Here are my observations and opinions on the subject of mass shootings.
THE SHOOTINGS: WHAT TO DO – While the left demands gun control after every shooting, with wackos like presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke threatening to come after your AR-15, there was a 15.5 percent uptick in gun sales in the wake of the El Paso and Dayton shootings, and MSNBC was shocked that its online survey revealed 93 percent of the respondents supported the right of citizens to carry guns in public.
Attorney General Bill Barr, at the request of the White House, has been making the rounds of Capitol Hill to gauge reactions to background checks. Seventy-five percent of respondents to a WSJ/NBC News poll supported expanding background checks.
(Courtesy deseretnews.com)
BACKGROUND CHECKS – The National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database, which is used by the National Instant Check System to run checks on gun purchasers, has been used by law enforcement agencies since 1967.
Those familiar with information systems (computers) know, however, that the content is only as good as the input provided, or not provided.
For example, the background of the shooter who took the lives of 26 people in the Sutherland Springs, Texas church shooting on November 5, 2017 didn’t surface when he purchased six guns, including the Ruger AR-556 rifle he used in the attack, in New Mexico, Colorado and Texas. The fact that he lied about having a disqualifying criminal history, it didn’t matter, because his history had not been entered into the NCIC computer system.
The Air Force failed to report the shooter’s bad conduct discharge after assaulting his wife and fracturing his toddler stepson’s skull. In addition, he made death threats against his superior officers. He was admitted to a mental health facility in New Mexico, but escaped.
After facing a general court-martial, weapons charges were dropped when he pled guilty to two count of assault. His case paperwork had been flagged in bold to prohibit gun ownership, but it was no input into the database.
Following his discharge, the shooter was involved in a number of other altercations in Colorado and Texas that were never entered into the NCIC system.
INTERESTINGLY, the Sutherland church shooter was shot in the upper torso and leg by a church neighbor, Stephen Williford, a former NRA firearms instructor armed with an AR-15.
The Pentagon inspector general found that the military services were failing to report a vast majority of convictions. Federal agencies, unlike state and local ones, are required by law to report criminal records.
How many other criminal charges haven’t been entered into the NCIC database?
RED FLAG LEGISLATION – We know that the shooters at Virginia Tech, the Aurora, Colorado movie theater, Sandy Hook Elementary School, the Washington Navy Yard, and the Santa Fe, Texas school all had questionable backgrounds.
Andrew Pollak, who lost his daughter Meadow in the Parkland school shooting, recently chronicled the long record of problems in the background of that shooter in his book, “Why Meadow Died.” That shooter legally bought a gun though his violent and suicidal behavior was known widely by school officials, students and law enforcement.
Opponents of red flag laws argue that the potential for abuse is too high and that punishing people for crimes not committed is unconstitutional, writes David Thornton. Any law would need strong protections for gun owners to prevent removal of guns for false reasons.
Others are concerned about privacy rights.
THERE IS NO ONE ANSWER – “Improving background checks to include information on people who have dangerous mental health problems and identifying people who are known to their friends and family to be dangerous seem to be good ideas,” says Thornton, “but the devil is in the details.”
President Trump has encouraged his administration to engage with lawmakers and to vet gun control proposals and background checks. He will likely meet with his attorney general and cabinet to review his options before developing a proposal for legislators to draft legislation. Americans want “something” done, but don’t expect Democrats to support it, if it doesn’t include a full ban on AR-15 style guns.
In conclusion, Kramerontheright unfortunately believes no piece of legislation will prevent another shooting.
May God continue to bless the Unites States of America.
