Toe the Line: Penn Democrats | Gun control debate

A call to (regulate) arms: The Imperative of a national, comprehensive gun safety program

By Sean Foley 10/19/15 12:12am

Two weeks ago today, the Penn community woke up fearing that the day might bring horror into our lives. On Oct. 2, an anonymous Internet source had alleged that there would be an attack on a Philadelphia-area college on the following Monday at 2 p.m. Penn students were understandably panicked, genuinely fearing for their safety. Thankfully, 2 p.m. passed quietly.

After the scare had abated, most students probably proceeded according to their typical daily routine. Yet what made the threat so real and so terrifying was the fact that gun violence is ordinary in America. We were able to imagine a mass shooting at Penn because we had seen such atrocities happen so many times before.

When the Class of 2016 were freshmen, the massacre at Sandy Hook occurred. Since that awful day in December 2012, there have been at least 990 mass shootings (in which four or more people were shot) — per the crowdsourced Mass Shooting Tracker — killing 1,249 people and wounding 3,576 more. Everytown for Gun Safety reports that there have been at least 150 school shootings since 2013, averaging nearly one per week. A shooting at Penn would have been par for the course. This is unacceptable.

Although the National Rifle Association argues that more guns equals more safety, the facts tell a very different story. According to a Harvard report, developed countries with more guns generally have more homicide, states within the United States with more guns have more homicide and people with access to guns — particularly women — are more likely to be victims of homicide than those without access. The homicide rate in America far exceeds that of other developed countries. According to United Nations data, the U.S. had 29.7 firearm homicides per 1 million people in 2012, while Switzerland had 7.7, Canada had 5.1 and Germany had 1.9. This discrepancy is not for a lack of guns. While the U.S. makes up only 4.4 percent of the global population, it holds 42 percent of the world’s civilian-owned guns.

Perhaps even more shocking than America’s unmatched level of gun violence is the fact that so many shooters purchased their guns legally. According to The New York Times, criminal histories and documented mental health problems did not prevent at least eight of the gunmen in 14 recent mass shootings from obtaining their weapons, after federal background checks approved the purchases of the guns used. The current laws are inadequate. They do not keep us safe.

It is well past time to pass national, comprehensive gun safety legislation. Congress should expand background checks to include all private gun sales. It should develop a complete national database for mental health and criminal records. Moreover, Congress should implement a one-week waiting period for the purchase of firearms, which reduces the risk of suicides. It should also require that individuals complete a certified training course before purchasing a gun. Additionally, Congress should ban military-grade assault weapons, which simply have no place in civilian hands. Furthermore, Congress must close the “Charleston loophole,” which allows firearms dealers who have initiated a background check to complete the sale if the FBI has not completed the inquiry within three business days. These are just a few of the many common-sense gun safety regulations that would make our country safer.

Critics contend that more gun safety laws won’t prevent gun violence because criminals will break the rules anyway. This is fallacious logic. If we were to accept this argument, we would have to maintain that all laws are useless because they can and will be violated. This is a lazy and disingenuous assertion from opponents of gun safety regulations who prioritize the preferences of the gun industry over the security of our communities.

This issue is a matter of priorities. As President Obama suggested, it is a political issue. We choose to have lax gun laws. We choose to allow mass shooting after mass shooting pass without taking action. We choose to accept routine massacres in our country as ordinary.

Fortunately, we can choose a different path. We have the power to build a safer country. Despite what Jeb Bush thinks, we cannot dismiss mass shootings by saying “stuff happens.” The frequency and severity of gun violence in America is unparalleled in the developed world. This “stuff” doesn’t happen anywhere else, and we shouldn’t let it happen here either.

Sean Foley C’16

Penn Democrats Representative

info@penndems.com

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