More about Gunner Control

Let’s talk a little about gun control.

Every time I write or otherwise correspond with legislators about controlling those who buy guns and turn out to be dangerous to the public I get a nice letter telling me that THEY are doing what is needed to keep guns out of the hands of “bad actors.” They may well think they are because of the Brady Bill and the background check system that is run by the FBI.

It is true that some persons are prevented from buying a weapon legally because of failing a background check. Good. But some persons are denied purchase of a weapon wrongfully. This denies a person of their second amendment rights. Is it better to prevent persons who should legally be allowed to purchase a gun because they are mistakenly pulled in the same net as those who should not be allowed to legally purchase a gun? That’s in the line of “deny them all and let the courts sort it out.” Not a good procedure because many persons do not file protests which they would probably win because of cost, time, and low level of true need for a gun.

In 2014, for example, the background check system denied purchases for 90,895 persons of which 4,411 were overturned when challenged. It is probable that most of the others were not challenged, or even were and resulted in success and the purchase was “allowed” to proceed. Such permission, however, is purged from the system in 24 hours after being given. If the purchaser doesn’t return in that time, another check is made and will probably result in the same denial as the first since it is using the same procedure as the previous check.

The information that is being checked for is clearly listed and seems logical and meaningful. These are listed here (source: Wikipedia) and reads as follows:

A prohibited person is one who:

·        Has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;

·        Is under indictment for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;

·        Is a fugitive from justice;

·        Is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance;

·        Has been adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution;

·        Is illegally or unlawfully in the United States;

·        Has been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions;

·        Having been a citizen of the United States, has renounced U.S. citizenship;

·        Is subject to a court order that restrains the person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child of such intimate partner;

·        Has been convicted in any court of a "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence", a defined term in 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(33)

While I have no major objection to this, I do object to the unknown number of “false hits” due to a variety of reasons. The one most cited resulted in overturning a false hit is non-matching fingerprints of the database to the applicant. That means doing a lot more to capture fingerprints to prove you are not a “prohibited person.” I’m sure gun dealers, and private sellers wouldn’t be thrilled with having to take fingerprints and submit them at the point of purchase. Impossible!

Three major changes are needed that my suggested plan tries to make are:

1.    The screening check emphasizes the person applying to purchase a weapon. Notice this is not “gun” oriented but includes any type of weapon that is deemed dangerous enough to be legally restricted: rocket launchers, cannons, flame throwers, crossbows, etc. A person who I would trust to use a shotgun for hunting may not be somebody I want to have a rocket launcher. See my post on “Gunner Control” that breaks out reasons to have a weapon.

2.    The screening check slows the purchase to several days (or more) while the fact of the application to purchase is made available to a wider audience than the FBI database. Police, mental health practitioners, businesses, anyone who want to subscribe to the information, would have a chance to participate in identifying “prohibited persons” that they think they know of.

3.    The screening check shows the reason that the person is applying for a particular kind of weapon, and have a “precheck” provision that the person has already passed an examination that tests for knowledge of the law and handling of that kind of weapon. Notice that age has no play in this, although the plan could have age limits, and even other physical limits (vision checks, some types of diseases, etc.).

My proposed plan, “Gunner Control” is a work in progress that tries to describe the kind of control over weapon purchases I think would work. I am open to changes and welcome comments. Just be polite and reasoned. No name calling and off-topic comments, please.

My master problem with the current instant check is that it IS instant. This is not enough time to explore the purchaser, and consider the purchaser by more than an undoubtedly flawed database. Another problem is that it doesn’t do anything about the seller, making them withhold a weapon for a purchaser that hasn’t passed a “precheck” proving knowledge about the weapon type and the laws concerning it.

My general objection, of course, is that non-approved persons of any kind will simply steal or buy guns (and maybe other stuff) from fellow lawbreakers. Maybe this is where “stop and search” comes into play. But that’s another topic for another day.