We gotta do something...that works

While racists leftist ignore the weekly mass slaughter of black and brown people in America’s citadels of liberal policy known as the “Inner Cities”, 8 dead in Chicago this weekend alone, they wail like Chicken Little whenever a sporting rifle liberates itself from a gun rack somewhere, loads itself with a high-capacity magazine, manages to locate itself in a crowded gun-free zone and then unloads itself into innocent bystanders.   

When inanimate sporting riles commit a crime, liberal Chicken Littles reflexively squawk, “We gotta do something!”  What seems to slip their small minds in all of their hysteria is doing something that works. 

Paul Dahm’s letter “Existing laws not enough to curb gun violence”, of Sep 3, 2019 damns his own case.  Dahm advocates for a law requiring more stringent background checks.  Fine, not a bad idea. But, ask the pertinent question first, “Would the law have prevented the crime that precipitated its birth?”  The answer in nearly 100% of the cases involving sporting rifles is a resounding - no. It’s not just sporting rifles.  Only about 2% of all guns used in crime are obtained from the dreaded “gun show loophole”.

Dahm doesn’t know it, probably because he’s blinded by political ideology rather than solving a problem, but his letter makes the case that background checks do not stop mass shootings.  While it’s hard to tell how many mass shootings background checks might have prevented, it’s also undeniable that 100% of mass shootings were committed by criminals who either passed the check to obtain a gun legally or obtained their gun illegally demonstrating that background checks failed in 100% of those cases.

The ArmaLite (AR-15) sporting rifle has been around since the 1950s.  Mass shootings spiked in the 2000s.  Why?  It’s time to drop the mantra, “We gotta do something” for “We have to do something that will work.”    

Existing laws not enough to curb gun violence

Why do congressional Republicans, after every mass shooting, keep insisting all we need to do to prevent them is to enforce the laws we have?

Rep. Jim Banks stated at his fundraiser, “We need to enforce the laws we have.” Republican Rep. Steve Scalise, who also spoke at this fundraiser, stated that the Fix NICS Act ensures that criminals and people with mental illness will not acquire firearms. The only trouble is that this law only requires licensed dealers to conduct these checks. Private sellers are not required to perform background checks, record the sale or even ask for identification whether at a gun show or any other venue.

Of course, both men state that nothing else needs to be done because both accept NRA money. Scalise gave the keynote address at the national NRA convention this year, right before President Donald Trump spoke for the fifth consecutive year. In the 2016 election, the NRA spent $11,438,118 to support Trump.

On Feb. 27, the Bipartisan Background Check Act of 2019 was passed in the House. This act prevents firearm transfers between private parties unless a licensed gun dealer conducts a background check. This bill does allow individuals to transfer a firearm to a close relative. You will also be able to loan a firearm to someone for target practice, hunting and self defense. Why did Banks and 189 fellow Republicans vote no on this common-sense bill? Why is this bill stalled by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell?

Is it too much to ask that our elected officials decline NRA money? It is time to close the gun show loophole.

Paul Dahm

Fort Wayne