As the Supreme Court ponders the Washington, D.C. handgun ban’s constitutionality, I find myself leaving my conservative brethren behind on the handgun control issue. I say “behind” because I am not departing from a logical, well-thought-out approach in my formation of an opinion on this issue. In fact, I believe I have handgun control figured out, and I believe that my position is more logical than any of the conservative groups and pundits who have spoken out on handgun control, the right to concealed carry, and existing handgun legislation. My position is based on a simple premise:
Handguns have one use- to kill people.
My plan can be broken into 8 points:
- Don’t take a single licensed gun from any American citizen. Seizure of private property is not what this country is all about.
- Don’t touch long guns at all. Hunting is usually a family tradition, and we need more of those. Also, when hundreds of thousands people go into the woods with guns, and there are only two or three accidents, you can safely assume that these are not the “problem guns.”
- Change the laws on sawed-off shotguns. If a homeowner defends him/herself with a modified shotgun, there should be a fine and the weapon should be seized. If a modified shotgun is found in the trunk of a car along with drugs and lots of cash, it should be a felony. The sawed-off shotgun is by far the best weapon for home defense.
- THIS IS THE KEY POINT: STOP MAKING HANDGUNS. Leave a plant or two open to make just enough handguns for the military and law enforcement. But end large-scale handgun production in the US, and pressure Mexico and Canada to do the same.
- Make it illegal to sell modification kits to turn semi-automatic weapons into automatic weapons, prohibit the sale of shell catchers, etc. These items can only be useful to someone planning on engaging in criminal activity.
- Pass concealed-carry laws in all states that still don’t have them.
- As illegal or stolen handguns are confiscated and taken off the streets, distribute them to citizens who have passed muster (so to speak) for a concealed carry license.
- If there is a surplus of confiscated handguns, distribute the extras to firing ranges and collectors.
Ultimately, under my plan, handguns would gravitate to collectors, as all rare items do. Granted, we’d have to tighten up the borders to prevent smuggling, but we need to do that anyway.
It is true that my plan would take time to implement, and it would also stem the handgun violence gradually. It took us over 200 years to get where we are- can we really complain if it takes us 50 more to evolve into a society in which criminals can’t get handguns? I even concede that things could get temporarily worse before they get better under my plan. I don’t believe there is a painless way to end the slaughter.
I find it impossible to ignore the connection between having a handgun and shooting someone with that gun, and so perhaps I am not the staunch conservative that I imagine myself to be. But let’s be honest- how many people could the Virginia Tech gunman have killed if he had gone in with a switchblade?
Brian0
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