My thinking would be described by many people as “liberal”; yet I’m happy to have many friends who are very conservative. We’re friends, but when we talk about public policy we often preach our ideas without really listening to each other.
As I watched the CNN town hall meeting “Guns in America” I saw a remarkable opportunity squandered. Anderson Cooper of CNN did a good job asking hard questions. So did some of the invited guests. President Obama responded clearly but he didn’t take time (or have time during the program) to really draw out opponents of his policies and understand their concerns. He preached. So did many of the questioners who were more concerned with getting their points across than with understanding the President’s thinking. It did not appear that anyone learned something new or changed their minds in any way.
Watching that meeting prompted me to write this experimental column. I hope to use it to listen rather than to be heard. I’m inviting all who are interested in the debate about gun ownership to think it through and then clearly state what you want from our gun related laws. I’ve designed a short survey that also allows comments in your own words. You can access it HERE or at the end of this column. I will compile responses and report them in a future post – one that I hope will enlighten us all about how others see this issue.
Here is some background information on the subject: Our Constitution provides a right to keep and bear “arms”. It doesn’t mention guns. Our three major national laws governing arms were passed in 1934, 1968, and 1993. The first law severely restricted private ownership of machine guns, sawed off shotguns and various kinds of guns that were designed to be disguised as canes or other devices. It was passed in response to violent organized crime during the prohibition era. The 1968 law prohibited gun possession by various kinds of criminals and other individuals thought to be dangerous. It also regulated gun commerce and importing “Saturday night specials”. The “background check” system that is operated by the FBI originated with the 1993 “Brady Bill”. The combined laws also ban ownership of “destructive devices” like chemical weapons, grenades, and bombs. The FBI has a good summary of current rules on its website.
Current enforcement practices allow many purchases at gun shows and from private individuals without background checks. One of the President’s proposals is to require background checks on all purchases. Under some circumstances, the law allows corporations and organizations to own otherwise banned weapons like machine guns. That exception was intended for purposes like corporate security at nuclear power plants but its use has expanded significantly. President Obama has proposed re-examining that program.
The context of the current American debate about guns is important. Gun related deaths have declined but our conversation about them is increasingly heated and emotional. In 2013 there were 33,169 gun deaths in the US. Suicides accounted for 21,175; homicides 11,208; accidents 505 and 281 unknown intent. Gun homicides accounted for 67% of all American murders. They peaked at over 18,000 in 1993, dropped rapidly until 1999 and have begun to gradually increase in the 21st century. Most of the shooters are young – under age 25.
In the US, we have about 3.5 gun homicides per 100,000 population each year. The other nations closest to that rate are Nicaragua and Barbados. There are a lot of nations that American tourists might consider dangerous who are doing much better than us: Chile – 1.02, Greece and Kyrgyzstan – 0 .53, Azerbaijan – 0.27. Our closest neighbors show an extreme contrast: Mexico – 14.2 and Canada – 0.51.
These deaths are not confined to someone else’s neighborhood. There have been shootings and deaths across our nation, ranging from terrorist attacks to invasions of public schools to drive by shootings. We can accept it and take our chances or we can try to improve.
What do you think we should do? Please take five minutes to complete the survey. Perhaps we can have more intelligent conversations if we know each other’s opinions.
CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY (PLEASE)