More than 16,000 people are shot and killed in the U.S. each year. At least 115,000 more sustain nonfatal gunshot wounds. Of course, we don’t know more specific numbers because the pro-gun lobby has consistently worked to prevent public health organizations from collecting data on gun violence. These are living, breathing human beings with families, histories, dreams, and lost futures.
But ask a Republican the biggest source of violence in the United States, and they will probably tell you women seeking abortion are the leading cause of homicide. Republicans have responded to this manufactured “crisis” by placing a number of restrictions on abortion. They recently tried to ban abortion in Oklahoma, and abortion clinics in Louisiana and some other states have been prohibited from performing the safest form of second trimester abortion.
Ask these self-proclaimed pro-lifers to do anything at all about gun violence, and you'll be met with a stream of hostile resistance. At best, you'll hear a rant about gun rights, government overreach, and self-defense. At worst, you'll hear a stream of anti-Muslim racism, mental health bigotry, and misinformation about the root causes of violence. A commitment to life ends with birth, and is completely obliterated when preservation of life means there isn't a gun on every corner, in every home, and at every convenience store.
What would happen if Republican anti-choice activists were a bit more consistent? If guns were regulated in the same way as abortion, here's what the world might look like:
Scare Tactics for Gun Buyers
Informed consent is a cornerstone of sound medical decision-making, not to mention a Constitutional right. Republican legislators have steadily eroded informed consent by requiring doctors to give women medically inaccurate information before seeking an abortion.
If they were consistent, they would require gun owners to view horrific images of gun violence victims before purchasing a firearm. Gun buyers would also be instructed that guns inevitably lead to murder, that most gun buyers regret their decision, and that gun purchases lead to post-gun syndrome and other mental illnesses.
Waiting Periods for Gun Ownership
Waiting periods for abortion are commonplace across the nation. The same legislators who support intruding upon medical decisions demand that gun purchasers never have to wait.
After all, a gun buyer might have a true firearm emergency, like killing his wife or shooting up a night club. And we can't place restrictions on Second Amendment rights! The Second Amendment is unique! Protest permits, no-knock warrants, and other intrusions on the Bill of Rights are just fine. But to regulate anything about gun rights is tantamount to treason.
If we treated gun ownership like abortion—or, for that matter, like many other rights, including protests and mass assemblies—gun owners would have to wait 24, 48, or 72 hours. They might even have to seek permission from a judge, a parent, or some other authority figure. And if permission were denied, they would be stuck petitioning a court that might take months or years to reach a decision.
A Stream of Abuse and Epithets for Gun Buyers
Protesting outside of abortion clinics is a First Amendment right. So too are protests outside of venues that sell guns. If liberals were as committed to gun control as conservatives are to anti-choice politics, they would stage 24/7 protests outside of gun shops. Gun buyers would be subjected to threats, epithets, and images of gun violence victims. Gun dealers would routinely field bomb threats and have to evacuate their stores.
Access to Guns Only at Government-Approved Locations
In most states, stringent abortion regulations mean that only one or two clinics remain open. Legislators have demanded that abortion clinics be connected to hospitals, even though dental clinics and other facilities that perform similarly risk procedures face no such regulations. Abortion clinics may also be treated like hazards to children, forbidden from locating anywhere near schools or homes.
Gun stores can open anywhere, and gun owners can freely sell firearms out of their own homes. Your neighbor could be listing his favorite gun on a classified site right now, but it's unlikely that an abortion is occurring anywhere near you.
Consistency in Republicans' “pro-life” commitment would change all of this. States would pass new measures to protect children and families from guns:
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Gun stores could only be connected to hospitals, in the event that a medical emergency arises.
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Gun stores could not be located in neighborhoods or within 2,000 feet of schools.
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Gun sales would be prohibited at conferences and gun shows. Vendors could only sell firearms at government-approved locations.
Stringent Record-Keeping of All Gun Buyers
Pro-gun activists argue that any record-keeping associated with gun purchases is an intrusion on Second Amendment rights. They are unconcerned about record-keeping associated with any other right, such as the logging of protest permits or the collection of medical information when women seek abortions. If pro-gun activists were consistent and treated gun buyers like abortion seekers:
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Gun buyers would have to give a detailed medical history.
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Gun buyers would have to sign a statement indicating they are not under duress.
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Gun buyers would be separated from any support person during the gun purchase process.
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Any activity that might lead to a gun purchase would be immediately reported to the authorities. This is consistent with current laws in some states requiring women to report miscarriages and bury fetal remains.
Addendum: Abortion is as Much of a Right as Gun Ownership
A number of social media comments on this post have suggested that this comparison is unfair because gun ownership is a right and abortion is not. The Supreme Court has the right to interpret the Constitution. In Roe vs. Wade, the Court determined that the 14th Amendment established a right to personal liberty and privacy. Thus the right to privacy—and therefore the right to an abortion—is indeed contained in the Constitution.
It’s worth noting that the Constitution also makes no mention of a right to personal ownership of firearms by non-militia members. It also does not prohibit various gun control regulations. Yet the extremist wing of the pro-gun lobby has read these rights into the document.
As of Monday, June 27, 2016, the Supreme Court has struck down one of the nation’s toughest abortion laws.