Ethics & Religion
Column #2,072
April 28, 2021
The Need for Gun Control
By Mike McManus
Gun availability is at a crisis point.
Between 1994 and 2004 there was a federal ban on the purchase of assault
weapons. The result was an estimated 70% reduction in mass shootings.
Then Sen. Joe Biden was a sponsor of that legislation and has recently
stated his support for a similar new law.
Less than 24 hours after a shooting rampage in Boulder, Col. that left
10 people dead March 22, Biden proposed a ban on assault weapons and
high-capacity magazines, as well as an expansion of background checks
during gun sales. "I don't need to wait another minute, let alone an
hour, to take common-sense steps that will save lives in the future and
to urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to act."
The need for such action can be seen in the fact there were 126 mass
shootings in the first three months of this year that left 148 people
dead and 481 injured, for a total of 629 victims, some of which included
the shooter.
In just 10 days from April 16 through April 25 there were another 16
mass shootings that left 11 dead and 66 injured in 12 states.
The rate of fatal shootings has risen since 2014 in all but 12 of the
100 largest cities. In cities such Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Milwaukee,
Houston and Kansas City, the rate of fatal shootings was well more than
twice as high in 2020 as in 2014. Most of the increase occurred last
year.
The work of policing is simply far more dangerous in places with more
guns. Even though police officers' actual risk of being killed by
gunfire is as low as it's been in 50 years, the threat of violence
against police still dominates every aspect of police culture and
officer behavior.
As long as cities have a gun problem, abusive and violent policing will
be much harder to solve. And addressing the gun problem itself is
exceedingly difficult, with only imperfect and politically challenging
approaches available. Governments could require licenses for gun
ownership, better regulate gun sales and closely track guns used to
commit crimes, especially as they move across state lines.
Biden was Vice President when President Barack Obama made an
unsuccessful attempt in 2013 to pass new legislation after the Newtown,
Conn. school shooting that left six adults and 20 children dead in
December 2012.
Once again, Obama, now a retired President, has urged passage of
gun-control measures: "We can overcome opposition by cowardly
politicians and the pressure of a gun lobby that opposes any limit on
the availability of anyone to assemble an arsenal. We can and we must."
However, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) at a Senate committee hearing on gun
violence, made it clear that Republicans are not about to reconsider.
"Every time there's a shooting, we play this ridiculous theater where
this committee gets together and proposes a bunch of laws that would do
nothing to stop these murders."
The bills passed by the House are aimed at closing loopholes in the
requirement that gun buyers undergo criminal background checks. The
"Charleston loophole," for example, allows someone to buy a gun if a
background check is not concluded after three days, and that would be
extended to 10 days.
A second bill would close the "gun show loophole" which allows private
individuals who are not licensed dealers to buy and sell guns without
background checks.
However, gun-control activists see some reason for hope. They cite the
enduring popularity of expanding background checks; they point to the
internal problems that have roiled the National Rifle Association, their
most powerful opponent. They reflect on the success Democrats have had
running on gun issues in the suburban areas where their congressional
majorities were built; and they point to the recently successful push to
place new restrictions on guns in Virginia.
Police should not be asked to respond to all of the problems that come
with extreme urban inequality. The people who are called in to mediate
conflicts, calm tempers, and defuse feuds should be credible messengers
who have the cultural authority to talk to their neighbors with respect,
empathy and wisdom. Police should not be called in to disrupt disputes
among people who do not trust them.
Police must be called to respond when a gun is present, but community
residents, leaders and organizations who do this work are the ones who
create public safety.
Let's have a new day for gun control.
_________________________
Copyright (c)2021 Michael J. McManus, a syndicated columnist and past president of Marriage Savers. To read past columns, go to
www.ethicsandreligion.com. Hit
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