Forward
If you have been brought here by Sen. Campbell’s Facebook Ad her campaign is running you are in the right place. If you are a Republican, Democrat, Independent, Conservative, or libertarian you are in the right place. Whether you agree or not I hope you find it the well-reasoned, straight -forward and honest approach to real policy I intended it to be. I encourage everyone to read the full article.
I don’t think a single parent in America doesn’t hug their kids a little tighter, a little longer when they send them off to school the days following a school shooting like the recent one in Parkland, Florida. These incidences of gun violence are an accelerating epidemic unique to the United States. Each day that goes by without enactment of sensible gun legislation is further indictment of our society, our culture, our country.
There are certainly others more qualified than I to weigh in on this, but let me offer up my qualifications: I am a combat veteran and responsible gun owner. As a Non-commissioned Officer in the United States Army Special Operations Command then Officer in the Reserve, I trained and qualified on every major small arms weapon in the US Weapons arsenal and a few foreign weapons as well. I served two tours in Afghanistan and Iraq where I was responsible for my weapon and the disposition of the weapons of 43 other Soldiers at all times for an entire year in a hostile combat environment. As a Reservist, I commanded a Small Arms Readiness Group (SARG) at Camp Bullis, TX where we trained other military units on marksmanship and safety. Our team of NCO’s consistently won Army-wide competitions, though I take no credit for that myself.
I can attest from a US military perspective, we take accountability, responsibility, and training very, very seriously. If a weapon goes unaccounted for on a military installation, it goes on lockdown until that weapon is found. If your weapons discharges unintentionally for any reason, it is considered a negligent discharge (ND), and the operator is subject to immediate corrective action that can include punishment under Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) with penalties that can involve fines, even loss-of-rank.
I believe a few reasonable measures that reinforce and encourage those three tenants-- Accountability, Responsibility, and Training--can serve to dramatically reduce gun violence both here in the United States and in Central and South America, currently held hostage by narco-terrorists that exploit our nation’s lack of accountability to arm themselves.
First, Close the Loopholes
54 percent of of mass-shooters between 2009 and 2014 have a documented history of domestic violence. The Lautenberg Amendment already outlaws the sale of a firearm to domestic abusers but is rendered unenforceable by three loopholes that are intentionally left open by National Rifle Association (NRA)-owned lawmakers:
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The Gun Show Loophole – The private transfer of ownership has no background check requirement, nor implies any accountability or liability on the part of the seller.
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The “Boyfriend” Loophole – The Lautenberg Amendment does not apply in cases where the domestic abuser is not married to his/her victim, to same sex couples or even convicted stalkers.
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Straw Purchases – Many states do not have, or do not enforce laws that prohibit the immediate private transfer after a legitimate sale to someone who would knowingly fail a background check.
We must close all three of these loopholes if we are to keep firearms out of the hands of those with a history of violence. Anyone who tells you “enforce the laws on the books” either is ignorant of these loopholes or is purposefully misleading their audience.
I also support other legislative solutions that hold promise to save many lives. For instance, Extreme Risk Protection (aka “Red Flag”) Order laws empower courts to temporarily restrict firearm access to potentially dangerous individuals yet still allow timely recourse to reinstate a person’s rights in each case.
No Assault Weapons Ban NEEDED
I support a ban on future sales of weapons of war and high-capacity magazines, however I have great concerns that any ban involving the confiscation of those weapons would play directly into the irresponsible, paranoid narrative the NRA profits from. Quite simply, it would not work, and I doubt would survive a Constitutional challenge. Therefore, I do not support any involuntary confiscation program.
In a country that already imprisons more of its people than any other on Earth, I’m against any more laws that create criminals out of otherwise law-abiding citizens. Requiring the surrender/confiscation of a prior-owned, now-banned weapon would only encourage many gun owners to go underground and further alienate them when we should be trying to solicit their cooperation for the sake of the greater community.
Enforce Accountability Via Passive Liability
So, what about all those pre-existing weapons? Many would refuse to comply with a mandatory registration program. Decades of unregulated sales and trade make a comprehensive, known inventory virtually impossible and such an effort would play directly into a chief claim of fringe elements of gun rights folks that I’d not ever wish to lend credence to: “They’re coming for your guns!”
According to a 2016 study, in 79 percent of gun crimes the perpetrator is not the legal owner of the weapon; it has been either stolen or obtained through a straw purchase. This statistic, combined with startlingly high rates of in-home accidents, suicides and injury due to negligence, indicate a need to enforce accountability and responsibility amongst gun owners.
Comprehensive government registries are not necessary. Instead, moving forward, we enforce a chain-of-responsibility that begins with the current owner of a now-banned firearm. Registered or not, that weapon must be transferred via a legal, brokered sale that includes background checks and proof of any legally-required training certifications.
If lost, stolen, or sold outside this brokerage process, the current owner would be subject to civil, possibly through negligence (i.e. unsafe storage), criminal liability in the event of its use in the unjustified taking of human life. This eliminates the need for invasive, punitive compliance measures but subjects an owner to serious consequences if the firearm is not adequately secured or ownership transferred without proper regard for their community’s collective safety.
Classify, Certify, and License
More than half of the over 36,000 annual firearm deaths in America involve a handgun. There are pre-existing classification systems in our Federal laws, first created in in 1934 and revised in 1968. I propose these classifications be modernized. A simplified version might read as follows:
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Class 1: Hunting and Heritage – single-shot, bolt, or lever-action or small-capacity semi-automatic long-barreled shotgun or rifle used to for hunting. No additional registration or background check requirement on new sales or existing transfers.
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Class 2: Handgun – revolver or magazine-fed semi-automatic. Mandatory background check and registration on new purchase or transfer of existing. Federal minimum training requirements, extensible by state law for concealed carry. Passive liability for improper transfer of ownership.
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Class 3: Military Use – high-capacity capable, easily convertible to automatic. Shortened barrel rifle or shotgun. Federally certified safety and qualification course prior to new purchase (if legally permitted) or existing transfers. Passive liability for improper transfer of ownership.
Change the Culture
Put bluntly, the NRA of old is long dead. It is now nothing more than a front for the international arms trade. It profits immensely from the untraceable, illegal exportation of military-grade weapons that our current laws (or lack thereof) facilitate, which fuel the violence on our streets and the drug wars destroying our Latin American neighbors’ lives. We must enlist more gun owners/enthusiasts to reject the NRA and embrace community-oriented, responsible, common sense gun legislation that will effectively reduce the number of firearm deaths without making criminals of otherwise law-abiding citizens. Through groups like Moms Demand Action, we can affect a positive cultural shift back towards norms that encourage accountability, responsibility, and training and of making our community’s safety the highest priority.
About the Author
Steven Kling is a decorated combat veteran, local businessman and the Democratic Nominee for Texas State Senate District 25 in 2018. He can be reached at info@klingfortexas.org and on Twitter @stevekling.