Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Sandy Hook, Orlando, … . To the sad American litany of mass shootings, we can now add a few more unimaginable tragedies. The slaying of 59 people at a Las Vegas music festival followed by the deaths of 25 people in a church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas remind us again of the intractability of America’s gun violence epidemic.
These mass killings, like other media-swarmed gun disasters, elicit stunningly diverse reactions. According to one side, the shootings are the inevitable result of America’s high gun ownership and inexcusably lax laws. According to the other side, stricter laws cannot prevent mass shootings; such tragedies are the occasional price we pay for basic freedoms. However, despite their differences, both sides appear to be committed to the goal that unites us all, which is to eliminate gun violence. If our leaders would listen to their constituents, exercise common sense, and show some willingness to compromise, the following steps would go a long way toward reaching that goal.
Categories of gun violence. The mass shootings that attract such overwrought media attention account for a negligible fraction of all gun deaths. The same day that 59 people lost their lives in Las Vegas, about 90 other people were killed by guns somewhere in America. And that’s a typical day. More specifically, of the approximately 33,000 annual firearm deaths, 65 percent are due to suicide. The remaining gun deaths are attributable to accidents and homicides; and of the homicides, 20 percent occur during arguments or fits of passion. Clearly, progress on preventing suicides and non-felony homicides, would reduce gun violence — without compromising Second Amendment rights.
Background checks. The fact that roughly (estimates vary) one-third of gun sales are not regulated indicates the illogic and fundamental inequity of the current system of firearm background checks. Fair, consistent, universal background checks on all gun sales are supported by large majorities of Americans, gun owners, and NRA members. The success of the federal system of background checks relies on more expansive reporting of mental health and criminal records, within legal limits. None of these improvements leads to a federal gun registry, as critics fear.
Gun safety. There are few dissenters on the matter of gun safety. Programs to promote the safe storage and use of firearms should be available to all gun owners and built into background checks and permitting requirements.
Research on gun violence. Twenty years ago, the pro-gun lobby strangled federal funding for fundamental research on the causes and prevention of gun violence at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. Robust funding for research on automobile safety during the same period led to a significant decrease in automobile fatalities. There is reason to believe that the same approach to gun violence could produce similar results.
Enforcement. All sides agree that existing laws must be enforced more vigorously and more arrests must be brought to prosecution. And yet, there is good evidence that state and federal law enforcement agencies, particularly the pivotal Bureaus of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), don’t have adequate resources for the job — for a variety of historical and political reasons. Those who preach better enforcement must act to ensure that it is possible.
Common sense and compromise. Our future is neither government-enforced mass disarmament — a dream of many gun control advocates — nor free-for-all, unregulated gun ownership — a wish of many gun rights activists. For the foreseeable future, Americans, their courts, and their legislatures will be divided on gun ownership and gun laws. Neither a gun-free society — at one extreme — nor a lawless country awash with guns — at the other extreme — is likely. The system has enough inertia that we are more likely to regress to the mean, than to find the extremes.
And if our fate is to live at an impasse with respect to gun rights, the recent mass shootings and the daily toll of firearm deaths should remind us that we are far from the ultimate goal of eradicating gun violence in our streets, schools, and homes. Inaction is inexcusable. Progress is possible. But only if we all question our hardened beliefs and rededicate ourselves to working together on this urgent crisis.
William Briggs lives in Boulder. This guest opinion is based on his recent book “How America Got Its Guns” (University of New Mexico Press).
