This past Veteran's Day weekend, my wife and I decided to take a well-deserved trip down to our favorite getaway spot in Gatlinburg, Tenn. While my wife selected the appropriate clothing for the four-day weekend from the closet, I selected the appropriate hand gun from the gun safe.
So writes Scott W. Wagner in a column for Concealed Carry (Jan 2013), a glossy magazine for gun enthusiasts, because hey, you never know what kind of life threatening killer criminals or terrorists you're going to run in to down in Gatlinburg. A companion piece is entitled, "Dead Eye: When you shoot, aim to protect yourself and take out the threat." I assume they're not talking about a deer.
Is this what America has finally come to? When picking out which pistol to pack is as routine as which tank top to wear to Grandma's?
Concealed Carry is only one of dozens of regular publications for gun... people. And only part of a multi-faceted, powerful conglomeration dead set, to borrow a phrase, against allowing any kind of limitations to be imposed on gun ownership. Any. A powerful force, rich with resources: galvanized by the NRA, who contributed nearly $20 million in the 2012 elections, much of it coming from their "Golden Ring of Freedom" members -- which requires a minimum donation of $1 million each; further funded by gun manufacturers and ultimately enabled by sycophantic, "craven, feckless politicians" (as described by Nicholas Kristof in a recent New York Times editorial) who themselves are beholden to these collective forces and steadfastly refuse to stand up to the NRA.
Gun control opponents have managed to cloak their opposition in glorified Second Amendment principles and good old American values and, according to them and their literal reading of it -- what they're convinced our forefathers intended when they guaranteed "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed" -- as ratified by the States and authenticated by Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State in 1791 -- 222 years ago!
The constitution is and was meant to be interpreted, just like the Bible. Numerous scholars have interpreted these words many different ways over the years, and what they apply to. And consider the numerous ways the constitution itself has been interpreted since it was written -- at least 27 different times, witness the 27 amendments it has engendered since then, including five ratified since 1961 -- and Supreme Court and lower court rulings ad nauseum.
For many -- and especially the most vocal and influential opponents of gun regulation in America -- our Second Amendment is an excuse of a platform, cloaking their real motivations: it's all about business. The business of buying and selling guns -- enabled by sycophantic politicians who have sold their souls to gun advocates in order to maintain their financial support and to hang on to a business -- congressional office -- that insures its holders' lifelong financial comfort the first day they're in. And all of it celebrated by howling gun enthusiasts who have their Second Amendment to stand behind.
The National Rifle Association -- founded in 1891 as a grassroots organization dedicated to marksmanship -- is today considered one of the most powerful lobbying groups in Washington, and has been for several years. They raise some $200 million each year from fundraising and membership dues. In turn they're in the top 1 percent of contributors to political candidates and PACS -- having contributed some $20 million in 2012 in "defense of the Second Amendment." Their 2012 funding supported 56 candidates who won -- and another 6 who didn't. And, no surprise, 96 percent of these funds backed Republican candidates or opposed Democratic candidates.
All of which is why these Republicans are beholden to the NRA, and sure to support favorable legislation -- which has included the federal law that limits liability claims against gun makers (2005); various states' laws allowing virtually anyone to carry a concealed weapon; and insuring the Assault Weapons Ban was lifted in 2004. Getting the liability law established "... saved the American gun industry from bankruptcy," according to Sandy Froman, past NRA president (Bloomberg). Since the assault weapon ban was lifted, rifle production has escalated 38 percent (BATF), and "... is probably the only reason we have a U.S. firearms industry anymore," said Mike Fifer, CEO, Sturm Roger -- one of the country's leading manufacturers of firearms.
And guess what? Sturm Roger is also one of the biggest financial contributors to the NRA, among more than fifty firearms companies that donate money to the NRA every year (Bloomberg). Other major contributors? Remington Arms and Smith & Wesson, the other two U.S. leading firearms manufacturers. According to BATF there were 5,400 licensed firearms manufacturers and 950 licensed importers in the United States. And between 2004 and 2010 the NRA's income from fundraising (primarily from gun manufacturers) grew two times faster than that from membership dues (Bloomberg).
Follow the money: from gun manufacturers to the NRA to the Republican congressmen who support laws favorable to... gun manufactures... who in turn put more money into the NRA... who then puts more money behind compliant congressmen... most of whom get reelected -- so far.
A wickedly vicious circle.
How else to explain congress's utter and absolute refusal to do anything directly connected to guns and the massive, reckless distribution of weapons in America? ... Anything ... ! To be clear: I am not advocating the elimination of guns. I'm not advocating the abolition of the Second Amendment. And I'm certainly not limiting the issue of guns to gun control -- at the expense of mental health, societal values, gratuitously violent entertainment, parenting or anything else. Most people aren't. What I am advocating is to apply some reasonable limitations to the gun industry that will at least demonstrate to our citizens, and the rest of the world that, finally, we're "... mad as hell and (we're) not going to take it anymore!" And begin to make a difference.
There are more than 5,000 guns shows in the U.S. each year, each one attended by 2,500 to 15,000 people. The "gun show loophole" allows individuals "not engaged in the business" of dealing firearms, or who make "occasional sales" within their state of residence -- to sell guns without requiring any background checks, a gap in the BATF regulations that is even advocated by terrorists (CBS News, June 28, 2011). Currently 33 states place zero limitations on gun sales at gun shows, which means thousands of guns are potentially sold illegally every year. Texas has more than 150 gun shows every year. Handgun Control Inc. estimates that 25 to 50 percent of all guns sold at gun shows come from unlicensed dealers.
92 percent of U.S. adults support requiring background checks for all gun show purchases -- including the majority of past and present NRA members -- which would dramatically impact gun sales at gun shows.
Ay -- there's the rub, again. All of this gun control business is bad for the gun business. Applying any reasonable guidelines would be bad for the gun industry -- good for Americans, but bad for the gun industry. The Remington's and the Smith & Wessons would start trimming back their contributions to the NRA. So the NRA loses funding and is unable to support their sympathetic congressmen and women to the degree they have been. The congressmen won't have quite the funds they're accustomed to for campaigning, and less of the monstrous lobbying efforts behind them -- hell, some of them might actually fail to get re-elected! And the rest of us get some reasonable gun control. A much different and ultimately safer circle than the vicious one we are now trapped in.
Vice President Joe Biden has announced he will deliver his gun control recommendations on Tuesday. We'll learn soon enough if our government has the courage to take on these gun control issues.
Don't want to call it "gun control?" Call it gun limitations. Call it the "Right to Live."