By Bill Press
Tribune Media Services
For me, the first sentence of a New York Times article, the Monday after the Aurora, Colo., shooting, says it all: “Unhindered by federal background checks or government oversight, the 24-year-old man accused of killing a dozen people inside a Colorado movie theater was able to build what the police called a 6,000-round arsenal legally and easily over the Internet, exploiting what critics call a virtual absence of any laws regulating ammunition sales.”
Reflecting on the movie theater massacre in Aurora, it’s hard to say what is more shocking: the fact that such a troubled young man was so easily able to buy an assault rifle, a shotgun, two handguns, and a 100-round drum; the fact that he was also able to stockpile 6,000 rounds of ammunition, legally, over the Internet, as easily as he could download a song; or the fact that America’s politicians, starting with President Obama and Mitt Romney, plus a crowd of cowards in Congress, see no need to do anything about it.
Why not? Don’t even try hiding behind the Second Amendment. Does anyone really believe that, in writing the Bill of Rights, our Founding Fathers intended to authorize building a secret ammunition dump in your own apartment? Or that they thereby gave future generations the green light to buy an assault weapon, purchase multiple handguns, and carry a concealed weapon into a bar, shopping mall, church, or movie theater? Nonsense.
Don’t get me wrong. I believe in the Second Amendment. And, as a Scalia originalist, I believe we should take it literally. Let’s bring back, in every state, as the Constitution so clearly calls for, a “well-regulated militia.” Let’s require its gun-toting members to carry and clean their own single-shot muskets, to wear the militia uniform, and to go out and drill once a month with fellow minutemen. But let all other guns be banned.
Seriously, this is insane. On gun control, we have lost our way — and our backbone. We have what Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne calls “eternal gutlessness on guns.” After any other tragedy, we look for solutions. That’s the American way. After September 11, we invented TSA. After Katrina, we built bigger levees. After the Wall Street collapse, we created the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. But after Virginia Tech, Aurora, or any other mass shooting, not only can we do nothing about gun control, we can’t even talk about it.
The obvious place to start is reinstatement of the ban on assault weapons, which expired in 2004. That alone would have prohibited purchase of the AR-15 rifle and the 100-round magazine used in the Aurora shooting. Senator Dianne Feinstein, chief sponsor of the 2004 ban, has vowed to renew the ban. But she’s not getting much support. Despite vowing in 2008 to reinstate the ban if elected president, Obama has since done nothing about it. Mitt Romney, who signed an assault weapons ban as governor of Massachusetts, now won’t go near the issue. And Senate Leader Harry Reid has discouraged bringing any gun legislation up for debate in this election year.
Another sensible measure: background checks for sales at gun shows — still important, even if they would not have prevented purchase of guns used in Aurora. A bipartisan Senate passed that requirement one month after the 1999 Columbine shootings, but it was blocked by Republicans in the House. It has not been taken up since.
If we can’t do anything about the guns, maybe we can do something about the bullets. But, here again, every reasonable effort has been shot down, starting with Senator Patrick Moynihan’s 1993 proposal to put a heavy tax on handgun ammunition. Last year, Senator Frank Lautenberg’s plan to ban clips that hold more than 10 bullets went nowhere. And the New Jersey Legislature recently shelved a bill to ban sales of handgun ammunition.
Such is the power of the NRA, the most dangerous lobby in Washington. By standing in the way of any sensible gun control measure, they have blood on their hands. Worse than the NRA, however, are the politicians afraid to stand up to them.
There is no need for anyone, outside the military, to own an assault weapon. There is no need for anyone, outside of law enforcement, to have a handgun. If we really value life, it’s time to do something about gun control. If not now, when? Hopefully, before the next Aurora.
© 2012 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
“Does anyone really believe that, in writing the Bill of Rights, our Founding Fathers intended to authorize building a secret ammunition dump in your own apartment? Or that they thereby gave future generations the green light to buy an assault weapon, purchase multiple handguns, and carry a concealed weapon into a bar, shopping mall, church, or movie theater? Nonsense.”……Actually back then the law allowed you to carry a weapon everywhere and anywhere so maybe they did.
“Does anyone really believe that, in writing the Bill of Rights, our Founding Fathers intended to authorize…” gay marriage? abortion? for the federal government to have the reach and control that it has now? Income taxes? etc? Can’t just pick and choose Bill. If you’re going to make a statement like that it applies to everything.
“The obvious place to start is reinstatement of the ban on assault weapons,”..Bill you probably couldn’t pick an assualt weapon out of a line up. Tell me which is an assualt weapon, an AR15 or M1A? Which has greater firepower? Which was banned under the assualt weapons ban and which was not? How about an IZ340 or an AK-74? What’s the difference? Which is more deadly? Yeah, do your google search and then answer.
According to the FBI UCR (www.fbi.gov)3.5% of all homicides are caused by rifles and other firearms, assualt weapons are a subset of rifles therefore assualt weapons cause less than 3.5% of homicides. 13% of all homicides are caused by knives, 3.9% by blunt objects (clubs, hammers), and 5.7% by ‘hands, fist and feet’. If you ‘really value life’ then please join me in supporting a ‘hands, fist and feet’ ban, a ‘blunt objects ban’ (I mean really, who needs hammers and golf clubs), and a ban of ‘knives’(those deadly kitchen implements, do we really believe that our fore fathers intended for anyone other than a trained Chef to have them?). Support those Bill and we could reduce homicides by up to 22.6%!!! But alas you choose to focus on a sub category of the smallest and will maybe reduce homicides by 1% at most. Yeah, you ‘really value life’, as long as it scores some political points for you.
Thanks Jeff,
This subject is always difficult to write about since the lefties like Bill have absolutely no clue.
Bill, how about we treat the first amendment the same way you think we should treat the Second. You are hereby only allowed to distribute your drivel via block presses, no ‘mass assault’ media like radio/cable, no ‘stockpiles’ of sound bites and other out of context items, and no ‘concealed’ agendas. There is no need for anyone, outside of the town crier, to speak to the masses.
Bill, the countries biggest mass murder was carried out with a can of gasoline and a match. This was barely 20 years ago. Did you cry out for background checks on match purchases and limiting gas can capacity to 8 ounces? Remember there is no protection for possession of flammables in the Constitution. The criminal in the ‘Happy Land’ night club murders is in jail for 4350 years (eligible for parole in 3 years).
Instating your ‘idea’ of background checks at gun shows (hint: checks are required where ever a dealer sells a firearm). I’d love it if you wanted to buy a gun from me to protect your family. I’d get to dig into your life long police record and check up on all your medical records.
“Gun carrying man ends stabbing spree at Salt Lake grocery store”
“Why not? Don’t even try hiding behind the Second Amendment. Does anyone really believe that, in writing the Bill of Rights, our Founding Fathers intended to authorize building a secret ammunition dump in your own apartment? Or that they thereby gave future generations the green light to buy an assault weapon, purchase multiple handguns, and carry a concealed weapon into a bar, shopping mall, church, or movie theater? Nonsense.” – Bill Press
Our Leader knows best. He took my doctor away, and now he wants to take my gun away.
What’s the frequency , brew?
“Gun carrying man ends stabbing spree at Salt Lake grocery store”
This is my proposal, ..
Mandatory sidearms for everybody.
That would make us like the Swiss. You hate the Swiss since that’s where all the Democrats have their offshore accounts (oops, I meant Romney)
Your head would explode!
Hey Bill, Hollywood has a larger presence in D.C than the NRA and they seem to be the ones producing the entertainment that all these wackos love so much. If Hollywood wasn’t such a large contributor to the Left, would you also be against them? (not holding my breath…)
A funny thing just popped up on the news.
Could somebody explain why:
The dept of homeland security just purchased another 750 million rounds of .357 Ammo? in addition to the already purchased 450 Million rounds?
But wait, Why would Social Security need 174,000 rounds?
Also, the national weather service has plans to purchase a pile of ammo also?
That comes out to 4 bullets per family.