Issue: Gun Control

Do Americans have the right "to keep and bear arms?" Or was that right intended to be restricted to "a well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State?" The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says both. But what does it really mean? No one knows, although advocates claim that one phrase or another supports their cause. The reason there has been so little litigation directly challenging the Second Amendment and so few court decisions is that both sides are afraid to definitively test its meaning. What's more important is that both law and judicial precedent establish that restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms are constitutional. That means gun control is a matter of public policy and law.

Handguns are primarily used to kill people, and the most common justification for private handgun ownership is home and personal protection. However, privately-owned handguns are far more likely to cause deaths by accident or felonious intent. They're used in legitimate home and personal defense only rarely and often ineffectively.

The biggest problem with private ownership of handguns is that our society is now awash in them. For every handgun owned by a trained, safety-conscious, responsible citizen, there are hundreds in the hands of people who don't know much about gun safety and couldn't hit the side of a barn at 10 paces. And there are even more handguns in the possession of bad guys who use them to threaten and intentionally kill people.

Long guns, such as rifles and shotguns, are different. They're used for hunting, serious target shooting, and home protection. And, of course, they're sometimes used to kill people.

Currently we have a hodge-podge of federal, state, and local laws regarding guns. While there may be very restrictive gun control laws in one state or city, all a person has to do is drive to a more permissive jurisdiction, buy his weapons of choice, and drive home. Clearly, federal law is the only effective means of gun control.

It's troubling to think of Harvey the plumber walking around the supermarket with a Beretta strapped to his side, but that's happening in some U.S. states these days. Soldiers and police officers who are well-trained sometimes have accidents with weapons; how can anyone think plumbers and account executives won't have many more? And what if I accidentally drop a can of peas on Harvey's foot and piss him off? With the Beretta, he could kill me in an instant of rage (assuming he can hit anything with it). Without the Beretta, he'd have to attack me with his hands or a stick or whatever, assuming he could catch me. After running about 15 yards, he would most likely be so exhausted he would have to stop, and that would at least give him a chance to think about what he was doing.

And the bad guy? Well, take away the handgun, and he's not such a big man. (Come to think of it, maybe that applies to Harvey as well.) I guess he could try robbing a store or swaggering around the neighborhood with a shotgun or a baseball bat, but that would cramp his style and make him a lot more obvious.

I think all handguns should be outlawed, except for law enforcement officers and a very small number of trained, vetted, and licensed people who have a legitimate need. Anyone else caught possessing or illegally buying, selling, or distributing handguns would be guilty of a felony and subject to mandatory jail time. If this prevents some men from strapping an ersatz phallus on their belts or inconveniences a few legitimate target shooters, so be it.

I think reasonable long guns should be permitted for private citizens, with licensing and restrictions. "Reasonable" at the very least means no automatic weapons (more than one round per trigger pull), minimum barrel lengths, etc.

Maybe this would mean that for a while only the bad guys would have guns. That wouldn't be much different from today, and with serious enforcement of the laws, bad guys could soon be disarmed. Then maybe we could emerge from the wild west and join the rest of the world.

Note: For the record, I have nothing against guys named Harvey, plumbers, or account executives.