Crazy About Guns

We’ve looked at piles of statistics in the last few weeks. How there is a rather direct correlation to homicides and mass killings by shooters with the availability and access to guns as a function of state law restrictions, that the vast majority of the guns used for such murders were legally obtained, that the United States blows the rest of the world away in per capita murders by gun and how deeply embedded gun ownership is in those with strong conservative leanings. We’ve noted local politicians who think more guns in schools will create the necessary deterrent/ emergency preparedness and that there are many who mistakenly believe that the Second Amendment entitles them to have the most lethal weapons to allow them to overthrow a government that defies their core beliefs.

We’ve seen states that allow concealed weapons, some without special permits and some that allow such weapons to be taken to work, others with “stand your ground” statutes that allow killings to be labeled “self-defense” that in other states would be deemed murder plus states that permit folks (who are in the category of “private sellers”) who are not registered gun dealers to sell an unlimited number of weapons at gun shows to folks without any form of background check (or even showing an ID). Since 40% of all guns sold in the U.S. come through “private sellers,” this is a huge “no ID or background check” hole in the system.

The rest of the world remains aghast that all of this free flow of lethal weapons – including assault guns and oversized magazines – is perfectly legal here and there are actually large political forces that can throw a politician out of office if he or she stands for restricting this trade. In short, we are killing each other with the rather complete government encouragement and support.

Even as the plethora of guns seeps into every nook and cranny of our society, the Sandy Hook massacre prompted this official plea, contained in NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre’s press conference on December 21^st, to put more weapons at the disposal of our nation’s schools: “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. Would you rather have your 911 call bring a good guy with a gun from a mile away or from a minute away? ... Now, the National Rifle Association knows there are millions of qualified and active retired police, active, Reserve, and retired military, security professionals, certified firefighters, security professionals, rescue personnel, an extraordinary corps of patriotic, trained, qualified citizens to join with local school officials and police in devising a protection plan for every single school.

“We could deploy them to protect our kids now. We can immediately make America’s schools safer, relying on the brave men and women in America’s police forces. The budgets -- and you all know this, everyone in the country knows this -- of our local police departments are strained, and the resources are severely limited, but their dedication and courage is second to none. And, they can be deployed right now... I call on Congress today, to act immediately to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed police officers in every single school in this nation. And, to do it now to make sure that blanket safety is in place when our kids return to school in January.” Great, private citizens, armed to the teeth, deciding how to implement our laws. What’s the dress code? Flak jackets, combat boots and camouflage paramilitary uniforms? Vigilantes on call? More guns as the solution to an explosion of gun violence? I think we have an entirely new category of mental illness that needs to be considered in who can have a gun!

For who worry about the economy, note that the “American culture of gun violence” is taking its toll on tourism. I spoke to a Disney executive who tells me that every time there is a highly publicized episode of gun violence, cancellations for trips from the Continent to Florida’s Disney World come in droves. Hotels in the region get 10-15% cancellations from European travelers. And if those represent cancellations, think of how many people don’t even think of traveling to the United States anymore. Every time the NRA speaks about it concept of guns in America, Europe and most of the rest of the world wince. We really need to appreciate that our posture on assault weapons is terrifying to tourists. The job-killing NRA needs to stop the inane rhetoric of “more guns” as a remotely viable solution.

And even in the tiny area where even conservative groups believe there are viable restrictions – not on the kinds of guns you can buy but on who can buy them – the focus is on those with proven mental illness, a history of drug abuse or domestic violence and convicted criminals. The central repository of this restrictive information resides with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which maintains the database for the relevant background checks. There just one tiny catch. Except for records that are generated by the federal government, the FBI is reliant on information provided by the states… and way too many states just don’t feel like cooperating.

“The database is incomplete because many states have not provided federal authorities with comprehensive records of people involuntarily committed or otherwise ruled mentally ill. Records are also spotty for several other categories of prohibited buyers, including those who have tested positive for illegal drugs or have a history of domestic violence.

“While some states, including New York, have submitted more than 100,000 names of mentally ill people to the F.B.I. database, 19 — including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Maryland and Maine — have submitted fewer than 100 records and Rhode Island has submitted none, according to federal data compiled by Mayors Against Illegal Guns. That suggests that millions of names are missing from the federal database, gun control advocates and law enforcement officials say...

“A July report by the Government Accountability Office, the nonpartisan Congressional watchdog, found that the total number of mental health records submitted by states to the background check system increased to 1.2 million from about 126,000 between 2004 and 2011, but that the increase largely reflected the efforts of just 12 states. And, it found, 30 states were not making noncriminal records — like positive drug test results for people on probation — available to the system.” New York Times, December 20^th.

Clearly mass killers slip through any systemic filter, but there is sufficient evidence that such a database would have saved many lives. For example, the 2007 mass shootings at Virginia Tech – which killed 32 and injured 17 – were committed by an individual who had earlier been declared mentally ill by a Virginia judge. He passed the background check.

While the FBI can clear 97% of gun inquiries within the three day waiting period, the confusion of accessing such files stored at other agencies often forces checks to exceed that time restriction. “Since 2005, 22,162 firearms — including nearly 3,000 this year — have been bought after the waiting period by people later determined to have been disqualified because of their criminal and mental histories, according to an examination of F.B.I. data...  Some of the weapons were used in violent crimes, including a fatal drive-by shooting, but it is not clear how many were linked to criminal acts, because authorities are barred by Congress from tracking such information.” NY Times. Wal*Mart – the nation’s largest gun dealer – voluntarily holds back sales to individuals unless they actually receive the FBI clearance, even after the three day period.

Because of the NRA and the fact that most gun manufacturers are also defense contractors with powerful lobbying capacity, restrictions on the gun trade are very difficult to implement. Manufacturers and compliant dealers even have a statutory exemption from any liability to victims of gun violence.

The gun registration system has only been around for twenty years, but it falls woefully short of our expectations, and there are a whole lot of guns out there. The President has directed VP Joe Biden to prepare recommendations for new federal restrictions on the trade of weapons within the U.S. “That probably will focus attention on the F.B.I.’s National Instant Criminal Background Check system, which was required by the 1993 Brady background-check law... At an office building in Clarksburg, W.Va., servers and backup drives hum in a huge basement. Upstairs, workers with headsets sit in cubicles, taking calls from gun dealers across the country. In 2012, about 17 million background checks have been done through the F.B.I.’s system.

“The background check requirements apply only to licensed dealers, not the private sellers who account for an estimated 40 percent of sales. Restrictions imposed by Congress on government tracking of firearms make it hard to know exactly how many weapons are sold each year, but according to the A.T.F., more than five million firearms are manufactured each year for sale in the United States, and about three million more such weapons are imported. Those numbers do not account for the sale of used guns.” NY Times.  

What is clearly missing in the analysis of so many gun-ownership proponents is a complete failure to understand statistics, hard facts and then apply the most basic level of common sense. The mantra that “guns don’t kill, people do” and references to a Chinese maniac who killed 22 people with a knife simply defy the tsunami of irrefutable evidence that our massive availability of guns – including assault weapons and high capacity magazines – absolutely result in a vastly higher related murder rate than anywhere else on earth.

I’m Peter Dekom, and once again, relying on slogans and mythology has too long dominated the American approach to gun control... with unsurprisingly massive lethal consequences.