The Guns and America series is special to Kingdom in the Midst. It is offered in hopes to raise the level of dialogue in the gun debate, to help people start talking to each other rather than past each other. Parts 1-4 are “Guest Posts.” Read Part 1 of the Guns and America series: The Second Amendment, statistics, and human nature. Read Part 3 of Guns and America series: Reasonable gun control starts with domestic abusers. Read Part 4 of Guns and America series: The right to bear arms shall not be infringed.
I encourage you to share these posts on your social media channels to further the discussion.
I am a 68 year-old life-long gun owner, and I am not going to commit a mass murder. Nor will anyone I know. Even with all the gun-lovers in Oklahoma, the odds are none of them will. So, why all the talk about tougher gun laws?
Statistics. A subject I hated in college. They say that when the population count is only me and my rowdy friends, we don’t need any stinkin’ gun laws, but when the population is over 320,000,000, we do. Within that population are defective humans who will use the most effective weapon they can find to kill the most people. As of this date, that weapon is almost always the AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle.
Ok. We don’t want people massacred. So, what’s the solution? How tough would gun laws have to be to prevent gun massacres? The only logical answer I can think of is, tough enough. A ban on all guns might work. At least it would reduce the odds significantly. But the Second Amendment and my love of guns prevent that. Let’s consider some other possible solutions that are being kicked around.
How about banning “bump stocks”? The simple answer is: it won’t matter much. I can easily burn through a 30-round magazine with my “assault rifle” in less than 15 seconds.
How about improving mental health, because odds are that mass murderers have a screw loose. Good idea, but I don’t think we can do it in time to prevent the next atrocity. Same for “bad-parenting.”
How about arming teachers? Really bad idea! I’m a former police officer and an expert marksman. It would scare the hell out of me if I had to shoot at a perp mixed in with children. How effective would old Mrs. Clark be? She would have to carry a gun on her person at all times, and even if she was a sharp-shooter, bullets ricochet and go through walls. Many can go through a person and kill the child standing behind. A highly trained police officer—let alone the average teacher—is very likely to kill a student in a crowded hallway. Putting a firearm into the hands of a loving teacher and expecting her to prevent a gun massacre is lunacy.
How about placing a trained armed guard in all schools? That may not be a bad idea for most situations. But odds are, he would be the first to fall in an AR-15 style attack where the shooter knows he exists. Even if he survived long enough to fire at the shooter, the hazards mentioned in the preceding paragraph would still exist. And what about other scenarios, like the concert in Las Vegas? No number of security personnel could have prevented that massacre.
How about doing better at enforcing the gun laws that already exist? Let’s examine this one in more detail, using my state of Oklahoma. In general, a gun purchase works like this:
- You must be at least 18-years-old (21 for a handgun) to purchase a gun from a dealer. (There are no restrictions on buying guns from individuals).
- You must present a valid ID and complete BATF&E Form 4473, under the threat of up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for misrepresentations.
- On the form, you check yes or no to questions such as: Are you a felon? Are you mentally ill? Are you a drug addict?
- It usually only takes a few minutes and there is no waiting period. That cool AR-15, or two, or three, along with however many boxes of 5.56mm full metal-jacketed ammunition you want, can go home with you when you leave the store! You can even buy a 30-round banana magazine if you want!
- The FBI then has up to three days to complete the background check using NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System). I used a similar database when I was a police officer. It is far from comprehensive.
It sounds like these laws should work, especially with the consequences of lying. But they don’t. They’re not enough, even if used religiously. They will not stop a person who has not already been flagged as a bad dude in the NICS database from purchasing a weapon. They won’t prevent a depressed kid from using his father’s legally-purchased AR-15. They won’t prevent anyone from buying a gun from his next-door neighbor, at a garage sale, or at a gun show. There are too many loopholes in our gun laws to prevent another Sandy Hook, Las Vegas, or Roseburg, where the shooter was a student who legally owned 14 weapons. They didn’t stop the 11- and 13-year-old’s in Jonesboro, and they did not stop the shooter at Stockton.
How about banning AR-15 style rifles? Well, there are a number of reasons that is a poor idea, including the fact I want to keep mine. But seriously, if that would stop mass killings, I would toss mine into Oklahoma’s Cimarron River today. Here are some reasons why that would not be enough:
- Not all mass shootings are done with AR-15’s. In Burlington, for example, a .22 rifle was used.
- The gun that killed six and injured twelve, including Gabrielle Giffords, was a semi-automatic handgun.
- In Salt Lake City a shotgun was used to kill five.
The point here is that simply banning AR-15s will not stop mass murders.
So, what’s the answer? How are we going to stop, or at least greatly reduce mass shootings without completely trashing the Second Amendment? There are answers. There are solutions. But, they will require sacrifices and paradigm shifts from everyone, regardless of their love or hatred of guns. Here’s a solution that I believe is worth considering. It is loosely based upon motor vehicle laws.
1. Require gun owners to possess a “shooters license” that must be renewed every three years. Obtaining this license would require the following:
- Proof of identity
- A passport style photo
- Fingerprint
- Proof of satisfactorily attending an eight-hour firearms training class.
- A comprehensive background check, similar to the Confidential Clearance used by the military.
- An interview with and a recommendation from a local law enforcement official, such as a Chief of Police or a County Sheriff.
2. Require a current “shooters license” when purchasing a firearm from a dealer.
3. Require proof of firearm liability insurance when purchasing a firearm from a dealer.
4. Require all new firearms to be titled and their serial numbers registered.
5. Require a ten-day waiting period for all firearms sold by a dealer.
6. Offer tax incentives to title used firearms.
7. Require a title transfer be conducted for any firearm sold, whether by a dealer or an individual – similar to motor vehicles.
8. Offer a voluntary buy-back of firearms at fair market value.
9. Register and limit the sale of certain ammunition.
10. Forbid any modification of a firearm that would substantially increase its lethality, including but not limited to larger magazines and bump stocks.
Sounds intimidating, doesn’t it? Or as some will say, “Sounds like, Hell No!” I understand. One of the criticisms of these laws is that it would not stop the sale of black market guns. That’s true; it wouldn’t. There will always be a market for illegal items, whether it be drugs or guns. But as with drugs, illegal guns would be very expensive to purchase and very risky to own.
The bottom line is that something has to be done, and soon. Mass shootings are becoming more frequent and our children are dying. We can’t just hold our breaths and hope they’ll go away. Sacrifices on both sides of the issue must be made.
Steve Adams is an engineering graduate from Oklahoma State University. He has also published a novel and is an avid student of human ethology. His proudest accomplishments are raising a great son who has a PhD in pharmacy and a beautiful daughter who was voted Oklahoma’s Mother of the Year in 2011. Steve’s life experiences include being a musician, a police officer, a fireman, and an electrical engineer. He is retired and loves spending quality time at home with his loving wife of 48 years.
