Guest Opinion: Gun control proposals won't deter real criminals

George Sweeney
·3 min read
50

In response to the letter “We can protect the innocent and gun rights,” published June 5, I offer the following:

Mass shootings are not a uniquely American problem. In fact the United States does not even make the top 10 in mass shootings per capita in the Crime Prevention Research Center's 2015 report that measured the average death rate per million people from mass public shootings from 2009 to 2015.

  • If a male of 18 years does not have a fully formed brain and therefore should not be able to purchase a rifle then neither should he be allowed to vote, marry, sign a contract or join the military.

  • You may impose a waiting period if you like but I am not aware of a mass shooting where that would have made a difference. The shooters in Buffalo and Uvalde owned their legally purchased rifles weeks before the shootings and both passed background checks.

  • “Red Flag“ laws put American citizens in a “guilty until proven innocent” predicament. A single unfounded accusation would result in the seizure of private property and require the accused to hire lawyers and miss work to prove the accusation false.

  • Requiring prompt reporting of theft or loss of a firearm actually sounds reasonable, and I might agree, but how often should a responsible owner be expected to check their safe to ensure their weapon is present.

  • “Banning weapons of war,” is an old an worn-out lie. The AR-15 (Armalite Rifle) was designed and marketed as a sporting rifle. They were later acquired by the U.S. Air Force to include in survival kits aboard larger aircraft. Later the U.S. Army ordered a modified design of that rifle, the M-16, to be produced. The U.S. military has never used the AR-15 in combat. Even the M-16 is now obsolete as are the cavalry saber and Brown Bess musket, which, on the other hand, are indeed actual weapons of war.

  • Nearly every hunting rifle sold in the United States during the past 70 years or more is semi-automatic.

  • If you mandate safe storage of firearms (defined how?) you price ownership out of reach to low income inner city residents, many people of color, who share their neighborhoods with gangs and drug dealers. Also what would allow law enforcement to come and inspect such storage in private homes? What could possibly go wrong with such law enforcement interactions remembering that Eric Garner was killed by police while being arrested for selling untaxed cigarettes. In Philadelphia, police are not allowed, under penalty of law, to stop a car for expired registration, covered plates, or dead headlights. In light of that, what could prompt the search of a home for an improperly stored firearm?

The writer’s proposals would unfairly punish law-abiding citizens yet do little to deter real criminals who do not generally obey laws.

How difficult is it to buy illegal drugs now in cities like Philadelphia?

George Sweeney lives in Levittown.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Guest Opinion: Gun control proposals won't deter real criminals