Once again guns are in the news in a big, and sad, way. The news media is full of new gun control proposals, and are also reporting a lot of things that are simply untrue. I'm not going to say they are necessarily being deceptive, but are simply misinformed. Let me give you some facts:
First of all, gun makers...Glock, Ruger, Smith & Wesson, etc...do not sell guns to the public. They don't have any factory outlets. They sell only to Federal Firearms License holders. Broadly speaking these are your gun stores. To get a FFL these retailers must go through an extensive background check themselves and pay a substantial yearly fee. They are also regularly and thoroughly audited. Every gun they get in, and every gun that goes out, must be properly documented. If the FFL holders aren't responsible, blame the government who improperly vetted them, not the gun makers.
Anyone buying a gun from a FFL dealer must have either a current state "License To Carry" a gun (which itself requires substantial vetting) or get approval from the Federal database that says they are not convicted felons, "wanted" for any reason, have never been committed to a mental institution for treatment, have no restraining orders against them, have never denounced their citizenship, have never been dishonorably discharged from the military, and a few other things, too. Failure to properly submit gun buyers for a background check can result in a major fine to the FFL dealer, or even the revocation of their FFL.
You can NOT just buy a gun on the internet, give them your credit card number, and have it mailed to you. You can buy one from an out of area FFL dealer and they will ship it to a FFL dealer in your area who will then process your background paperwork, and if you pass, deliver it to you. The local dealer will generally charge about $50 for his paperwork service.
Roughly 60% of all gun sales are handled through FFL dealers and are documented. The problem with this gun purchase database, known as the Federal Instant Criminal Background System, or NICS is that it won't work if all the courts around the country, both civilian and military, don't report all their convictions, restraining orders, etc. If those aren't reported, the NICS will have no reason to deny a gun purchaser. This is what happened with the Texas church murderer.
The problem is with the other 40% of gun sales. Federal gun law allows individuals to sell their personal guns to anyone they wish. This was meant to allow sales to friends, neighbors, relatives, etc, but it is sometimes abused by people who buy guns from any source they can, legal or illegal, claim them as their personal gun collection, and then resell them without background checks. All sales are off the books, there are no receipts given, and I doubt any taxes are paid by these sellers on their lucrative underground business.
Why would someone buy a gun this way? First of all used guns, like used cars, are generally less expensive. But there are also a surprising number of people who simply don't want the government to know they have guns. THEY DON'T TRUST THEIR GOVERNMENT. They fear that some day there will be a knock at their door, where federal agents will come in and rummage through their residence and confiscate their weapons. This fear is what sustains many "militias" dedicated to the preservation of the Second Amendment. Rational or not, it's a real fear.
Finally, and this is the REAL bugaboo in the firearms controversy, there is a thriving black market in stolen, untraceable guns. There is a forcible home burglary approx every 14 seconds somewhere in America, netting crooks 1,000,000 guns a year. When a burglar has a choice between stealing your TV, your laptop, your jewelry, or your guns, he'll choose your guns every time. That's because there is a vast underground criminal network that caters to those who can't pass a NICS background check. Think gang-bangers, convicted felons, criminals who consider a gun a "tool of their trade", etc. All these lowlifes know each other, and know any gun they can imagine is available for the right amount of green cash money, no questions asked. It's surprisingly easy to buy this way. (I'm told. I buy my guns the legal way.)
This last subset is responsible more than all others by a wide margin for our reported gun violence. The other loopholes can be addressed to some degree, but if that happens it will just drive more people to this criminal underground to buy their guns.
"But other countries have strict gun laws and their incidence of gun violence is minuscule compared to ours." True, but they don't already have 300,000,000+/- guns floating around their country. They don't have a 250 year history of private firearms ownership or a Second Amendment. Old habits die hard. Genies don't go back in bottles.
So what CAN we do? Concentrate on this last subset. When a convicted felon is stopped by the police for anything, search them, and their car. If they're found in possession of a gun, off to jail they go. Our cost to incarcerate will go up dramatically, but it will cut down on gun violence. How bad do we want it? The same goes for those who have been dishonorably discharged from the military. They should be treated the same as felons when it comes to gun possession.
The mentally ill need to be identified AND HELPED. Take away the stigma of mental illness, enabling those who need help to step forward and ask for it. Our societal cost to treat mental illness and provide mental health facilities and hospital beds will go up dramatically, but it will cut down on gun violence. How bad do we want it?
There ARE things we can do to address gun violence, but they will cost money, and no politician is going to advocate raising taxes to pay for them. The taxpayers want to have their cake and eat it too. Life doesn't work like that.
S
