With the terrible Orlando massacre on everyone's mind thoughts turn
again to ideas for stemming the bloodshed. One of the finest
explanations debunking gun-nut fears and in support of taking some
common sense action was provided by President Obama when he fielded a
gun control question at a PBS town hall in Elkhart, Indiana on June 1 of
this year. You can watch it here. It lasts 5 minutes and 36 seconds.
General Stanley McChrystal ran an op-ed in the New York Times
saying, among other things, that "Our communities should not feel like
war zones" and that we must take action to keep guns out of the hands of
"felons, domestic abusers and terrorists." A Democratic filibuster led
by Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut has apparently forced a vote on a
law banning the sale of guns to people on the FBI terrorist and "no fly"
watch lists next week. Some Republican lawmakers are actually saying
now they think terrorist shouldn't be able to legally get guns and
ammunition in America, but this vote has been held before and
Republicans voted it down then, so we'll see if they change their tune
now. I wouldn't hold my breath.
Perhaps the most cogent
appeal I've seen comes from retired Army officer M. Thomas Davis. He
wrote a recent op-ed, "Strirct Military Gun Control Should Be Our
Model." Read it in its entirety here. He
holds that we ought to take the same care in civilian life that the
military does with respect to lethal weapons. He believes the
intelligent steps would be to 1) renew the assault weapons ban, 2) ban
magazines above eight rounds for pistols and five for rifles, 3) conduct
thorough background checks of everyone seeking to purchase a gun. He
feels "a heavy tax on arms and ammunition, particularly the latter" to
discourage their purchase "serves a clear public good." "the revenue
generated could be used to enhance background checks and hire more
agents for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives."
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