Is it time to pursue real solutions to criminal violence and forget about a war on law-abiding gun owners? Of course it is. In fact, that is the only solution that has ever had a chance or reducing gun-related crime. By definition, laws only apply to the law abiding when it comes to prevention, but that has not stopped or slowed the anti-gunners’ “commonsense gun safety” agendas.
You have to understand the opposition to understand how to counter the fallacy of their arguments, so here it goes.
Common Sense Gun Control
Gun control advocates continue to call for their so-called “commonsense gun safety” measures. Essentially, this can be broken down into two main concepts. The first is universal background checks. According to The National Institute of Justice “effectiveness depends on… requiring gun registration.”
Historically, gun registration has led to gun confiscation. First, they say they want to “innocently” just know who owns guns and which ones they own. Then, they have a substantial list to force the confiscation. Besides, how does a list of gun owners prevent crime? It does not. However, that has not stopped politicians such as Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) from recently introducing yet another a bill in Congress that would create a national registry of all firearm owners.
Assault Weapons
The second objective is a ban on so-called “assault weapons.” Gun control advocates seem to believe one gun is deadlier or more dangerous than others and somehow limiting access to a class of guns would then prevent crime. To do this, they point to recent tragedies. However, Charles Whitman opened fire from a Texas clock tower, killing 16 people and wounding 31 before officers killed him.
Whitman used knives and multiple firearms during his spree—none of which would meet the definition of an “assault rifle.” Gun control advocates do not seem to understand that you cannot simple pass a law and prevent future tragedy. It is not the gun that commits the crime, it is the person. That fact does not seem to have resonated with the American Medical Association, which recently reaffirmed its endorsement of a ban on “assault weapons,” including the confiscation of all such firearms from Americans at large.
Fortunately, to date we have been able to stop the efforts of the antis in Congress. Why hasn’t Congress adopted these proposals? Quite frankly, the answer may be as simple as commonsense. Neither of the antis’ concepts would accomplish their stated goal of reducing or preventing crime. Licensed dealers, who are required to clear every sale through the National Criminal Background Check System (NICS), sell most of the guns. Even where private party sales are allowed, the seller accepts the responsibility for ensuring the buyer may legally purchase the firearm before the transaction may legally takeplace.
On top of that, to address recent failures of the NICS system, Congress passed the Fix NICS bill to address the governmental units that were often not reporting criminal records to NICS. It was just such a NICS failure that allowed the Texas church shooter to buy a rifle. Ironically, a citizen who shot him with an AR-15 ended his spree. Do gun control advocates really believe criminals will do background checks on each other?
As for “assault weapons,” President Clinton signed the “Assault Weapons Ban” in 1994. It was not renewed 10 years later when studies showed it had no effect on crime reduction. The federal NICS law, passed in 1993, prohibits registration of guns and gun owners. Congress has repeatedly rejected gun registration based on bitter historical lessons. Why? Just before the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Congress forbade gun registration and reaffirmed the Second Amendment based on how the Nazis used registration records to confiscate firearms from their intended victims. That lesson is as appropriate today as it was then.
The registration records were critical to the Nazis who overran France in 1940, imposed the death penalty for not turning in guns, and conscripted the French police to ferret out violators. Despite the chance of being executed, numerous French citizens did not surrender their firearms. Readers of The Shooter’s Log often comment that they would not surrender their weapons either. I am sure there are many other Americans who would not as well.
Such experiences are as old as humanity. Tyrants, conquerors, and dictators of every breed have sought to disarm their subjects in order to dominate and exploit them. It was that lesson which our founding fathers understood well when they penned our Second Amendment protections.
Conclusion
Gun control is as alive and strong as it has ever been. Do not be fooled. It is a cancer. Often being harbored in the body of America and unseen until it rears its ugly head. The appointment of a new Supreme Court Justice will be critical to the future of the Second Amendment as we know it. Until then, all we can hope is that the anti gunners will pursue “common sense” solutions to criminal violence and forget about their war on law-abiding gun owners. The law abiding are not the ones committing crimes, and the lawbreakers will not follow new laws any more than have obeyed the old ones.
Well this may sound crazy. However, we have military industrial complex in our great US of A. When we are not at war this group of military suppliers profits start to sink. So how can the gun manufacturers sale guns & make big profits when we are not at war? How to they keep from going broke? My answer is fear mongering the gun owners. I see some much fear mongering amongst the gun rights groups that I want to throw up. Stop the fear mongering & start a new mantra. Tired of hearing how Demon-crappers are trying to take our guns. It’s not them, it is the 1% elitist that are backing them. Go on the offensive against the elitist and bring the fight to their door steps and I bet they will back off. An angry mob of heavily armed patriots usually does the trick.
I would like to point out what’s probably obvious to the rest of you – the reason effective gun control, such as was discussed in this article, is not seriously pursued is that the people clamoring loudest for gun control do not really want it.
Effective gun control, in whatever form it would take, would reduce or even remove a crisis and thus, some of the leverage the Left needs to legislate our actual rights away in the name of ‘safety’.
I have a theory as to *why* the Left’s versions of gun control (a) do not work but (b) curiously leave the legislators exempt from the more serious side effects of those laws. I believe these two are related and deliberate. But the explanation involves the feeding habits of human egos and while it clarifies what is going on here (and elsewhere), it is not really on-topic.
The author of this article means well, and it is good to trot out actual things that might work as a means of contrast to the current crop of Leftist ‘suggestions’ delivered at a podium by dupes such as David Hogg. But such common-sense ideas are not only not supported by the Left,. they are actively resisted and their champions are demonized.
The Left does not WANT to solve the problem. Not unless we do it THEIR way. And their way lies the Chekist… the ordinary fellow whose idea of ensuring peace for all involves lining you up naked against a wall and putting a bullet in the back of your head.
A system of licensing and registration is the perfect device to deny gun ownership to the bourgeoisie. – Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
Yet the same crap kerps happening with innocent people getting shot and killed on a regular basis. Liberals just want it to stop. Figure that out and the rest will take care of itself. What we have now obviously isn’t working.
A fairly good article, but you should really proofread it before you post it. This is full of grammatical errors. Also, if you state “facts”, you need to site your sources.
I published the wrong version. Sorry about that… ~Dave Dolbee
Sadly the fools we elect to represent us have not taken the time to learn form history that gun registration has made no effect on gun violence. Nor have they taken the time to educate themselves on the types of weapons they are trying to ban and the history showing that ‘assault weapons’ are not much more than a statistical blip on the gun deaths in this country. I shudder to think that all the other types of bills they try to enact on other issues are so poorly investigated.
Let’s not forget how our so called law makers always seem to exempt themselves and their friends out of the laws they pass for the rest of us. Passing a law to register any weapons we own will only turn millions of law abiding citizens into felons. We will not comply.
A good read. “COMMON sense” just a catch phrase used by the Liberals so it sounds modern or progressive in interpretation.
These Liberals don’t have ANY sense at all, let alone COMMON sense!
My advise is leaving us peaceful gun owners alone. When it’s a real life or death matter, only an armed good guy can interfere in a mass shooting or attempted mass killing. What’s that saying???? When you need police now, they are minutes away… What ever it is!!!! It’s our duty, not the police to protect ourselves and our families and our communities. Our 2nd Amendment rights are NOT negotiable. I do not yield my rights to government or Liberals. Go away????
More clickbait preaching to the choir. When you have a real thought on how to better manage our unhinged lunatic fringe that does take delight in committing suicide after mass shootings, I will be eager to read it. The echo chamber is too resonant for me today.
Many don’t believe gun confiscation will happen here in the good old US of A. IT ALREADY HAS!!! 2005, New Orleans, post-Katrina… the military went door to door confiscating firearms from law abiding owners. These owners were at the mercy of the criminals that poured into New Orleans and sectioned off their territories. BETCHA DIDN’T HEAR THAT IN THE “LAME STREAM” MEDIA, DIDJA.
Get your story straight. Registration, then Confiscation, then Subjugation is the ultimate goal of the “Progressives” in their quest for a global one world government. THIS IS THE AGENDA OF THE ANTI-GUNNERS. It is NOT about crime, it is about bringing down the greatest stumbling block to their globalist dream and that begins with YOU.
THE CANCER ANALOGY IS TIRED AND OVERWORKED. People are NOT cancer. You have good people and you have two legged snakes. And, this political issue is people oriented, not ideological ether.
So, should you quit arguing with these snakes and use a few plays of their’s, out of the Alinsky handbook, and start engaging in “civil unrest””? In your article… did peaceful resistance dissuade Hitler, Lenin, Mao, Pol Pot? Is the solution in the ballot box? Why did Japan decide against an invasion of the US mainland? Why do the Swiss actively arm their citizenry? Will face to face confrontation against the cowardly snakes work better?
Rasmussen Polls published a poll yesterday (6-27-18) in which 31% of the respondents believe a civil war is inevitable. I pray to God that this will not happen in OUR beloved country. But, know that this is another play the Left has used time and time again to destroy free societies.