It's worth considering the enforcement of the current gun laws by the federal government before we try to create new laws to add to the list of things required for a gun purchase.
Let's start with criminals. It's not a hard choice: the law says that a convicted criminal or a fugitive from justice cannot buy a gun. That's federal law which gets enforced through the NICS database. Someone seeking to buy a weapon has to undergo a background check (with a few minor exceptions). The potential buyer's name is checked against the NICS database to see if they are one the list of people who are barred from purchasing a weapons. There are a bunch of problems with this system, however. Some states and localities don't put the names of the people convicted of crimes on the NICS system. In certain places, the failure to place these names on the NICS system is due to a desire to protect illegal aliens from deportation. If a sanctuary city lists an illegal alien as a felon on the NICS system, it provides a road map to ICE to seek out and deport that individual. After all, it is the stated policy of the Trump administration to have ICE focus on deporting those illegals with criminal records. That was also the stated policy during the Obama years, so the sanctuary cities have long failed to fully cooperate with the NICS system requirement.
But there's more. During the Obama years, the Department of Justice decided to reinterpret the meaning of "fugitive from justice". When the law was passed that placed these people among the group that cannot buy guns, it said that anyone for whom there was an outstanding arrest warrant for a felony would be included. That's not hard to understand. If there's a warrant for Mr. X in Kansas for armed robbery, his name goes on the list. The Obama Justice Department reinterpreted that language, however, to limit it to covering only those who were subject to an outstanding arrest warrant and who also were known to have crossed state lines in fleeing justice. As a result, the Obama Department of Justice directed the FBI to remove about 500,000 names off of the NICS database. That's 500,000 people who have outstanding arrest warrants for felonies who the Obama DOJ made able to buy guns.
Then there's mental health issues. Recent polls show that something like 85% of Americans agree that the mentally ill should not be allowed to buy guns. That's easy enough. In many places, though, the mentally ill are already banned from weapons purchases. The problem is determining just who is mentally ill. At Newtown, the shooter had mental health issues; he used the weapons that his mother obtained legally. In Parkland the shooter also had mental issues. The police knew all about them and also were warned that this kid might become a school shooter. The Broward Sheriff's office did nothing. There were mechanisms in Florida that would have allowed action, but nothing was done. It won't make a difference to enact new laws if they, like the old ones, do not get enforced.
It seems as if all the focus on the need for new laws is happening with essentially no focus on the need to enforce current (and future) laws. Those who are busy screaming about the need for new laws should not overlook the failure to enforce the laws we already have.
Let's start with criminals. It's not a hard choice: the law says that a convicted criminal or a fugitive from justice cannot buy a gun. That's federal law which gets enforced through the NICS database. Someone seeking to buy a weapon has to undergo a background check (with a few minor exceptions). The potential buyer's name is checked against the NICS database to see if they are one the list of people who are barred from purchasing a weapons. There are a bunch of problems with this system, however. Some states and localities don't put the names of the people convicted of crimes on the NICS system. In certain places, the failure to place these names on the NICS system is due to a desire to protect illegal aliens from deportation. If a sanctuary city lists an illegal alien as a felon on the NICS system, it provides a road map to ICE to seek out and deport that individual. After all, it is the stated policy of the Trump administration to have ICE focus on deporting those illegals with criminal records. That was also the stated policy during the Obama years, so the sanctuary cities have long failed to fully cooperate with the NICS system requirement.
But there's more. During the Obama years, the Department of Justice decided to reinterpret the meaning of "fugitive from justice". When the law was passed that placed these people among the group that cannot buy guns, it said that anyone for whom there was an outstanding arrest warrant for a felony would be included. That's not hard to understand. If there's a warrant for Mr. X in Kansas for armed robbery, his name goes on the list. The Obama Justice Department reinterpreted that language, however, to limit it to covering only those who were subject to an outstanding arrest warrant and who also were known to have crossed state lines in fleeing justice. As a result, the Obama Department of Justice directed the FBI to remove about 500,000 names off of the NICS database. That's 500,000 people who have outstanding arrest warrants for felonies who the Obama DOJ made able to buy guns.
Then there's mental health issues. Recent polls show that something like 85% of Americans agree that the mentally ill should not be allowed to buy guns. That's easy enough. In many places, though, the mentally ill are already banned from weapons purchases. The problem is determining just who is mentally ill. At Newtown, the shooter had mental health issues; he used the weapons that his mother obtained legally. In Parkland the shooter also had mental issues. The police knew all about them and also were warned that this kid might become a school shooter. The Broward Sheriff's office did nothing. There were mechanisms in Florida that would have allowed action, but nothing was done. It won't make a difference to enact new laws if they, like the old ones, do not get enforced.
It seems as if all the focus on the need for new laws is happening with essentially no focus on the need to enforce current (and future) laws. Those who are busy screaming about the need for new laws should not overlook the failure to enforce the laws we already have.
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