By BARBARA SIMPSON
It seems there is no end to it: Some out-of-control-nut shoots innocent people and politicians jump on the bandwagon calling for more laws to keep guns out of the hands of such people.
On the surface, it seems only logical that there should be some legal way to “keep guns out of the hands of such people” and ways to prevent them from using the weapons to attack innocents.
We try with the laws we have passed, but the truth is, people often do not obey laws. We see evidence of that every day concerning all kinds of laws. How to put an end to that is something we have not figured out.
The media are a major part of the shouting to get more laws on the books to prevent such atrocities, but the reality is, we already have virtually all of those laws. It’s easy to lament the carnage and demand that politicians do more to protect us, but in fact, they already have. A look at the “new” laws that are being demanded would show that most of them are already on the books.
California endured twin “mass” shootings several weeks ago and as expected, right after them, the governor, Gavin Newsom, told the media that we need more federal gun-control laws, because, as he said, “the Second Amendment is becoming a suicide pact.”
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He didn’t explain what he meant by that except that it got him the headlines he wanted. Keep in mind, this is a man with his eye on the presidency so anything he does to get headlines, is politically suspect.
It should be noted that while Newsom spoke to media about the shootings, he was protected by armed guards — a protection he has because of his political office. It’s also a protection his family has, because of his office.
The problem the rest of us have is that since we are not “elected” to any office, we don’t have any outside protection, armed or not, and so we are at the mercy of the nut with a gun and a desire to use it. We are responsible for our own protection.
On the day of the Monterey Park shooting in California, President Biden called on Congress to pass a “federal assault weapon” ban. The problem with that is that California has banned such weapons since 1989 and last year, another law was passed to make them even more illegal.
There also was the federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 and it did virtually nothing to stem gun violence, which in fact, had begun to slow down. When the law expired in 2004, the decline continued and by 2014, the rate of homicides has dropped to the level of 1963.
While the debate about “assault weapons” continues in state houses and in Washington, it should be noted that the Monterey Park shooter didn’t use one. He used a semi-automatic handgun. The shooter has to pull the trigger each time he wants to fire a shot. It’s a gun that already is illegal in California.
California has universal background checks. It has a 10-day waiting period for handgun purchases. It has a microstamping system, requires a personal safety test, has raised the purchase age for certain weapons from 18 to 21, has laws that allow police to confiscate guns without due process, and has a ban on magazines holding more than 10 rounds. It’s also against the law in the state to carry any gun into a no-gun zone and, without question, murder is also illegal.
None of this seems to stop the crazies who are intent on killing people. To them, the law means nothing and their age has nothing to do with it.
The basic argument is between those who see any gun and its ownership as something that needs to be controlled or, better yet, banned.
The other side of that argument is by people who believe they want and need a way to protect themselves, their families, their property, and their community from evildoers. For them, bans on guns are autocratic and unconstitutional.
They may be right on all that but looking at what has transpired over the years with gun control laws on local, state, and the federal level — it’s clear that they don’t work.
The bottom line is a need for “people control” and, there again, is the issue of constitutionality. How do we determine the mental state of people who want to own a gun? Who decides? How? And then, what do we do?
It’s a basic constitutional issue and something we have to deal with on a daily basis. It boils down to our constitutional freedoms that we must never sacrifice for political goals.
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