President Bill Clinton's State of the Union Address ended, not with a call
for change, but with a plea to make this "the safest, big
country in the world."
In attempting to make this nation a safer place in which to live, Clinton suggested
compromise— pleasing both
sides of the aisle in Congress.
One particular issue that has continually been compromised beyond common
sense is gun control.
Clinton's Plan
But among the more radical details of common sense gun registration is the
proposal of a photo identification system for gun
buyers.
If the plan were to be made law, a gun buyer would have to present this card to
purchase any kind of ATF-approved weapon.
The card bearer would have to provide proof of competence in using a gun and
must not have a criminal conviction to attain the
license, which would have to be renewed annually to be effective.
The compromise seeks to keep criminals from attaining handguns, while
well-meaning citizens who only wish to defend their families
could easily apply for the right to bear arms.
Past Compromise Failures
Regardless of what the Second Amendment says, who actually wants a convicted
felon purchasing a lethal weapon that
can fire multiple shots per second? I would not want that.
In the Brady Bill compromise, America's 65 million gun owners would retain their right
to buy firearms, while the
government would have a chance to regulate who may obtain them.
However, the original five-day wait law did little to protect innocent
citizens. According to the publication, "Implementation of the Brady Handgun
Violence Prevention Act," published by
the Federal General Accounting Office, only seven criminals were convicted of
illegal attempts to buy handguns during
the first 17 months of the law. That is hardly reason to pursue federal gun legislation
any further.
Washington, D.C., enacted a ban on all handguns in 1976. By 1991, the District of
Columbia's homicide rate had tripled,
while the rest of the nation experienced a 12 percent increase.
A handful of States have tried similar approaches, but only to witness a rise in gun
crime.
Individual cities have attempted to reach a legislative compromise between gun
owners and those who fear an armed
populous. New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington make up for 5 percent
of the U.S. population.
According to the National Safety Council, they account for 15 percent of all murders.
Yet, despite Washington's obvious failures, those cities each have had draconian
gun control legislation on the books for
many years!
The Facts
This statistic would indicate that 99.6 percent of all guns were not used to commit
violent crimes!
The National Safety Council estimated in 1995 (while the Brady Bill was the
hot-button issue of the day), firearm fatalities killed 0.5
percent per 100,000 deaths. Car accidents claimed 16 percent. Poisoning killed 4
percent.
Even choking ended more American lives than firearms, with a fatality rate of 1.1
percent!
True Common Sense
With the statistics clearly stated, it is obvious that firearm deaths, while still a
problem, should not be a governmental concern.
Nor should gun control take precedence among other items of importance during a
State of the Union Address.
Gun crimes become more common when gun control legislation is approved. Why
can we not learn from history and stop passing
futile laws that do nothing to benefit us? A compromise is defined as a settlement
between two or more rival parties or individuals.
It seems to me that the parties who seek to control or prohibit gun control are
reacting solely upon speculation and fear.
Why should we compromise our Constitutionally-guaranteed right to defend
ourselves, to satisfy a core of cowardly politicians and
special interests who react in fear?
Why should we allow Bill Clinton to make a compromise-filled mess out of the simple
routine of buying a gun?
We should not allow our Congress to portray our rights to defend ourselves as a
scapegoat for violence.
I am by no means suggesting that we all start packing heat. But there are already
way too many laws on records all the result of
compromise.
We do not need more useless, cumbersome laws that would attack a relatively rare
problem.
Love is the only compromise I would suggest for the gun control controversy. Both
sides should agree to that.
Violence is never the answer. But one dreaded day, if riots break out and vandals
start to break in, that loaded pistol safely locked
away in your bedroom closet would no longer seem to be the cause of all American
violence.
Rather, it would be the guarantee that you and your loved ones will be safe from the
vile alter-ego of human nature.
Andy Hogue can be contacted at creton4@yahoo.com
Why Gun Control Doesn't Work
Originally appeared in "The North Texas Daily, Feb. 2, 2000
In his address, Clinton outlined his plan to curtail crime.
Clinton said, "The House failed to follow suit in approving common sense gun
registration."
"Common sense gun registration" is the catch phrase for a plan that would place
more Alcohol Tobacco Firearms agents and gun
crime prosecutors on federal payrolls and provide funding for "smart gun"
technology, which would keep children from accidentally
firing a weapon.
We have already endured the Brady Bill saga, in which the government would have
cracked down on illegal gun
buyers. It seemed to be a great idea.
According to a 1999 report published by the ATF, less than 0.4 percent of all
handguns (and less than 0.2 percent of all firearms
total) were used in a crime.