Monday, February 19, 2018

America and Guns by Glen Brown



It is said that laws and their restrictions will never apply to deranged criminals. Moreover, the fact that there are an estimated 400 million firearms already in circulation make it impossible for most gun control laws to have any effect on reducing violent crimes. Because most gun control laws also prohibit people’s self-reliance and self-defense, they can also cost the lives of more innocent victims. 

Nevertheless, I support universal background checks for anyone purchasing a weapon and imposing a waiting period; I support increasing age limits for those purchasing a gun; I support banning high-capacity magazines and modifications on semi-automatic weapons; I support banning semi-automatic and fully automatic assault rifles; I support holding firearms manufacturers of assault rifles legally liable for gun violence; I support holding firearms manufacturers accountable for their perpetuation of fear through marketing specifically aimed at young male adults; I support red flag laws: legislation that will mandate prohibitions on concealed weapons and possession of firearms by people convicted of violent crimes and people who are considered a public threat; I support interventions where violence is imminent and the removal of all protective legal barriers for any person who has threatened violence; I support banning anyone from owning a weapon on no-fly or watch lists and for anyone taking prescriptions for psychotic and antisocial personality disorders and other psychological illnesses; I also support gun safety at home and keeping weapons away from children and teenagers.

Instead of sweeping gun control laws that will affect law-abiding responsible citizens who own reasonable self-defense weapons for protection and may conceal and carry those weapons; instead of more political party accusations and useless prayers for the victims, legislators should focus upon and address the causes of violent crimes: domestic white nationalism, racism, bigotry (power, hatred, revenge, anger, notoriety), religious fundamentalism, economic injustice, poverty, unemployment, gang activity, drug trafficking, inefficient law enforcement in high-crime areas, suicide, mental illness* and the internet and social media's proliferation of vitriolic commentary, fear, demagoguery and xenophobia.

Let’s pursue a policy goal that shifts “the distribution of gun possession as far as possible in the direction of likely aggressors being disarmed [e.g., those people who are on social media espousing hatred and terrorist ideologies], with as few prospective victims as possible being disarmed [of their handguns]. To disarm non-criminals [through indiscriminate gun control laws] in the hope that this might indirectly help reduce access to guns among criminals is a very high-stakes gamble, and the risks will not be reduced by pretending that crime victims rarely use guns for self-defense” (Gary Kleck, Targeting Guns: Firearms and Their Control). 

Let’s also pursue a policy goal that eliminates so-called “corporate personhood” (Citizens United): this corrupt, unlimited campaign spending from moneymaking, mendacious powers like the NRA and the Koch Brothers, et. al. that funds and coerces Republican legislators to ingratiate them. 

-Glen Brown


*It's impossible to know when someone will become a murderer. What we do know is that anyone who kills another human being (except for self-defense) has severely impaired psychological functioning; moreover, anyone who suffers from severe depression and is taking anti-depressants (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) should not be allowed to own a weapon.



6 comments:

  1. "...A circuit county judge in Illinois struck down a local suburb's ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. The ruling puts an end, for now, on what had been a closely-watched legal battle over the ordinance.

    "The Village of Deerfield, which sits 25 miles north of Chicago, passed the ordinance banning AR-15 style rifles and other assault weapons from within its perimeters in April 2018, weeks after the Parkland, Florida, school shooting. But on Friday, Lake County Circuit Court Judge Luis Berrones sided with local gun owners who opposed the ban and issued a permanent injunction blocking it from going into effect.

    "Berrones said the local jurisdiction had overstepped its authority and maintained that the ability to make such a prohibition rested with the state...

    "Though this particular ordinance isn't even a year old, the ruling involved matters that stretch back to 2013, when the State of Illinois set a deadline for local municipalities to establish firearm regulations.

    "At the time, the state created an open window for places like Deerfield to enact their own ordinances before new gun laws—the Illinois Concealed Carry Act and the Firearm Owner’s Identification Card Act—vested those powers exclusively with the state.

    "In two legal challenges, those opposed to the ban argued that village trustees should have acted then and had since missed their opportunity.

    "Deerfield officials, meanwhile, argued that the weapons ban was an update to existing gun laws that were established within the appropriate time frame. The weapons listed in the ban have been used in a rash of mass-casualty incidences, making them a public health and safety issue, they argued.

    "In a statement, the Deerfield leaders said they were exploring options and called the ruling 'ripe for an appeal.'..." (Newsweek, March 23, 2019).

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  2. FROM JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY BLOOMBERG SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH:

    “…Recommended policies include strengthening the state's gun purchaser licensing system by requiring an in-person application to law enforcement, fingerprinting and safety training…

    “The report recommends expanding current firearm prohibitions for domestic abusers and individuals convicted of multiple alcohol-related offenses, and providing more funding for local initiatives proven to reduce gun violence…

    “The report recommends that if individuals are later identified as prohibited and fail to surrender their FOID and/or firearms upon notice of revocation, law enforcement should dispossess these prohibited individuals of their firearms.

    “In addition to strengthening the state's purchaser licensing law and identifying promising new legislation, the authors underscored the importance of robust enforcement of new state laws that regulate retail gun sellers and create a process for removing firearms from people planning to harm themselves or others through court-ordered extreme risk protection orders.

    “Other evidence-based recommendations include modifying existing domestic violence-related firearm prohibitions to last the length of the order or two years; extending firearm prohibition to individuals convicted of multiple alcohol-related offenses; providing law enforcement discretion to deny concealed carry licenses to those identified as legal but dangerous; banning the sale and possession of new assault weapons and requiring current assault weapon owners to register them; banning the possession of large-capacity magazines (more than 10 rounds); and providing funding to support community programs such as focused deterrence, outreach and conflict mediation involving high-risk individuals...”

    https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-gun-policy-and-research/publications/jhsph-gun-violence-in-illinois.pdf

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  3. "...As late as 1968, the National Rifle Association supported some forms of gun control, but that changed in the 1980s as the organization affiliated itself with Reagan’s Republican Party. In 1981, an assassin attempted to kill the president and succeeded in badly wounding him, as well as injuring the president’s press secretary, James Brady, and two others.

    "Despite pressure to limit gun ownership, in 1986, under pressure from the NRA, the Republican Congress did the opposite: it passed the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act, which erased many of the earlier controls on gun ownership, making it easier to buy, sell, and transport guns across state lines.

    "In 1987, Congress began to consider the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, otherwise known as the Brady Bill, to require background checks before gun purchases and to prevent certain transfer of guns across state lines.

    "As soon as the measure was proposed, the NRA shifted into high gear to prevent its passage. The bill did not pass until 1993, under President Bill Clinton’s administration. The NRA set out to challenge the law in the courts.

    "While the challenges wound their way upward, the idea of individuals standing against a dangerous government became central to the Republican Party. By the 1990s, men increasingly vowed to take up arms against the government that talk radio hosts told them was bringing socialism to America. After April 19, 1993, when federal officers stormed the compound of a religious cult whose former members reported that their leader, David Koresh, was stockpiling weapons, talk radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Alex Jones warned that the government was about to impose martial law. Angry opponents of the government began to organize as well-armed 'militias.'

    "In 1997, the NRA’s challenges to the Brady Bill had made their way to the United States Supreme Court. Printz v. United States brought together the idea of unfettered gun ownership and Republican government. The court held that it was unconstitutional for the federal government to require states to perform background checks. This both freed up gun purchases and endorsed states’ rights, the principle at the heart of the Republican policy of dismantling the active government that regulates business and protects civil rights.

    "We are in a bizarre moment, as Republican lawmakers defend largely unlimited gun ownership even as recent polls show that 84% of voters, including 77% of Republicans, support background checks..." -Heather Cox Richardson

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  4. "More than two-thirds of mass shooters had a history of mental health concerns, which is higher than the 50% of people in the general population who will satisfy criteria for a mental illness at some point in their lives. Before they carried out their crimes, more than 80% of mass shooters displayed signs crises, described by The Violence Project as a marked change in behavior that is noticeable to others. Such behavior includes exaggerated emotional responses, an increased interest in violence and signs of hopelessness."

    https://www.theviolenceproject.org/mass-shooter-database/

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  5. "The Violence Project tracked many underlying reasons that helped to motivate a shooter to carry out a mass shooting. The most common motivation at 30% is psychosis, a mental condition that makes it difficult for a person to recognize what is real and what isn’t. That is followed by followed by employment troubles (23%) and interpersonal conflict (20%), defined as a non-domestic conflict with coworkers, friends or family."

    https://www.theviolenceproject.org/mass-shooter-database/

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  6. (CNN) Illinois’ Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker on [Jan. 10] signed legislation that enacts an extensive ban on firearms as well as high-capacity magazines in the state.

    The new law caps the sale of high-capacity ammunition magazines, bans “switches” that allow handguns to fire rounds automatically and “extends the ability of courts to prevent dangerous individuals from possessing a gun through firearm restraining orders,” the governor’s office said in a news release.

    [For long guns that means magazines with more than 10 rounds. For handguns the magazine maximum is 15 rounds.]

    The ban goes into effect immediately and will not require those who currently own such weapons to relinquish them, though people who already possess semi-automatic rifles will be required to register their ownership.

    “No Illinoisan, no matter their zip code, should have to go through life fearing their loved one could be the next in an ever-growing list of victims of mass shootings. However, for too long, people have lived in fear of being gunned down in schools, while worshipping, at celebrations or in their own front yards,” Pritzker said in a statement. “This legislation will stop the spread of assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and switches and make our state a safer place for all.”

    The bill passed in a 34-20 vote in the state’s Senate on Monday and 68-41 in the House Tuesday, largely along party lines, before heading to Pritzker’s desk. Both chambers are controlled by Democrats...

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