President-elect Obama should implement seven tested and proven initiatives that will have an immediate impact on reducing gun related violence, accidents and suicides without affecting the Second Amendment or having any negative impact on responsible and law abiding gun owners.
Of the average 34,000 gun deaths in the US every year approximately 11,000 are homicides, 18,000 are suicides and 5,000 are unintentional accidents. We can change these horrific numbers.
If I were President Obama, one of my first acts would be the immediate implementation the following gun violence prevention initiatives to reduce gun access by children, criminals and terrorists without any undue restrictions on responsible gun owners like myself.
#1 Mandatory criminal background checks for all gun sales
Current Federal law only requires Licensed gun dealers to perform criminal background checks. Consequently in 32 States "private dealers"/individuals can legally sell guns at thousands of annual gun shows, countless flea markets and yard sales, and out of homes, backpacks, car trunks or on street corners without running a background check or asking to see an ID. Only the first gun sale from a "Federally Licensed" gun dealer requires documentation and all "secondary" gun sales are legally allowed to take place without any paperwork or record keeping. As a result, convicted felons and suspected terrorists can and do buy guns simply because there is no background check required or conducted.
#2 Require responsible and safe gun storage for all firearms unless they are in the owners direct control
Approximately 40% of American homes have at least one firearm. Most guns used in child accidental gun injuries and deaths and teenage suicides come from within the home. Responsible guns owners safely secure their guns -unloaded and locked unless they are in their direct control. Seventeen States have such a safe-storage/Child Access Prevention requirement and all such states have a lower incidence of gun injuries and deaths among children compared to states without such a requirement.
#3 Allow Law Enforcement to maintain and share critical "crime-gun" trace data
Current Federal law prohibits the BATF from sharing crime gun trace data even among law enforcement agencies. In 2000 the BATF used crime-gun trace data to determine that just 1% of licensed gun dealers provided 57% of guns used in crime. Instead of supporting law enforcement efforts to identify and arrest illegal gun dealers, the Bush administration made police the enemy of "gun rights", requiring prison sentences for any police official that shares crime-gun trace data with even other law enforcement.
#4 Restore and improve the Federal Ban on Assault Weapons
The 10 year Federal ban on 19 specific military style assault weapons beginning in 1994 was supported by every major US law enforcement organization representing over 450,000 police officers. Although so called assault weapons make up approximately 1% of the US gun stock, statistics clearly show that they are the weapon of choice by gangs, career criminals and terrorist organizations and disproportionately show up in crimes. The Bush administration let the ban expire in 2004 even though the ban resulted in a dramatic 66% reduction in these weapons used in crime over the 10 year period.
#5 Repeal the Federal law giving Immunity to the gun industry
In 2007 Congress and the Bush administration enacted legislation prohibiting the ability to sue the gun industry even for negligence and blatantly marketing to criminals. For instance, the Tech 9 semi-automatic pistol, one of the guns used at the Columbine High School massacre, was marketed as "having a finish resistant to fingerprints", the Hertzel 22 cal handgun is marketed as "capable of penetrating 48 layers of soft body armor" and the Barrett 50 cal sniper rifle with a 2 mile range and designed to penetrate steel, is touted as being able to "take down an aircraft with one shot" and they tell you where to put it. Osama bin Laden bought a dozen of these US made Barrett's when fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan! The gun industry makes, markets and sells inherently dangerous product (like automobiles, knives and drugs- all regulated) and they should be held accountable for their actions.
#6 Enact National Consumer Product Safety Commission regulations for firearms
Congress has prohibited the National Consumer Product Safety Commission from oversight of the gun industry. Therefore guns have NO consumer safety, manufacturing or marketing standards for how they are sold. Consequently toy guns and teddy bears have more regulations on how they're made than real guns that result in an average of 34,000 deaths a year in the US. The gun industry flaunts their "freedom" from regulation and continues to make and sell guns without minimal safety features and in some cases knowingly market their deadly products directly to criminals and terrorists without any accountability. Massachusetts, which is home to Smith and Wesson, the nation's largest handgun manufacturer, enacted the first in the nation Consumer Protection regulations for firearms and such oversight had no negative impacts on legitimate gun makers, dealers or buyers in the State.
#7 Create incentives for the gun industry to make "personalized guns"
According to gun maker Smith and Wesson, guns could be made with personal recognition technology such that only the intended user could fire the gun. This practical technological solution would save the lives of countless victims of gun violence, accidents and suicides each year. It could also help save the lives of the 17% of police officers killed in the line of duty by a criminal accessing the officer's gun. In fact, in an agreement with the Clinton administration, Smith and Wesson promised to invest a portion of net profits into "personalized gun technology".
If President Obama and Congress were to enact just these 7 national gun violence prevention initiates, the 34,000 annual gun deaths and 80,000 injuries would be reduced to a fraction without any undue hardship on responsible gun owners like myself. I'm hopeful. President-elect Obama knows all too well that 70-80 percent of the 80 or more gun deaths every day in the US are non-white, urban Americans. He also knows that an overwhelming majority of Americans, including gun owners and law enforcement officers, support criminal background checks for all gun sales, the Ban on assault weapons and responsible safety standards and regulations for gun makers, dealers and owners that do not infringe upon Second Amendment rights.
Now all that is needed is a loud public outcry and the political will for sensible and responsible domestic gun policy.
Restore federal funding to universities studying gun violence.
Once we have the studies, we can formulate strategies to combat gun violence.
1) If violence over all drops, violence with firearms drops.
2) If violence with firearms is targetted, violence stays the same.
3) Violence increases as education, employment, and the economy go down.
If you want to reduce violence involving firearms, attack the root causes of violence, not the tools used.
Guns are a contributing major factor to both crime and violence.
#3 If 1% of the FFLs sell 57% of the guns used in crimes according to the ATF, then that indicates the ATF does a lousy job of dealing with its own licensees who are, or maybe in violation of the laws.
#5 Is just absurd. Holding a company accountable for the illegal actions of an individual that bought one of their products and misused it is inherently unfair. Ford isn't held accountable for drunk drivers. Distillers aren't held accountable for drunk drivers. How can the firearms industry be the only industry that has that burden placed on it? And the fact that Osama bin Laden got guns during the war against the Russians has more to due with the US government than the gun company.
#6 Firearms are among the most regulated products. When was the last time you had an FBI background check when buying a teddy bear, a car? Do car dealers check driving records for past DUI/DWI arrests? Imagine how many lives could be saved if cars were prohibited from being sold to those who broke driving laws.
4. These are used in less than 1% of crimes and are a non-factor. Handguns are the preferred choice for criminals.
5. Gun makers are held accountable for making faulty products just like any other company. The problem with this suggestion is that companies should be held liable for the use of their product as well. So Ford should be held liable for drunk drivers, Louisville Slugger held liable for someone getting hit with a bat, and Ginsu held liable when someone commits suicide when they use their knives.
6. Gun manufactures can be sued for making a faulty product. The problem again is minimal safety features, what is that.? What does the false accusation “selling to terrorists and criminals” have to do with product safety?
7. It is near impossible to make a product that can do the exact opposite of what it is supposed to do. All quality products are made with the expectation that they have flawless functionality, including guns. You pull the trigger and it works, why because your life may depend on it. The more “safety” barriers created the likely hood of functionality go down. Ask the police, do they want a gun that is guaranteed to fire when they pull the trigger or a gun that is guaranteed it will not be fired by anyone except them. You can’t logically or practically have both.
Not true. So-called "assault weapons" are the most popular centerfire target rifles and defensive carbines in the USA, and more Americans lawfully own them than hunt. Yet according to the FBI Uniform Crime Reports, less than 3% of U.S. murders involve ANY type of rifle.
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2007/data/table_20.html
Even Ray Schoenke, head of the American Hunters and Shooters Association, says that the "assault weapon" fraud was a mistake and a new ban should NOT be passed:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/10/14/132131/43/273/630261
"We're opposed to reinstating the semi-auto assault weapons ban. There's a lot of confusion about this legislation. Most people believe an assault weapon is a full-auto. Those fully automatic guns are already regulated. The best way to deal with this issue is to make sure that criminals don't get guns in the first place. --Ray Schoenke"
FWIW, the FN-Herstal (not "Hertzel") FiveSeven with civilian ammunition is incapable of penetrating any body armor rated to stop .357 magnum (e.g., NIJ Level II or IIIA). Armor-piercing 5.7x28mm ammunition is restricted to police/military only, as is all other AP handgun ammunition.
http://www.atf.gov/firearms/firearmstech/fabriquen.htm
"My neighbor has a Colt rifle. It is chambered for .223 Remington cartridges. He buys .223 Remington cartridges made by Winchester. The cartridges have Nosler bullets. He puts a Winchester made .223 Remington cartridge in the Colt rifle and pulls the trigger, sending the Nosler bullet on its way to the target. "
Funny thing is, with all the money New Jersey is spending trying to develop this technology, not ONE gun company has worked with them to try it on their guns.
The leadership of the FOP, and the appointed politicians who run the major police forces around the country DO NOT speak for the officers! The vast majority of officers DO NOT support an "assault weapon" ban for a couple of simple reasons. First, those weapons called "assault weapons" are not! They are military look-alikes only, with no more inherent danger than a Remington Model 8. Second, police officers will tell you that they cannot respond immediately, meaning within seconds, to any call. That leaves the innocent to protect themselves from the guilty. There's a new old saying out there, "when seconds count, the police are only minutes away". It's true. Third, there is a Supreme Court ruling that relieves the police from the protection of individuals, requiring the police only to protect society at large. Again, this leaves you to protect yourselves and your families.
Mr. Rosenthal knows this full well, which calls into question his honesty, again.
Semper fi
Most of those private sellers used to be FFL holders before folks like you, John, and Josh Sugermann came along and raised Hell about there being too many FFL holders (Josh is an FFL holder, BTW). As such, they would have been required to do the background checks you want. But because of the outcry from the gun control camp, becoming or renewing an FFL became prohibitively difficult for these people and they let their FFLs expire or refused to get one. Basically, your side shot itself in the foot.
Actually, no, they don't.
According to S&W, such technology is very immature and fraught with problems to the point of not being feasible.
In return for promises of increased funding for police.
LOL... The BATFE and FBI shut down dealers frequently, often over simple clerical errors.
Um, no, it did not. Reports that it did were based solely on cherry picking data.