Reasonable gun reform is possible

With yet another “mass shooting” under the nation’s belt, Americans have once more circled the wagons and fired inward, with citizens fighting each other instead of looking for realistic solutions.

As a first step, it’s important that we all understand a few facts so we can stop arguing about them. First, the Second Amendment says, “…the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Second, the Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) found that this right applied to individuals as well as state militias. Third, unless the Constitution is amended by a super-majority of the states and people, the government isn’t going to be “coming for your guns”, since this would also violate the Fourth Amendment (unlawful search and seizure), and Fifth Amendment (due process guaranteed).

Finally, let’s assume for paranoia’s sake that “the government” decided to throw the Constitution out the window and grab everyone’s guns anyway. So, to do that they’d have to enlist the military — made up of our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, or aunts and uncles. Good luck with that. Add to that the problem that the government has no idea where all these guns are that need grabbing.

So, with our rights guaranteed by three amendments to the Constitution, and no one coming to illegally snatch our guns, let’s see if there are some reasonable gun reforms we should consider. And, since a recent Quinnipiac University poll found that Americans by a rate of 66-31 percent felt stronger gun regulations were in order, we’ll be in good company.

- Let’s start with the “low-hanging fruit” and suggest that universal background checks for all firearm sales, and improved ways to conduct them are a good idea. No one wants felons, wife beaters, lunatics, or neighborhood terrorists to be able to waltz into the local gun show and depart with an arsenal. Americans in the above poll thought this was a good idea, 97-3 percent.

- Next, let’s ban “bump stocks” and all similar attachments that functionally allow a semi-automatic weapon to fire much like a fully automatic one. I’d add to this a ban on all new automatic weapons permits — essentially “machine guns.” Outside of the military and law enforcement, there’s no compelling reason to have such a firearm.

- I think the vast majority of folks would agree that mentally impaired people should not be allowed to buy/own firearms, yet Congress, including the entire Montana delegation, recently passed legislation guaranteeing mentally impaired folks the right to buy guns. We should demand they reverse that vote immediately.

As a companion to this, we must mandate (and fund) a complete overhaul and update of the nation’s mental health system so that those identified and diagnosed as having serious mental problems are precluded from having firearms. In addition, we need to consider how we might develop and administer a “Weapons Watch List” for people like the recent Florida school shooter who clearly had an uncontrolled rage problem, 30-plus police calls to his home, and a stated desire to be a school shooter.

- And finally, we do need to consider a restriction/ban on the future sale of “assault-style weapons” such as the AR-15, AK-47, and similar rifles, or on the high capacity magazines (20 and 30 rounds) that enable mass shooters to be ... mass shooters. While it’s true that “guns don’t kill people, people do,” it’s equally true that a shooter with an AR-15 and several 30-round magazines can do way more damage than the same person with only 10-round magazines, a knife or a baseball bat. Perhaps limiting all magazines to 10 rounds or less would be a solution — even if the firearms weren’t banned.

Remember that such a ban would not apply to these weapons or magazines that are already legally owned by Americans. Those are protected by the Constitution and you get to keep them. This would only apply to future sales of “assault-style firearms” and/or high-cap magazines. And with the National Shooting Sports Foundation estimating that Americans currently own more than 320 million firearms, and 10 million AR-15s alone, it’s pretty clear that no one would be left defenseless.

Would such restrictions have prevented the recent Florida school shooting, or stop the ones that may occur in the near future? Absolutely not. We’ve been digging this hole for more than 50 years, and it will take time and a commitment to a safer America to climb back out, but that can’t be an excuse for continued inaction. The sooner we start on a comprehensive program to address gun violence, the sooner we can bend the curve of that violence downward.

Peck is a resident of Columbia Falls.