For example, there was a mammoth lawsuit by the city of New York against 14 gun manufacturers and 27 distributors and dealers with evidence, testimony, and an overwhelming amount of information that could hold the that was completely shut down by the PLCAA. The link to the actual lawsuit and text can be found in this available text for the lawsuit NYC v. Beretta.
The PLCAA essentially gave sweeping immunity to gun manufacturers and dealers that shielded them from liability for a wide range of conduct. The six exception provisions in the bill are not enough; they are too vague, and only two federal appellate courts have actually considered the issue, with mixed opinions. The gun industry should not be able to enjoy this kind of luxury. The PLCAA must be repealed, and gun manufacturers should be sued like any other industry. If it’s a frivolous case, we can trust the courts to throw it out immediately.
(By the way, Sen. Richard Blumenthal [D-CT] has introduced a bill to repeal the PLCAA — probably riding the gun control movement in Connecticut from the Sandy Hook shooting. I encourage you all to lobby and support him in this endeavor.)
Two Critical Rider Bills
The NRA has had a stranglehold on Congress since 1996.
There are some other pesky, sneaky pieces of legislations snuck into critical spending bills that actually do much more harm than people realize. Two such laws come to mind:
The Tiahrt Amendments are a ridiculous set of provisions that have been “riders” attached to critical spending bills for the U.S. Department of Justice since 2003; it was introduced in the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004 and has been there ever since. It contains some gun control obstacles such as not allowing tracking data and crime data to be released (effectively deterring independent researchers from properly studying gun violence and gun crime), or even ridiculous language such as prohibiting the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives from mandating inventory checks from gun manufacturers and gun dealers (requiring the submission of inventories by gun dealers forces dealers to better control their inventories and helps prevent corrupt dealers from supplying the illegal market and then claiming that their firearms have simply disappeared). While some lawmakers have tried to do something about it, especially Rep. Barbara Lee [D-CA-13] who has, on multiple occasions, introduced legislation to strike these provisions from future ATF spending bills, seen here and here. Unfortunately, neither law has gained much traction in Congress because of fear of the NRA lobby.
The Dickey Amendment is a provision of the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act, 1997 that has become a serious impediment to gun research funding. In fact, its original creator, Rep. Jay Dickey [R-AR-4] has even since expressed regret about the amendment himself. We cannot make proper, educated, and informed decision without proper research on gun crime and gun violence, yet these 26 words have been restricting any kind of gun research by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) since 1997:
“None of the funds made available for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be used to advocate or promote gun control”
The NRA has had a stranglehold on Congress since 1996. The above two pieces of legislation are critical to them maintaining such an undying grasp on our most important and deliberative legislative body.
Closing Statements
When more Americans have died due to guns since 1968 than all American deaths in all of our wars combined (see [Link 1] and [Link 2]), gun violence is an epidemic that needs to be addressed with our full attention. Considering how most Americans and even NRA or non-NRA gun owners support common sense gun control, it’s clear that the most extreme, right-wing gun nuts of the NRA and the gun lobby are drowning out the voices of most gun owners.
Gun control needs to be completely revamped and discussed on a national level, because it’s not just simple laws passed and repealed; we must invest in gun violence and gun crime research, mandate waiting periods and thorough background checks, make prospective/current gun owners register their guns and take tests (similar to getting a driver’s license and a car at the DMV), and increase the government’s awareness of mental illness. And this must be implemented, completely, on a federal level. Otherwise we will continue see cities and states such as Chicago or New York with extremely tough gun laws, while numerous illegal guns on the black market will continue to be funneled into these high-population and high gun-demand locations from low-enforcement states and regions such as Texas (and most of the deep South states), Vermont/Maine in the Northeast, and Nevada/Arizona in the West.
We need to do so much more, and we need to act. It’s not enough to continue with the current Brady Bill. It’s not enough to repeal the PLCAA. It’s not enough to repeal the Tiahrt Amendments, or the Dickey Amendments. It’s a start, but it’s not enough.
Hillary Clinton is the only person who has been consistent on an agenda for gun control.
Who can we trust to actually fight the NRA and the gun industry? For me, that’s Hillary Clinton. The reason is very simple and obvious: Hillary Clinton is the only person who has been consistent on an agenda for gun control.
Hillary Clinton has had a gun control plan up on her website for the longest time. I believe that it’s not just the gun plan, but rather Hillary Clinton’s entire intent and agenda to strengthen gun control and break free from the NRA and the gun lobby’s stranglehold on Congress on a federal level, that is important.
Her opponent in the Democratic presidential primary, Bernie Sanders, still doesn’t have a gun control plan up on his website. That should say something.
The only person we can trust to address the rapidly growing epidemic of gun crime and gun violence is Hillary Clinton.
Bernie Sanders voted against an amendment in 1996 that would have undone the damage dealt by the Dickey Amendments; the failed Lowey Amendment introduced by Rep. Nita M. Lowey [D-NY-18] can be found here. Bernie Sanders voted against the Brady Bill five times. He also voted for the PLCAA.
Who do I trust the most to fight the gun lobby? Certainly not Donald Trump, who has officially been endorsed by the NRA, and doesn’t even support gun/magazine bans for semi-automatic weapons. Certainly not Bernie Sanders who continues to talk about the small, not-populous state of Vermont as the primary constituency to appeal to on such a serious national issue.
I believe that the only person we can trust to address the rapidly growing epidemic of gun crime and gun violence is Hillary Clinton.
I’m with her.
