Four newly offered pieces of gun legislation in the house offer the democratic party a chance to gain nothing and lose a great deal. From silly laws on toy guns to increasing the FBI's ability to look into every American's medical and personal records, these laws solve nothing except to (1) distract us from real business, (2) increase the power of the same government that so very out of control, (3) drive away friends and (4) prove the other side that they were right all along.
Let's look at these bad ideas together, shall we?
It did not take long at all for some Congressfolk in our party to move from getting important work done to moving into the business of bad ideas, bad laws, and bad moves. Specifically:
(1) "The Child Gun Safety and Gun Access Prevention Act of 2007," H.R.256
(2) "To require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to ban toys which in size, shape, or overall appearance resemble real handguns," H.R. 428
(3) "The NICS Improvement Act," H.R. 297
(4) "The Gun Show Loophole Closing Act of 2007," H.R. 96.
These each have nice names, but the devil is in the details:
(1) "The Child Gun Safety and Gun Access Prevention Act of 2007," H.R.256
The Idea: Keep kids, and other safe from negligent gun storage.
Problem: (A) It raises the age of ownership of a certain rifles from 18 to 21. I.E. we can trust our sons and daughters to go overseas and fight wars, but they cannot be entrusted with simple rifles here at home. (B) It creates new, and vague, levels of liability for stolen firearms that go way beyond those imposed already by the states. In other words, someone steals your car and robs a bank, then runs over a person in the getaway. Should you be liable for murder since it was your car? Of course not. Under this law, firearms would be. States already have very serious laws to address issues of child protection, this law does no more except attempt to frighten gun owners into not being gun owners.
(2) "To require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to ban toys which in size, shape, or overall appearance resemble real handguns," H.R. 428
The Idea: Keep criminals from using toy guns in crimes, or from getting kids killed in confrontations with armed police, etc.
Problem: (A) Criminals are already in the business of crime. Pulling popguns off of the shelves at Wallmart will not change this. Instead, they will just find another way to commit the crime, maybe with a knife from the kitchen instead. (B) WE HAVE BETTER THINGS TO DO WITH OUR TIME! Really! We are at war with others and ourselves, perhaps we need to address more pertinent issues rather than having police in the toy department isles looking for contraband. It is ALREADY a crime to use a toy gun in a crime, so this is either silly, or an underhanded attempt at getting kids to stop playing with "violent" toys. I do not have toy guns in my house, but that is my choice as a parent, not the government's.
(3) "The NICS Improvement Act," H.R. 297
The Idea: Keeping guns away from crazy people (who can oppose that?).
Problem: (A) Like NSA wiretapping, this is an law that intends to use the vague fear of "crazy people with guns" drive us to a place where it is ok to let the FBI see all personal medical records, including those personal records of counsellors and psychiatrists. Forget the NSA looking at your phone records, now the FBI can find out what you say to your shrink. There could be no greater intrusion of a government into the private life and records of an individual. Forget soldiers getting any help with problems from the war, they will fear it will go in an FBI file. Forget saying, "But those are private!" If the FBI can have access for this "non-criminal" reason, just wait for the next one (perhaps for the purchase of plant growing materials since you might be growing pot!). (B) Worse yet, this law would allow the FBI to list people under indightment but who were not proven guilty in a court of law. A more basic violation of the system there is not. This is more of the Government Agency (NSA,FBI), is above basic law. We need less, not more of this.
"The Gun Show Loophole Closing Act of 2007," H.R. 96
The Idea: Gun Shows are Arms Bazaars and need to come under Government authority.
Problem: (A) It is dishonest. It is intentionally unworkable and intended to put gun shows out of business, including flea markets and person to person sales. Since FEDERAL PERMITS would be required for the venue, the sellers, background checks on attendants, all this would mean is that it would be the end of all non gun store purchases. If that is what you are after, be honest and have a nice day. If not, then be realistic. (B) Laws on purchases are already Federal with state to state sales. Laws are brutal on straw man purchases. Laws are hard on guns that get used in crimes and private sellers are careful due to personal liability. While there are plenty of idiot and such at guns shows (we all have stories), that does not mean illegality is taking place. You want to take down gun runners and straw purchasers, do it with the laws already on the books. Like toy guns, this law is pushed out of fear of a problem in the attempt of putting an industry out of business. We have had plenty of dishonest fear tactics from the other side, why add them to ours?
As I mentioned in a previous diary (not pimping, just saying "I told you so"), Congress needed to keep 10 things in mind and had better not blow this chance to help fix this nation. These 4 bills violate several of those suggestions:
#1. Stay Focussed.
We are in the middle of a war, literally and figuratively, and people are concerned with toy gun manufacturing?
#4. Respect All, Even Idiots.
May of those "idiots" elected this congress at a local level because of pro-gun candidates. We did it DESPITE being told by the NRA that anti-gun laws were going to be the first, second, and tenth thing on the Congressional plate. DO NOT PROVE THE NRA RIGHT! I am a member, really, trust me, you do not want to do that.
#8. Stay in 2007, Not 1994.
The days of anti-gun laws are done. People are interested in protecting themselves, not in 'feeling good" via empty laws. We here have shown that the executive emperor has no clothes, but we are also smart enough to know when gun laws also "have no clothes". Keep in mind that 1994 was a BAD year for Dems.
#9. Be for All Americans, not Just the Ones that Elected You.
These laws are the bane of libertarian and conservative leaning Dems (and non-Dems). Pushing these laws empties the big tent. And empty tent is not very fun.
#10. Stay in 2007, Not 1968.
The days of expecting the state to fix all evils is gone. As Dems we are now in a place of wanting less government in our lives and in our records. These laws are all in opposition to that. They will only produce greater evils than they intend to solve.
I also will note that while these laws violate 5 out of 10 warnings, they make me rethink one of them:
#6. Stay in 2007, Not 2008.
On this (gun legislation), be sure to keep an eye on 2008.
Pull the trigger on these laws and it will be our feet bleeding, both of them (House and Senate).