Contributors

Sunday, November 12, 2017

Good Guys with Guns: Stop Bad Guys from Getting Guns in the First Place

I am admittedly getting very tired of hearing myself whine about Republican inaction on gun violence. But Republicans seem to have an infinite amount of patience -- and gall -- repeating the same nonsense every time there's another mass murder by a guy with a gun.

This time the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Mac Thornberry (R-TX), is blaming the Air Force for the mass murder in Texas.
“I understand that [Air Force] Secretary [Heather] Wilson has initiated an investigation, but I don't believe that the Air Force should be left to self-police after such tragic consequences. Furthermore, I am concerned that the failure to properly report domestic violence convictions may be a systemic issue,” Thornberry said.
Republicans are now claiming that "mental illness" is the problem, and that the Air Force is blame for not reporting the shooter's domestic abuse.

But such reports are useless if you don't have a robust system that prevents people on that list from obtaining weapons. Republicans have consistently blocked attempts to require checks for gun show purchases and for private gun sales and gifts, and have often stymied efforts to disarm domestic abusers.

And even when men are cited for domestic abuse and prevented from buying new guns, many jurisdictions let abusers keep whatever guns they already have.

At the same time Republicans are still pushing to allow civilians to buy silencers and armor-piercing rounds -- also called cop-killer bullets.

If Republicans are serious about stopping these horrendous murders they should sponsor federal legislation requiring every person convicted of assault and every court-designated domestic abuser to have all their guns confiscated and to lose their right to own guns permanently.

Ditto for anyone on the terrorist watch list and the do-not-fly list. And local law enforcement -- who know these guys and have to deal with the aftermath of their anger -- should also be able to place people on this list, even if there is no conviction.

Naturally, there must be a legal proceeding to restore gun rights after the perpetrator has proved to stable enough to own guns again. But the public and local law enforcement must have ample opportunity to register any objections with the court.

Republican lawmakers should require every gun, ammunition and ballistic armor transaction to be checked against the federal database. That should include sales in gun stores, at gun shows, on the Internet, and all private transactions -- including sales and gifts.

Anyone selling or giving a gun to a person banned from gun ownership should be considered an accomplice, liable to prosecution as a co-conspirator for whatever crimes the shooter commits.

Republicans should require every gun -- including those currently owned -- to be registered. Every gun should be locked in a safe unloaded and separate from its ammunition. Every gun theft should be reported within 24 hours.

If a gun is stolen and is used in a crime, and the owner didn't report it, they should be charged as an accomplice (truly innocent victims of gun theft will never be charged, trials will sort out the rest).

Finally, transporting or selling guns across state lines which are subsequently used in a crime should be a major federal felony. Republicans like to complain about gun violence in Chicago and claim how useless gun laws are, but the fact is most of those guns are stolen or bought in southern states and then resold illegally in big cities.

The above laws would not stop every shooting death. Just like seat belts don't prevent every car crash death, and chemotherapy doesn't prevent every cancer death. But such laws would dramatically reduce the number of gun murders. And they would put a big dent in the number of gun suicides as well.

Since felons are already banned from owning guns, there is ample precedent for revoking Second-Amendment rights. If you don't want to lose your right to own a gun, take some personal responsibility, as Republicans are so fond of saying. Don't beat your wife. Or your girlfriend. Don't get in bar brawls. Don't beat up gays. Don't piss off the cops. If you do, and you keep your nose clean for a few years, you can have your guns back.

Republicans will complain that such laws put too much of a burden on law-abiding gun owners and gun dealers. But these people have the most control over guns, and the most to lose when they are misused. The federal government can't do everything: good guys with guns should do everything in their power to prevent bad guys from getting guns in the first place.

Republicans are intentionally derping their pro-gun talking points, hoping they will wear down good and honest Americans with their well-worn lies. And, yes, I too am tired of hearing myself complain about Republicans and guns.

But as long as Republicans keep condoning, excusing, enabling and abetting mass murder, I will complain about them.

No comments: