10 Years After Columbine, Elected Officials Doing Nothing Is Not Working

Mass killings in the United States are not inevitable.

If they would have the political courage to create a safety net of gun violence prevention laws, America's elected officials could help keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of dangerous people and thus reduce the total number of killed and wounded by gunfire every year in this country.

Let's be clear: mass shootings are symptoms of a vastly larger gun violence problem in America that we enable by our inaction and inattention. Our nation suffers over 30,000 gun deaths every year, including 12,000 firearm homicides. That's 32 gun murders a day - the same number murdered at Virginia Tech two years ago on April 16.

To understand how complacent we've become with a death toll that shocks the rest of the industrialized world, consider that England and Wales suffered just 52 gun murders total in the last reported year, according to the UK's Home Office. Yet here in America, mass shootings alone accounted for 57 firearm homicides in less than a month between March 10 and April 7.

At an average of 32 firearm homicides a day, that means another 871 gun murders went virtually unnoticed by the national, and often local, news media over that month.

If terrorists or pirates or even pistachios had killed even a fraction of that number of Americans last month, news coverage would be wall-to-wall, spurring citizens across the political spectrum to demand immediate action from President Obama and Congress.

As it stands, Americans murdering each other at this rate is largely ignored until a deranged person shoots and kills several Americans at the same time. Even then, most news coverage reacts like they do to a natural disaster that comes and goes and can't be controlled.

Most of what we hear from the politicians are pro forma words of sympathy, empty platitudes and weak promises to "enforce the laws on the books." Aside from the Brady Law, there are only a few weak, nearly non-existent laws on the books to prevent gun violence, so the basic response is: do nothing.

Meanwhile, the killing continues at its usual pace.

It doesn't have to be this way. Gun violence and mass killings are man-made problems that can be made less tragic with common sense answers immediately available to our elected officials.

To be clear, gun violence prevention isn't about any one gun law. It's about a system of nationwide laws that work together to reduce the total number of gun deaths and injuries by making it harder for dangerous people to get firearms, while respecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.

America lacks such a system today.

To address this, Congress should require criminal background checks for every gun sale in this country, including at gun shows, where criminals and gangsters can get anything from AK-47's to cheap semi-automatic pistols from unlicensed "private" sellers with no questions asked.

Next - as the shooting deaths of seven police officers over the last month bear tragic witness - Congress should restrict civilian access to military-style assault weapons.

Furthermore, Congress should limit the bulk sales of handguns and take other steps to disrupt the illegal firearms traffickers who supply the criminal gun market that plagues too many American communities.

These policies won't end all lethal violence in America, but they are a necessary step. With 30,000 Americans dead every year from gunfire, it is clear that doing nothing is not working.

(Note to readers: An edited version of this article appeared in last Friday's edition of the Nashville Tennessean. This entry, along with past entries, has been co-posted on bradycampaign.org/blog and the Huffington Post.)

Comments

[pg99]

The gun industry generates a total economic loss of $15B per year in the United States:

http://truecostblog.com/2009/04/26/the-true-cost-of-gun-ownership/

This is the case because the gun industry has a severe negative externality - one of guns' primary uses is to shoot people, and virtually all shootings in the US are unlawful.

From an economic standpoint the small arms industry is the weak sibling of the defense industry, which is highly profitable and self-sustaining. The small arms industry, on the other hand, is implicitly subsidized by protection from legal liability which other industries lack.

Gun owners and the small arms industry will eventually have to undertake reforms to make gun usage in the US safer - it should embrace commonsense reform, rather than fight it. Otherwise heavy handed reform becomes more likely over time.

[djkrlsn]

Whose "commonsense reform" are you talking about--Paul and the BC/VPC with their criminal empowerment zones like Virginia Tech where the only people without guns are the victims; or are you talking about "common sense reform" like the DC laws that got thrown out in Heller--or are you talking about real commonsense like keeping violent felons in prison and the work being done with Project Exile where felons that are caught with guns or trying to buy them are put back in prison for 10 years

[mike102]

"The small arms industry, on the other hand, is implicitly subsidized by protection from legal liability which other industries lack."

That's not true. If a gun is defective, and the owner is injured as a result, he can file a product liability siut against the manufatcturer, just as if an automobile had a dangerous defect resulting in an accident.

Gun manufacturers are not responsible for the actions of criminals, just as Ford and GM are not responsible for drunk drivers.

[Thirdpower]

Lots of assumptions in that article. Wait, what's this?

"Funding/Support: This research was supported by a
grant from the Joyce Foundation,"

Shock, I say, shock.

[mike102]

Nice catch.

It's like one of us quoting a study funded by Glock.

[mike102]

Paul, if the "gun show loophole" was a real problem as far as arming criminals, you would not have had to wait 10 years to exploit Columbine.

"To address this, Congress should require criminal background checks for every gun sale in this country, including at gun shows, where criminals and gangsters can get anything from AK-47's to cheap semi-automatic pistols from unlicensed "private" sellers with no questions asked."

If it's so easy for gangsters to get guns from gun shows why aren't they doing it?

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/guns.htm

" A flea market or gun show for fewer than 2%.
A retail store or pawn shop for 12%.
Family, friends, street buy, or an illegal source for 80%."

"Aside from the Brady Law,"

Don't you mean 'Brady/NRA Law, since it was their support that cinched it for you?

"Congress should require criminal background checks for every gun sale in this country"

If Congress did this, would that mean that Sarah Brady would no longer be able to walk into a gun store, pass a Brady/NRA Background Check, and then straw-purchase a firearm for her grandson?

[molonlabe]

It's official. Dump your IRAs and invest in guns and ammo.....

http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/topstocks/archive/2009/04/16/guns-a-better-buy-than-stocks.aspx

[djkrlsn]

Good news for us--the dumbgun legislation has apparently been pulled from the hearing schedule for now, so I guess jimbob has a bit less support from the Kalifornication legislators than he thought

[djkrlsn]

Jimtom--since you are good with requiring muzzlestuffing firearms--I assume you are also volunteering to let the CIA, FBI and your local LEOs monitor ALL your electronic communications

[OdinsEye]

Jimtom,

Open this picture and tell us all, what are those black things on many of these guys' hands.

http://www.ci.san-marcos.tx.us/departments/Police/Images/SWAT1474web.jpg

[djkrlsn]

and jimtom claims no one wears gloves while shooting, so I guess all his engineering buddies that he discussed his beloved dumbgun tech with don't know anything more about guns than he does--I would love to see the computer chip that will stand up to the recoil of an X frame Smith (especially if used without a compensator) or the smoke and recoil of a howdah pistol (double barrelled 8 gauge anyone?)

[OdinsEye]

It is one thing to design a biometric lock. It is quite a bit different to design one which will reliably work on a handgun under acceptable circumstances and with acceptable reliability. And if you don't comphrehend what those circumstances are, it is down right impossible.

BTW, my duty gloves are puncture and knife-slash resistant and well as protecting my hands from blood, vomit, and urine. My recreational shooting gloves are Nomex and leather - and anyone who has gotten gap flash burns or shavings from a revolver knows that wearing gloves is a darn good idea.

[twogunmojo]

i try to post this yesterday but no luck...tell me jimtom..will your "smartguns" have a command override switch so the police can turn off our gun at will..and will that code be for one gun or will the override be capable of powering down all "smartguns­"..leaving the entire citizenry at the mercy of the government...and i wish some anti-gun types would show me how the government would be unbeatable in a gorilla type war against citizens...in your military opinion how long would it take to secure the 50 state capitals....how long to secure the highways and interstates and the bridges...not to mention the soft targets such as soldiers families...anyone that can make meth can make symtex or nitro...and i have not seen a predator that can see through the forest canopy around here...and i have not seen an abrams that can follow me up a mountain bike trail...

[HisXLNC]

Most of the defeatist crowd is convinced that the military will just lob smart bombs all over the country. Apparently, the government would be so bent on destroying "subversives" that it would destroy it's own infrastructure and many non-subversives in the process.

[mike102]

Didn't an act of Congress forbid the turning of the US military on it's own people?

It probably doesn't matter much. Most US soldiers are young people, who I have to believe would have a real hard time obeying an illegal order, and firing on their own.
I have more faith in them than that.

[Thirdpower]

10 years after Columbine, don't worry about the students. Be afraid of the professors:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090425/ap_on_re_us/us_georgia_professor_shooting

[ProGunAmerican]

Charleton Heston a few years ago at the NRA convention, said "from my cold, dead hands", as he held up a frontier era muzzleloader. All I've got to say is...amen! To bad he didn't hold up an AR-15, lol.

[mike102]

Funny you should mention muzzleloaders. They have always been my main firearms related hobby, especially percussion revolvers.

The BC recently supported a proposed NJ law that would have banned .50 caliber inline muzzleloaders.

Here in the People's Rebublik, in 2007, there was a bill before NJ state legislators that would ban .60+ muzzleloading muskets, because we all know how many criminals use those. You know, like the guy who stole Paul Revere's horse.

Or maybe they're afraid that Al Quaida will start dressing up as Revolutionary War reenactors, and begin shooting down jumbo jets at Newark International.

And NJ only came in 2nd in the BC's list of states with the most absurd gun laws.

I demand a recount!

[mike102]

A short while back, jimtom mentioned that he often spoke to lawyers regarding gun control.

Who does that?

Downthread, he said this, re: "smart gun" research-

"Not if me and my friends are able to secure $100 million in Federal and Foundation funding for the r & d, which we're doing right now."

Who has such "friends"?

Jimtom is a paid employee of the BC.

[jimtom]

Nope, don't even know a single individual who works for them.

mike102, since you felt ok about asking me about my politics (Are you a Socialist?), are you an American Nazi? And I speak to lawyers about gun patrol, because several of my friends are lawyers (you see, the people I hang out with actually have educations).

[LtBromhead]

"And I speak to lawyers about gun patrol, because several of my friends are lawyers (you see, the people I hang out with actually have educations)."

I think you'll find that many if not most gun owners are college educated, as are most of us here. It's easy to be an insulting, condescending snob when you're hiding behind a keyboard, also.

"Not if me and my friends are able to secure $100 million in Federal and Foundation funding for the r & d, which we're doing right now."

Sure. My friends and I are trying to raise 100,000,000 dollars to fund NASA.

And if we're such pathetic human beings, and such terrible citizens, all I can say is that there are 80 or 90 million of us, so we're in good company.

[mike102]

"are you an American Nazi?

Oh yeah! We Nazis ALL voted for Obama. Didn't you know that?

Mike102
Rutgers University, New Brunswick
Class of '77

[Thirdpower]

So let's see the grant applications. What foundation is applying for it? From which department?

[mike102]

"And I speak to lawyers about gun patrol, because several of my friends are lawyers (you see, the people I hang out with actually have educations)."

Thin.

I don't have any lawyer friends. However, when I go to any family gathering, I can't swing a dead cat without hitting half a dozen or so. My father's side of the family is almost totally comprised of lawyers. They never talk about gun control, unless I bring it up.

I still think you have a dog in this fight.

[MajorTom125]

"And I speak to lawyers about gun patrol, because several of my friends are lawyers (you see, the people I hang out with actually have educations)."

And did these highly educated friends of yours call it "gun patrol", or 'gun control'?

Actually, "gun patrol", while probably a mistake, is probably more accurate in this case.

[fishyjay]

I disagree.

Jimtom has admitted to favoring far more gun bans than the BC is willing to admit to at this point in time.

[ProGunAmerican]

Jimtom says that we gunowners should "adjust" our lifestyles? Come again? Who are you to tell me how to live my life? I've got three words for you.....take a hike! You sound just like Obama, lecturing all of us on reducing oil consumption, after he burns 9000 gallons of jet fuel on a 1800 mile round-trip to Iowa, lol, Obama's a two faced hypocrite.

I'll live my life as I damn well please, irrespective of what you think or say. I just mounted a bumper sticker on my car, it says...."I'll keep my guns, money, and freedom, you can keep the "change". Amen to that!

These people that advocate tyranny of the majority just astound me, where do they get off with this crap?

[jimtom]

I prefer the bumper sticker that said "You Can Have My Gun When You Pry My Cold Dead Finger From the Trigger." Deal!!

[mike102]

You have quotes around something that nobody ever said.

[CaptainRoadKill]

A handgun to defeat any body armor
The GSh-18 pistol, the world’s most lightweight handgun, is capable of piercing any body armor. Weapon designers at the arms developer and manufacturer KBP Instrument Design Bureau in Tula say it is a next generation side arm, replacing the legendary Makarov pistol.

http://en.rian.ru/video/20090327/120770953.html

The newest cop killer bullet in and easily concealable hand gun!
We’d better ban both, after all they could easily get into the hands of Mexico’s Drug Warrior’s! After all it’s obvious that Americans will be safer if they have fewer rights.

What do you mean they aren’t “made in America” so banning won’t work?

When had Logic ever been applied when it comes to protecting the Sheeple?

[OdinsEye]

Been out since the 90s and has been quite over hyped, much as the 5.7 by FNH.

[OdinsEye]

Some food for thought, based on BATFE, FBI, and CDC numbers and assuming that each firearm is only misused once (IOW, the numbers are errored to the hugh side):

Annual crime uses of firearms = less than 0.2% of all firearms owned, (less than 0.4% of handguns

Annual suicide uses of firearms = less than 0.008% of all firearms owned

Annual murder uses of firearms = less than 0.004% of all firearms owned

Annual accidental deaths with firearms = less than 0.0006% of all firearms owned

[djkrlsn]

So it looks like the dumbgun tech is a solution in search of a problem

[HisXLNC]

Another problem with "smart guns" is cost.

What are companies like Hi-Point going to do when the law mandates they double (if not triple) the price of all their products? I guess the poor don't deserve self-defense.

But then again, increasing the cost of shooting has been one of the gun-banners goals for the longest time now. Anyone remember their crusade against "Saturday Night Specials"?

[Toonadude]

You seem to lack faith in the free market system. A creative start-up company, lean, with low overhead will emerge to create more affordable smart guns and the High-Points in the business would have no choice but to sharpen their pencils, cut costs and compete.

[Thirdpower]

Unless noone wants the 'smart guns" and the only way they can become 'competitive' is for the gov't to mandate their use.

[OdinsEye]

Here is the deal, Jimtom. When I go shooting, I shoot my pistol. My spouse shoots my pistol. Her best friend shoots my pistol. My friends shoot my pistol. Other people on the range shoot my pistol. When relatives come visit, they shoot my pistol. If I am instructing, my students shoot my pistol. My kids shoot my pistols.

Make a biometric system that can deal with that.

[djkrlsn]

I also expect to take friends to the range to teach them to shoot--and I expect my guns to work for them--if someone has a felony background--I don't let them use my guns. Also having lived through one big riot, I expect to be able to arm friends and family so they can protect themselves, or help defend their family or my family

[OdinsEye]

Jimtom obviously has not thought his smart-gun idea through very well.

[jimtom]

I'd rather you adjust your life style somewhat so future Eve Carson's have a chance to live long full lives.

[Thirdpower]

Of course you'ld 'rather' that. It's the only way you can force your measures onto the 80 million firearm owners.

[OdinsEye]

Why should I have to adjust my life? I did not kill Eve Carson. None of my firearms killed Eve Carson. No one I know or have ever met killed Eve Carson. No firearm I have ever handled was used to kill Eve Carson.

If I see fit to allow others to legally shoot my firearms, then it is not your place to tell me I cannot.

This is like the glove issue: You don't have to like it, you just have to accept it. These are very real requirements for your "smart-gun". If it can't handle them, then it is a complete non-starter.

[Dimensio]

It is fundamentally unreasonable for you to demand that individuals who bear no responsibility for the death of Eve Carson be punished for her death.