Common Sense Gun Reforms

Stymied for 7 years -- it is enough to make a man cry!

Obama and the Democratic leadership are perplexed beyond words over their inability to leverage mass murders in support of gun control. No matter how horrific the crime, they seem to be unable to rally public opinion to the notion that increased gun control will make us safer.

Of course, that is for good reason, since keeping weapons out of the hands of law-abiding citizens will not make us safer, and the Democratic leadership has shown a predilection for legislation that directly infringes on the rights of legal gun owners, which has cost them the trust of the majority of Americans when it comes to this particular topic.

They support measures such as legislation that would permit the victims of gun violence to sue the manufacturer of the weapons used as well as a 50% levy on ammunition, two measures that would effectively put the gun industry out of business.

Which is a shame, because there are basic, common sense steps that can make us safer, and on which our representatives should be able to reach a consensus.

For example, it is clear that the mentally ill, as defined as anyone who has been involuntarily committed to a mental institution or deemed unfit by way of legal proceeding, should not be permitted to own a gun. However, as demonstrated by the mass shooting at a Lafayette movie theater, all that a shooter has to do is cross state lines in order to conceal the fact that he is mentally ill. Therefore, it is imperative that we establish a national registry of the mentally ill so that this information can be made available to the federal background check system and law enforcement, with penalties for those states that do not comply with the law. A provision must be put in place for an individual to petition a judge for removal from this list once they can be deemed fit.

Similarly, anyone who has been the subject of a protection order should be immediately added to a national database which would prevent them from owning a gun until they can convince a judge that they are no longer a threat.

Finally, it seems clear to me that all gun sales, including transfers of ownership between individual owners, should be subject to the background check provision. A system that effectively keeps guns out of the hands of convicted felons, the mentally ill and those who have been subject to protection orders must not be compromised by loopholes that facilitate straw purchases and transfers.

Such measures would do little to infringe on the rights of the vast majority of law-abiding citizens, but would go far to help keep guns out of the hands of those who should not have them.