Opinion: Gun violence can be significantly reduced in frequency and magnitude with action in 13 areas
We have been witnesses to yet another senseless slaughter, of 19 innocent, defenseless school children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, a place many of us had never heard of before. Uvalde has, overnight, become a metaphor for every unnamed community anywhere in the country. Thoughts and prayers have been sent, again. The expression has become a meaningless cliché.
I can join in prayers seeking God’s comfort and resilient strength for loved ones of those who died. Thoughts, on the other hand, need to be focused on what can actually be done about this recurring nightmare. God has no hands but our hands.
Let’s start with the inescapable fact that there isn’t one single thing that can be done to stop all gun violence in this country. The argument is made (by those opposed to regulation of guns) that, absent such a “silver bullet,” there’s no need to discuss the subject. An equally flawed permutation of that argument is that, because whatever is proposed would not have avoided the most recent example of gun violence and innocent lives being lost, such a discussion isn’t timely.
Neither argument holds up under scrutiny. They are mostly designed to avoid consideration of workable solutions.
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I think some scrutiny is warranted, and it’s not just timely, it’s long overdue. There are things that can be sensibly done to reduce some of the gun violence, even knowing that doing all of them won’t completely eliminate gun violence. We should not let perfection be the unwitting enemy of the good.
Reasonable people should be able to agree on these measures being implemented:
No fly, no buy. That is to say, anyone who cannot pass muster enough to board a commercial airplane should not be allowed to buy a gun.
Background checks. There should be no loopholes in required background checks. Anyone who wants to buy a gun should have a satisfactory background check completed, however long that takes.
Domestic violence. Anyone who has committed domestic violence, used a weapon to commit a crime of any kind, or has had a restraining order or no-contact order entered against them by a judge, should not be allowed to buy or own a gun.
Weapon capacities. Just as surely as bazookas are outlawed, automatic weapons (those where the shooter who merely pulls the trigger once and holds it can shoot until the magazine is empty), should be fully banned, not just restricted.
Bump stocks. Similarly, “bump stocks” that effectively convert a semi-automatic weapon to approximate automatic operational capabilities should be permanently outlawed except for military use, and those already in the public domain should be taken (with just compensation).
Clip capacity. Six shots should be enough to dissuade a home intruder or kill a deer. Require a reload after six rapid-fire shots, and give intruders and deer the running chance they deserve.
Ghost guns. The sale of parts that buyers can assemble to create a gun without serial numbers should be illegal.
Age restriction. No one under the age of 21 should be allowed to buy or be in possession of a gun of any kind without adult supervision; OK, strike that, a BB gun would be fine, but nothing more lethal than that.
Mental health commitment. Anyone who has been involuntarily committed for mental health treatment should not be allowed to buy or own a gun.
Treatment insurance. Mandatory mental health coverage under Medicare and Medicaid should be reinstated.
Red flag enforcement. Pursuant to red flag legislation, local law enforcement should be able to blacklist anyone reasonably suspected of being mentally or emotionally unfit, subject to the right to appeal to a judge.
Concealed carry. There should be no unlicensed concealed carrying of a gun allowed except for law enforcement. Bodyguard contractors and employees should also be an exception if they are first trained and certified as such.
Parental accountability. Personally, I’d be willing to go somewhat further, like holding parents and custodians liable for actions of minor children in their care who are able to access a gun at home and use it or threaten to do so. That wouldn’t prevent such access, but it would get folks’ attention because of the market and premium cost it would create for an insurance policy to cover the liability exposure. Insurers, in turn, would be able to impose access restrictions as a condition of coverage.
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Those should be seen as sensible things that could be done nationwide. Even collectively, those things would not stop all gun violence, but each of them would stop the use of a gun to commit indiscriminate or targeted gun violence in some situations where it currently is too convenient. Collectively, they would reduce the occurrence and/or magnitude of gun violence.
We are not without options if there were to be a genuine search for a collection of steps that could help. The steps I’ve outlined would help, without compromising the intent of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Journalist Randy Evans called for political “leaders” to lead on this subject in the May 18 Bloomfield Democrat. The foregoing litany of steps that can be taken, or any of them, would be a good place to start and a step in the right direction. With that leadership, we would not have to be helplessly victimized as we are right now.
We are in our perpetual political season. Those who attend candidate “town hall” meetings should insistently ask candidates about these specific recommendations and maybe others, and insist on knowing whether or not the candidate would support each of them and, if not, why.
Jonathan Wilson is an attorney practicing in Des Moines.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Opinion: Gun violence horrors can be significantly reduced
