Gun Control

In the wake of the Gabby Giffords shooting, this topic has been on my mind once again. Something I have thought of for many years, and proposed to Senator Dianne Feinstein about 17 years ago - reasonable, comprehensive, standards for weapons purchases and use. I posed this question after the murders on the Long Island Railroad that launched Rep. Caroline Maloney's career after her husband was killed and son severely injured in that incident.

On this topic, I need to make clear. I am not some left-wing liberal. I have worked in law enforcement and have friends who own guns. I have handled weapons and don't find it odd. I find our obsession with the issue odd, and our refusal to think responsibly about it as odd.

For example, I think we can all agree that a car is an instrumentality of death. But what are we required to do to get our licenses? We take a written test demonstrating we know about safety and the rules of the road. We apply for the driver's license, We take a practical test to get the license, demonstrating we know how to use the car and know safety and the rules of the road. Plus, if you mis-use that vehicle, your license gets removed. Your car can be seized. You get fined and penalized in numerous ways.

What are we required to do to get a gun? Almost nothing. Go through a minimal background check. We do not have to show proficiency. We do not have to demonstrate we know about safety. We do not have to do anything except show the money.

Isn't it just common sense to approach this problem as if it were an automobile? Can't this also be used to assist law enforcement agencies and even the NRA to raise funds? The NRS and local departments can provide the classes and instructions, for a fair price. The local departments can give the written test, for a price. Certified weapons instructors can provide the practical exam, for a price. During this time, numerous people would be observing the participants and if someone is acting inappropriately, or appears mentally unstable, someone will notice, and that person's credentials can be pulled until reviewed by medical professionals. No permit to purchase would be issued until all of these steps are completed.

That is not to say that a mentally unstable person cannot get access to a weapon, but why do we make it so easy?

I recall an interview a few years ago with someone who heads a weapons rights group (not the NRA). The news anchor asked the subject "isn't it true that xxx numbers of children die every year from a gun in the home? I do not recall the number posed, but the subject said, no, it is really closer to 200 children. The interviewer then did not ask the next logical follow-up question "isn't that 200 children too many? Aren't the parents mourning for children that didn't have to die?

So I ask you, how many more people will have to die before we act responsibly? If it was a drunk driver, there would be no question that we would tighten the laws and make the penalties more harsh. But because it is a gun, we stop, afraid of attack by the NRA or other such groups. When does it stop?