Let’s Keep the Gun Control Laws That Work

A mass murderer killed almost 60 people in Las Vegas. Hundreds more were injured by gunshot wounds and by being trampled in the mass panic that followed. Politicians, celebrities and gun control activists called for new gun laws. That certainly isn’t a new idea since we already have 23 thousand firearms regulations. Let’s look at the recent proposals a little closer. Let’s keep the gun-control laws that work and get rid of the rest.

Demand Universal Background Checks- Lots of states already require background checks when firearms are bought or sold. The murderer in Las Vegas bought his guns legally, so he passed his background checks. So did the mass murderers who killed people at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, at the Umpqua Community College in Oregon, and at Isla Vista near the University of Santa Barbara campus. I’m noticing a pattern here. Background checks only look at past criminal history. They can not predict future behavior, and they absolutely failed to stop mass murderers.

Impose Magazine Capacity Restrictions- I mentioned him before, but the murderer at Isla Vista used a handgun, not a rifle. He bought his gun and magazines in California which already has magazine capacity restrictions. This murderer had several magazines. So did the murder who killed at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. The attempted mass murderer who attacked a church in Tennessee last month also used a handgun. These murderers were able to kill at will because their victims were disarmed. Magazine Capacity Restrictions didn’t stop mass murders. Let’s get rid of this failed law.

Outlaw Semi-Automatic Weapons- These weapons fire a single shot each time you press the trigger. We will ignore the physical and legal impossibility of collecting every one of the 200 million semi-automatic firearms in the United States. Let’s pretend for a moment that we could make all of the semi-automatic guns in the United States go away. Guns don’t stay gone. Like drugs and illegals, they come back and criminals get them. Criminals have gun now even though it is illegal for them to have guns.  The night is filled with gunfire in Chicago. In Chicago, we disarmed the honest people while we left the criminals armed. Gun prohibition failed to disarm criminals, so let’s stop pretending that prohibition will work the next time.

Prohibit Private Law-abiding Citizens from Owning Firearms- Gun Control advocates say we should have gun laws like the ones in England and France. Mexico and Honduras also have gun prohibition. In Mexico and Honduras, the drug gangs have guns and the honest citizens are disarmed. Those countries have a frightening murder rate that is far higher than in the United States. London now has a higher crime rate than New York City.

France outlawed semi-automatic rifles, yet terrorists murdered over a hundred people at the Bataclan Theater in Paris. These terrorists used illegal automatic rifles. It turns out that terrorists and drug gangs don’t obey the law. Only honest people do, so who are we disarming with more gun laws? These gun laws fail in the United States and around the world.

We need more gun-free zones- The Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino was a gun free zone. Not even the security guards were armed. The Pulse Nightclub, the Umpqua Community College, Isla Vista, and the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church were also gun free zones. Murderers go to gun-free zones because they want disarmed victims. Since murderers like them, let’s get rid of gun free zones.

But gun-control might save one life- For every claim that gun control saves a life, I can point to many lives we’ve lost due to gun control. For example, victims of domestic abuse could not buy a gun to protect themselves and their family. I can point to rape victims who were disarmed by gun laws on their school campus. Disarming honest people doesn’t make us safer. I document that guns save lives every week.

I want to save many lives, and that is why I want these ineffective gun laws to go away. I trust my neighbors to do the right thing. I trust my neighbors every day as we drive to work and school. So do you. I trust my neighbors more than I fear criminals. I want my neighbors ready to save lives every day and everywhere.

That is why I want to get rid of these gun control laws that don’t work. It is simply common sense.