Many of us may remember the CEOs of the biggest tobacco companies raising their hands and swearing under oath that cigarettes were not addictive. It was a lie. Over time, many communities have passed laws that regulate where one may smoke due to the health hazards of secondhand smoke.
Similarly, the National Rifle Association (NRA) espouses that it is the person — not the gun — that is the problem for all the gun violence. It should be noted that members pay a $35 membership fee to join. If you buy a gun, you automatically get a membership in the NRA for free. Second, membership costs the NRA more than $100 to maintain. One might ask where the money comes from to support these memberships. Clearly, it comes from the gun makers.
Guns are a big and serious problem in our country. Everyone has the right to have a weapon to protect themselves and their family. But does this right include automatic and semiautomatic weapons and clips that contain 15, 20 or more bullets? Does this right mean that private sales — almost all gun show sales are private — are to be excluded from background checks? Many cities have very strict gun laws. The issue is that just outside these cities or in the next state, one can purchase guns that are brought into the cities and sold illegally.
I suggest requiring all gun purchases to be backgroundchecked and banning the sale of automatic and semi-automatic weapons and clips that contain more than 10 bullets. A buyback program funded by the government is another option. Lastly, a ban on ownership of automatic and semi-automatic weapons and clips over 10 bullets three years after the buyback of guns is enacted. Check Australia for how well this has worked out for its society.
From surveys I have read, gun owners and non-gun owners agree on background checks by a very large majority, and a majority favors a ban on assault weapons and clips over 10 bullets. Fear from the gun makers led by the NRA is no longer sufficient to hold back the tide of change.
John Hanbury
Edison