Controlling gun violence requires putting tighter restrictions on gun sales and banning the sale of semi-automatic and fully automatic guns. Twenty six children and adults were killed at Sandy Hook, and scores of innocent people were killed at previous mass shootings across the nation. The number of victims, some as young as six years old, killed at the these shootings would have been substantially lower had the guns used were not high power, fully automatic rifles.
The killers at Columbine and Newtown used AR-15 Bushmaster rifles to brutally take down their victims. The same type of gun was used by the DC area sniper in 2002. The Ar-15 rifles are military grade weapons designed to kill a maximum number of people in as little time as possible. This fully automatic rifle is lighter in weight than the M-16 rifle used by United States military, but with a firing capability of at 100 bullets per minutes, it can deliver an equally lethal blow. There is absolutely no justification for allowing the sale of this highly efficient killing machine to civilians.
No one is calling for banning the sale of guns used for hunting or sporting activities. However, all semi-automatic and fully automatic weapons, including the AR-15 must be banned. Doing so would reduce the frequency of the these massacres and would substantially decrease the number of victims when they do occur. In an eerie coincidence, a knife-wielding man in China went on a rampage at an elementary school, on the same day as the Sandy Hook shooting. The man managed to stab twenty two children, some of whom sustained very serious injuries but none died. Every child and woman who was shot at Sandy Hook was hit with three to eleven bullets from the killer's AR-15 rifle; these children and women did not stand a chance. The killer firstly trained his deadly ugliness on his own mother and lastly, following the massacre, on himself. Remarkably, his mother was found to be the registered owner of the three weapons (two hand guns and the AR-15 rifle) which found in his possession on the day of the shooting. [The perplexing irony of this fact is not lost on anyone.]
Contrary to what the gun lobby would like us to believe, a ban on the AR-15 and other devastating weapons would not violate the spirit or letter of the Second Amendment. If we were to stick to the stipulations enshrined in the Second Amendment, gun restrictions would be even more severe than those in effect today. Recall that at the time the amendment was written and enacted, there were no automatic or even semi-automatic guns. The amendment was put in place to guarantee people's right to self-defense and to give them the right, as a supervised group ("well regulated militia"), to guard "the security of a free state" (a democracy like our own). The intent of amendment was not to arm every willing civilian with a high power rifle or any kind of fully automatic weapon.
The full text of Second Amendment, ratified in 1791, is below:
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
In its strictest read, the amendment says that the right of state-regulated militia to bear arms to ensure "the security of a free state" (The United States of America) shall not be infringed. "Regulated militia" is today's equivalent to the National Guard and Military Reserves, which were recognized by the 1903 Dick Bill as organized and unorganized militia, respectively. Indeed, this was the initial interpretation of the amendment. Over time, the gun lobby and their clever lawyers managed to poke holes in the literal read of the amendment and they succeeded in embedding their own rather permissive interpretation of the amendment. This very important amendment to the constitution was created to guarantee the right of the American people, as "regulated militia" to defend America's sovereignty and not to foster an unregulated arms race amongst unregulated civilians or unregulated civilian groups.
The National Rifle Association (NRA), the lobbying tentacle of the gun industry in America, has had the upper hand in every duel with the government over gun control. The NRA is a very well-funded organization which employs a cadre of capable lawyers, former politicians and even high profile celebrities, to make its case to Congress and to the public at large. This collage of savvy employees work hand-in-glove with politicians currently serving in both houses of Congress, as those politicians owe a massive debt of gratitude to the NRA for supporting and funding their candidacies for the offices they currently hold.
So, what lessons might we, as a nation, learn from the tragedy in Newtown? Five lessons must be learned from this unspeakable crime against our defenseless children and women and against civility in America. Those lessons are presented and discussed below.
1. Do Not Undermine The Power of The Gun Lobby, Spearheaded By The NRA:
The gun lobby, lead by the NRA, is very deeply entrenched in the halls of power in Washington, DC, and across the entire country. The NRA operates under the guise of defending the Second Amedment and, ironically, the guise of defending defenseless Americans. All the while, the NRA neglects the indisputable fact, as documented by law enforcement organizations across all fifty states, that permissive gun laws are responsible for victimizing defenseless civilians. This is particularly true as the poorly regulated gun industry is able to sell guns with minimal governmental oversight and mediocre background checks.
Beyond this, the existing gun laws are riddled with giant loop holes; any adult, anywhere, in America can walk into almost any gun show and, within minutes, walk out with a fully automated assault weapon. Therefore, the gun lobby will muster all resources to stop any attempt by congress and the President to change the status que. If and when a new gun control legislation is introduced, it will be so diluted by the gun lobby surrogates in the both houses of Congress that by the time it gets to the President's desk, it would look like a re-write of an NRA internal document.
2. Reject the Tyranny Of The NRA and Challenge Its Interpretation of The Second Amendment:
The American people must not accept the status quo and must not allow the NRA to continue to define the Second Amendment or to frame the conversation around its nefarious objectives. We must reject the tyranny of the NRA as it had succeeded for decades to shape the nation's policy on such a vital issue. It would be fair to ascribe negligence to Congress and to the President if they do not move to stop the slaughter of defenseless school children across the country, as an appeasement to the NRA, or in fear of gaining the wrath of this powerful and ruthless "cultish" organization at the next election cycle.
Even after the massacre in Newtown, the NRA refues to moderate it stands on assault weapons. The Executive Vice President of the NRA, Wayne LaPierre, declared last Friday (December 21st) at a one-way news conference that the only way to prevent school mass shootings is to place armed guards at every school in America. Clearly, Mr. LaPierre, the NRA, and the gun industry, do not get it; more guns will only lead to more bloodshed. His ludicrous proposal was thoroughly dismissed by most schools and police organizations across the country and by most responsible politicians, including President Barack Obama. It is not a serious proposal: it is merely a shrugging off the NRA's civic responsibility towards America's children and towards the Second Amendment's call for guaranteeing "the security of a free state!" This responsibility must be made into a binding, legal responsibility through the tightening of gun control laws.
When children are gunned down at schools, their security, which must be viewed as a subset of any state's security, is critically undermined. Clearly, "the security of a free state," and that of the children "of a free state," have not been the top priority of the NRA. So, what has been, and is, the top priority of the NRA? Profit has been, and is, the top priority for the NRA. The sales of high power guns, especially the AR-15, have sky-rocketed since the Newtown killings. A considerate move by the NRA following the killings would have been to call for a moratorium on the sale of the AR-15 until the victims are buried. Even that minimal level of civic sensitivity to the grieving families' incalculable losses was unbecoming of the NRA.
3. Inaction Is Not An Option: It Will Only Embolden The Gun Industry And The NRA
The third lesson which must be learned is that inaction will simply embolden the gun industry and the NRA. A bipartisan effort in Congress, in collaboration with the
White House, must take shape to effectuate a meaningful and rapid change to the nation's gun laws, in a manner that can not be circumvented by the NRA and its supporters.
This task will be rather challenging, particularly since the NRA has, and almost always have had, strong allies in both houses of Congress. Those allies are mostly ultra "conservative" Republicans, who were swept into office with generous financial support from the NRA, in exchange for prohibiting the passage of any laws which may curtail the NRA's agenda. Those Republicans are highly outspoken advocates for the status quo and have thus far exerted undue influence on the tenor of the national conversation on gun control.
However, this challenge can and must be overcome, if not today, then at the next election cycle. Since we live in a "free state," as dictated in the Second Amendment, we can vote these extremist representatives and senators out of office, and vote in responsible officials whose top priority would be the safety and security of our children and our "free state." Then, a comprehensive ban on the sale of all assault weapons, including those used at the Columbine and Newtown massacres, must be put into effect. The ban must encompass gun sales at gun stores, gun shows, and private gun exchange gatherings amongst gun owners.
4. Construct Concrete Mechanism to Identify And Help Troubled Individuals Before They Strike
Gun control laws must be accompanied by permanent efforts to construct concrete mechanisms which can identify and help troubled individuals who may be pre-disposed to committing mass-killings. These killings have devastated our communities, not only in Columbine and Newtown, but also in Aurora, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, Newark, and elsewhere in this great country of ours. They, once and for all, must stop.
5. Stringent Gun Control Laws Will Not End All Mass Gun Violence Against Innocent Civilians But They Are Necessary.
No matter what precautionary steps and stringent gun control laws we implement, gun violence against innocent, unarmed civilians, including children, will continue to occur. However, this realization must not desuade us from pursuing and enacting those measure. Instead, it should strengthen our resolve. We can not afford to lose the debate on gun control, as we can not allow the slaughter of our children to continue, under any guise. Furthermore, we can not allow the Second Amendment to continue to be used as a slogan for serving the commercial endeavors of the gun industry or as a punchline by their collective lobbying arm.
Azzam Elayan
Friday, December 28, 2012
Image Below Courtesy: nhlabornews.com
No comments:
Post a Comment