10 Proposals for Criminal Justice Reform Friendly Gun Reform

With fresh support for much-needed gun control following the shooting in Parkland, Florida, criminal justice reform advocates are right to be concerned that new policies will rely on old approaches that widen the net of the criminal justice system, give new charging tools to prosecutors, and disproportionately harm communities of color. Those within the criminal justice reform movement should loudly reject new mandatory minimum sentencing laws, as well as proposals to further militarize and police public schools.

Rejecting harmful policy does not mean that nothing can be done. It means re-focusing our energy on solutions that hold the gun industry accountable for its products, diminish the size of our national arsenal, make weaponry less deadly, and tighten civil regulation of gun dealers and manufacturers.

Photo by Feliphe Schiarolli on Unsplash

Here are ten ideas. There are more.

10 Criminal Justice Reform Friendly Gun Reforms:

1. Hold gun manufacturers and dealers civilly liable for deaths and injuries caused by their products. Repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.
2. Promote gun buyback programs.
3. Ban the manufacture and sale of certain weapons, such as: large capacity magazines; bump stocks; high velocity weaponry; and military-style rifles.
4. Encourage newly manufactured weapons to include biometrics limiting use of the weapon to authorized users.
5. Fund CDC research into gun violence.
6. Require waiting periods for gun purchases. Borrow a page from anti-abortion legislators and require gun dealers to share information regarding the harms associated with gun violence before making a sale.
7. Repeal state preemption laws that block counties and municipalities from regulating firearms.
8. Use local zoning laws to stymie the proliferation of new gun shops.
9. Increase taxes on gun manufacturers and dealers.
10. Prohibit gun and ammunition sales over the internet. Shutdown websites and forums that facilitate such sales.

Fighting gun violence without expanding the tentacles of the criminal justice system and further bloating our prisons will not be easy, as new criminal penalties can offer a tempting compromise position for gun control advocates and tough-on-crime conservatives. But the amazing survivors of the Parkland shooting have demonstrated that they oppose militarizing schools and that they understand the racism inherent in parts of the gun control debate. Parkland students appear most interested in an inclusive gun control movement that does not prioritize wealthy, privileged communities at the expense of those who are already over-policed. Adults in the halls of Congress and state legislatures should take note.