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. -2nd Amendment
This may just be one of the most outdated and antiquated amendments in the whole 27, right after the third amendment outlawing the quartering of troops. Most people shorten it to “the right to bear arms”, yet the first begets the second. In order to understand this amendment, it’s important to think through the perspective of the early Americans back in 1789. At the time, the military was very weak, and slow to deploy. They had no speedy transportation, and literally had to march anywhere if there were a battle waging. Also at this time Americans were under threat from native tribes, since they sorta kicked them off their land and killed their families.With these two things in mind, the extreme infancy of an organized military/police force and the constant threat of attack, citizens were all but encouraged to own weapons and know how to use them. A whole community of men could form a militia to defend the rest of the community and act as a supplementary force to the aforementioned organized troops. Not only this, but the framers were afraid of tyrannical governments. Allowing citizens to have the same access to the weapons the military did ensured a fair fight if they wanted to revolt. This was necessary back then, yet has become completely unnecessary now.
Today, due to technological advancement, we have automatic rifles, handheld explosives with incredible potency, and nukes. I can assure you the framers did not anticipate these sort of arms. So why then am I not allowed to keep and bear a thermonuclear warhead? If I have the cash for it, assuming. Because that’s nonsensical, nobody needs that. Needless to say there are many restrictions on this amendment, similar to libel and the first amendment, you can’t have any weapon you want. Yet honestly, it seems that there are more laws governing blades then there are governing firearms. In this post I will dive deep into the very American culture surrounding guns, what policy decisions got us here, and what we can do about people unnecessarily dying to firearms. Lastly I will talk about mass shootings and the media, then conclude with recognition for alternative killers of the American people.
America the Gun Toting Nation
There are more guns than people in America. This fact alone is pretty bonkers. Nearly half of all households own at least one weapon. There are many common day reasons for owning a firearm but the two most popular are sport and protection. When people refer to sport shooting like hunting, they often are referring to rifles and shotguns. When referring to protection, most people think handguns. This isn’t always the case, but is a general consensus. Compared to other nations, not only do we own WAY more guns, but we also have WAY more gun deaths: who would have thought? Many people have been quoted saying gun violence is a developing epidemic in America, however I am forced to dispute. When looking at the data, gun related deaths on the decline, but mass shootings are increasing. (Which I’ll talk about more later) And to be honest, most deaths are suicide. There is a lot of speculation as to why this is the case, but its just that speculation. The real question is not whether it’s becoming an epidemic, just whether or not it’s a public health issue. I think it is undoubtedly a public health issue, due alone to the incredible rise in mass shootings the the recent decade. So why does it seem like there is so little formulated data on incidents? Well, that’s where a complicated series of policy decisions come into play. By complicated I mean contradictory, special interest infested, and loophole generated. The general trend towards looser gun policy does not match the consensus of the populous.
A Messy Gun Policy Landscape
We already know about the second amendment, but what other laws and regulatory agencies have their hands in this complicated mess of gun policy? Let’s start with the players then dive into the rules of the game.
Players:
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
The ATF or ATFE as it is commonly referred as is the main federal enforcer of all laws passed regarding these four items. It sits under the Department of Justice, and has two major jobs relating to firearms. The first is to issue FFLs (Federal Firearm License) to authorized manufactures and sellers of guns. There are different levels of this license, but essentially it means they are a legit seller of guns. You don’t necessarily need a FFL to sell guns, which is something I’ll talk about later. The second main thing this organization does is investigate illegal firearms activity. In the past there has been many horrible incidents of failed stings and illegal searches, so lately it seems there has been a real back-off. They also create initiatives to protect the public and enable law enforcement to track weapons through a newer gun tracing program.
Their mission is simple when it comes to guns, “ATF recognizes the role that firearms play in violent crimes and pursues an integrated regulatory and enforcement strategy”. So they’re here to help us, they are the good guys. But they don’t get to make the laws, congress does.
Congress
Both federal and state congresses pass laws regulating or deregulating guns in America. Sometime’s they are at odds with each other, nothing new here. Many bad laws have been passed by past federal congresses, especially due to the second largest political advocacy group behind AARP, the NRA.
National Rifle Association
This is a nonprofit organization who lobbies congress, endorses candidates and organizes voters who favor gun-owner sided policy. I choose my words wisely here, because they don’t necessarily want looser gun laws. They simply want to enable voters with the knowledge they need on policies and issues relating to guns. They are all for safety, provided gun safety courses and marksmanship classes. However, over the years, they have sponsored bills that I believe have provided loopholes for criminals and been to the detriment of the American public.
Center for Disease Control and the Department of Health and Human Services
I put the CDC and DHHS in here because they often are in charge of researching public health hazards. Yet, their funding for gun violence research was stripped in 1996 due to NRA lobbied Jay Dickey removing budget considerations for them. This dramatically restricted any data collection and not until 2012 did they start research on gun violence again. SMH
Supreme Court
These 9 old judges don’t often play a large role in this game, but have in the past. Striking down just about any state or federal law that tries to cross the second amendment. Because, you know, strict interpretation of the constitution works so well 230 years later…
Civilians
I can’t leave out the most important players, the actual people who buy, sell, and use guns. Whether they are FFL certified sellers, private sellers, private buyers, straw purchasers, or criminals: guns don’t kill people – people kill people with guns.
Rules of the Game:
Many laws have contributed to this complicated gun policy landscape, but I am going to focus on the two most important. There is also a few court cases, but I’ll just highlight one that sort of got us to where we are today.
This law was passed after many huge public figures were assassinated in short time. It charged the ATF with distributing and authorizing distributors of firearms with the FFL. The law was then bolstered in 1993 when the Brady Act was passed requiring all FFL holders to background check each purchaser. The main purpose of this bill was to disallow the capability of mail ordering weapons, which even the NRA agreed to at the time. (Since they mailed the gun that killed JFK) It initially tried to require by law all weapons be nationally registered and have all owners be nationally licensed, but that wouldn’t make it into the final law. Those are still managed per state, and some states are far more lackadaisical.
In many people’s opinion this was a huge mistake, ripping the second amendment open – bordering on tyranny. But honestly, it fell short of its aspirations, then was practically destroyed by the next law. Also, the text of the law only required businesses dealing weapons to own a FFL, not private 2nd market sellers. It also mandated FFL licensed dealers to sell exclusivley at the address listed on the FFL, but this wouldn’t last for long.
So this was a major de-regulation law. Not only did it give FFL holders the capability to sell at locations other than their listed address, it extremely loosened the definitions for a business dealing arms. Essentially it yanked a lot of authority from the ATF, since they were kinda going crazy at the time, and “gave the power back to law abiding, gun-owning, citizens”. But it opened up a huge loophole for criminals to exploit! (I’ll talk about this loophole in the next section)
This supreme court decision ruled in favor of Heller stating that DC’s handgun ban violated the individual’s right to own and bear arms. Essentially, this formally stated that the right to own and bear arms as stated in the second amendment was an individual right as opposed to a right reserved to a person in a militia. (LOL K) This did so much more than just recognize the fact that individuals have the right to own weapons for self-defense, it also reclassified handguns as legal arms and allowed guns to be stored loaded. These were all strikes to previous laws passed by congress, trending heavily toward loose regulation of guns. It however did not challenge any state jurisdiction, since DC isn’t technically a state. A later case asserted the federal authority, McDonald vs Chicago.
How Criminals Get Guns
First off, I want to reiterate, a majority of gun related deaths are suicide. While these are no longer deemed crimes, it’s still a very difficult societal matter. After all, we don’t want people killing themselves, with guns or meds or anything. So if we want to drop these gun death numbers, we should seriously consider a whole new approach to mental illness. I’ll save that for another post.
So there are a few ways criminals can get their hands on guns both legally and illegally through loopholes.
The most common way criminals get guns is through a second hand market. A private “seller” can basically say “they didn’t seem to be a criminal or mean any negative intent” and legally sell the gun. I put “sell” in quotes because it could just be given to them, no trade made. This is the way that most guns get into criminals hands, but who are the people selling them these guns? Who makes the initial “legal” purchase? It could be just about anybody honestly.
With the “Gun Show Loophole” any private seller can say the same thing at a large event where both FFL certified and uncertified vendors sell guns. They don’t have to background check, they don’t have to request identification, they don’t have to do anything but make a sale. (Capitalism at its finest) Even FFL certified sellers can do this if the specific weapon was transferred to personal ownership at least a year ago, I wonder if anybody forges documents in this industry? What I’m saying here is that even a convicted felon could walk into a gun show and purchase a weapon. Apparently the ATF reports that anywhere from 50-75% of sales are made from FFL certified dealers. Also, if you want to buy anything but a handgun, you don’t even have to be a citizen of the state! And from what I can tell from a few hidden camera videos, even that is rare, if you have the cash, they won’t ask for ID. These legal private sales are why so many gang members in California and Mexico have semi-automatic assault rifles, because they legally purchase them and smuggle them over state/national borders. The best part about this, the seller is almost never liable. Unless the buyer says “I am a felon/fugitive/minor/dishonorable discharge/mentally ill” the seller can legally claim ignorance.
Straw purchasers are another sub-problem. Remember that underage kid asking you to buy them beer? Yeah that’s what a straw purchase is. If a criminal wanted to get a gun through a FFL certified authority, they could get a legal purchaser to buy it for them. Then as you know, the second hand market is always a black one. However illegal this is, it’s almost untraceable and can be very easily ousted by that “good guy” claim.
How to Prevent Crime and Death
I often try to find corollaries when attempting to understand new topics. When looking at guns I couldn’t help but to think of cars. After all, they are items owned by individuals that aren’t inherently evil, can can easily become so. There are different kinds of guns and cars that require different licenses to own and operate. They both require a certain level of aptitude in order to operate. The only difference is that the right to drive isn’t in the bill of rights, damn. But seriously, so many restrictions on guns are shot down because it’s seen as a right. (No pun intended)
Realistic Policies
Whenever a pro-gun advocate says “they want to take away our guns”, I sorta laugh. There is no way guns will ever be completely outlawed, its practically impossible. Like I mentioned, there are more guns than people in america. Not only that, but people can legally make their own guns, and now people can even 3D print their own weapons. It would be complete nonsense to even attempt to round up all the weapons in american. We tried that with alcohol one time, and it had far more severely negative consequences. What we need to do is come up with sensible regulation and policy to curb this budding national health hazard. Here is what I think would work.
Licensing
13 states and DC require a license to own/purchase a firearm. Only one of them requires aptitude tests, my home state of California :). It’s honestly shocking that there is no federal mandate for states to require this sort of licensing for guns. After all, the DMV licensing program did a hell of a job at curbing vehicle deaths which were on the rise at the time. The license would cost a flat fee and would expire after a set time, just like a driver’s license. The gun owner would need to verify that they can pass a background check, and are not participating in illegal re-sale of firearms. There would be different license levels for different guns, accompanied by different tests to verify aptitude. Someone who knows how to shoot a handgun, doesn’t necessarily know how to operate a semi-automatic rifle, or shotgun. Sure, the triggers are similar, but so are gas pedals in sedans and 18-wheeler trucks.
In my mind, this is a no brainer. If an individual is caught with a gun and doesn’t have the appropriate license for it, it can be confiscated and the individual fined or jailed (semantics up to the state to determine). This is done to an extent somewhat with concealed carry and open carry licenses, but there is no clear consensus across states. If the federal government passed a law to mandate this, it would go a long way to preventing wrongful ownership of firearms.
Gun Titles/Registration
When you sell your vehicle, you have to fill out a vehicle ownership title transfer. Commonly referred to as a pink slip, you aren’t the legal owner of the vehicle until you get one. In my opinion, every gun should be registered to an individual, even after the first sale. This makes tracing gun transfers so much easier, and narrowing down on the offending seller of guns to criminals. If a gun is confiscated at the scene of the crime and the last owner isn’t involved, they will be partially liable for the crime, because they failed to fill out the proper paperwork to transfer ownership, or cloned it stolen through the police. This will encourage sellers to use the title transfer system for fear of liability. If multiple guns are found in crimes with the same final dealer, that should be considered a felony as they are obviously intentionally distributing guns to criminals.
Gun registration doesn’t have to cost much or even be re-purchased every year like car registration. Unless an argument is to be made that guns need to be smogged or something similar. This system would only be in place to determine ownership of firearms. There would be no limit on the amount of firearms you could own, like cars. A searchable database would be available to authorities to verify the legal ownership of a specific gun, or you would have to prove the owner has given you permission to hold it for them. Very similar to cars. If a car is unlicensed that’s a crime, so if a gun has its serial number removed, it’s illegal. Easy peasy.
Mandating NICS and Harsher Enforcement
The final piece of the puzzle to close the loophole is to require a National Instant Criminal Background Check System verification on every gun title change. Also, give ATF and local law enforcement more power to prosecute any illegal sale. Over 90% of the american population favor this legislation, the only reason it hasn’t been enacted is because of the NRA lobbying against it. This means that the test needs to be made available to private sellers. This provides a few problems. For one, sellers will have to self identify, maybe by being a gun owner with a license, you are assumed to sell privately, then being allowed to use the service. Or, you could have to apply for a seller designation on your license. It also will increase the demand for the check, which could be a technical problem, or just a man-power problem that the FBI would have to double down on.
More Research and Data
The CDC and NHHS need to be allowed to do more research on the affects of certain policies and crime rates. Having definitive information on what actions cause or correlate with others will give us a better understanding of the way guns are used. Similar to what needs to happen with marijuana, the more we relax these policies, we need to do more research on the affects of them. Like the 6% drop in opioid addiction cases since the legalization in Colorado. More data is almost never a bad thing, making informed decisions and policy DEFINITELY is never a bad thing. It’s shocking that for so long this was the case. Even Jay Dickey realized that before his death this year.
Mass Shootings and the Media
This section is admittedly going to be far smaller than the entirety of the rest of the post. Not because it doesn’t deserve the same attention, but because it’s a lot more opinionated that fact based. If you hadn’t noticed, mass shootings have been on the rise lately. The most recent big media hit was the Las Vegas shooting. The aforementioned proposals may help in not allowing this to happen again, but there is a far bigger perpetrator at play, the american media.
Sensationalizing crime for viewership has been a common occurrence since the origins of the police car chase. In fact, many entire shows popped up glorifying crime on TV. Violence sells, and the media outlets know that. Even worse, exclusive coverage sells. So unless all stations agree to not blast a story with national coverage, they are going to show what their competitors are showing to get a share of the views. (Once again, capitalism at its best) But this creates a huge problem when it comes to mass shootings.
“What we believe may be happening is national news media attention is like a ‘vector’ that reaches people who are vulnerable”, said Sherry Towers who is researching the rise of mass shootings in America. After racking the data, mass media coverage of mass shootings follow a contagion like model. Meaning: mass shootings are infectious if widely displayed on media. So what do we do? We stop blasting this on national news for weeks on end! This video says it better than I ever could. Maybe the government needs to get involved, but damn, we need to stop this nonsense before more people die needlessly.
Suicide
Mass shootings only account for 1% of gun related deaths. 65% is suicide. As mentioned earlier, that’s not okay. Something needs to be done about this, but the policy opportunities are slim. This is more of a social issue that we need to address as a society of people. Breaking the stigma of depression is a good place to start, but there is so much more to be done. I will post in the future about the state of mental health education and awareness in america. For now, just know that this is a huge deal for me. I hate when people kill each other, but I am far more affected by the fact that people kill themselves. Being in the situation myself, I can understand and empathize. Don’t expect this administration to give a shit about this issue. Try again in a few years, meanwhile almost 100 people kill themselves everyday… So, 100,000 people will commit suicide by the time we even get a chance to fully replace this trash administration.