Still no consensus on firearms laws

Dear Readers, we seem to have no consensus on what to do with firearms in this country. Some states are rushing to pass laws making it easier to own firearms; other states are tightening their laws. The NRA warns politicians to “toe the line.” New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is using his impressive financial muscle to back gun reform candidates running in elections against “pro-gun” opponents.

All of this cognitive dissonance is the wake from the Newtown massacre. Presently, only brick and mortar firearm sales have to be checked – purchases at gun shows or over the internet are not. This means that, for instance, persons with a protective order against them can legally buy a gun at a gun show or over the internet with the expressed intent of threatening or killing the person protected. This is absurd.

Even worse, two years ago American-born Al Qaeda agitator Adam (Pearlman) Yahiye Gadahn published a video noting how easily guns can be purchased. He encouraged Islamic terrorists to buy guns in the U.S. and cause mass mayhem. Again, absurd.

Nationally, it looks like we might finally tighten up our background check for firearm purchases, but the preventative scope might be limited. Statistically, the “raw” number is that more than 30,000 citizens are killed with firearms each year. Roughly 60 percent of these deaths are suicides and three percent are accidental. There were even two accidental deaths just in the last couple of weeks – a deputy’s wife was killed when a very young child accidentally shot her in a bedroom and a 6-year-old shot and killed a 4 year-old.

These 65 percent of all gun deaths are unlikely to be prevented (maybe some suicides) by more expansive background checks. There is not any data to educate us, in part, because Congress has forbidden federal funds from being used to analyze the relationship of firearms to deaths and injuries. Remember too, the key to prevent mental health fueled killings you would need to have some sort of “adjudication” of condition barring a gun purchase.

There is no question that better mental health treatment could prevent gun-caused suicides. Recently, you may have noticed that former NFL players are suing the NFL owners because of brain injuries and the dementia that results after retirement. Junior Seau and Dave Duerson both suffered from chronic traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). As dementia set in, they both used guns to kill themselves (Seau at only 43 years old and three years after playing his last game; Duerson not even 52 years old), leaving their brains for study about CTE. If their distress had been treated, maybe they would still be alive.

Mental health screening might not prevent many third person killings. The Newtown horror would have still been replayed, as the killer’s mother purchased her guns legally. The same is true for Columbine.

On the other hand, the Tuscon shootings and Virginia Tech killings might have been prevented by some sort of mental health check. In other words, it’s a mixed bag.

If you talk to anyone in law enforcement, background checks can have a real impact on keeping firearms out of the hands of “bad guys.” However, as I have mentioned in prior columns, thanks to distrust of government, law enforcement cannot easily trace guns (or ammunition, for that matter) used in crimes back to “straw” purchasers or shady gun dealers or even thefts. A lot of this is due to fear of national registration.

Some say we should just enforce the laws on the books. Unfortunately, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), the agency tasked with policing gun sales, has been intentionally neutered by gun enthusiasts. That whole “Fast & Furious” fiasco exemplifies a lack of proper departmental leadership (there has not been a confirmed director for six years and funding caused by Congress’ distrust of ATF). ATF is key because interstate firearm trafficking cannot be policed and prosecuted at the local level.

Right now, passions on both sides are making consensus difficult. Hopefully, we can come together as a nation and enact sensible reforms that will at least prevent some of the future Newtowns.

Local attorney Jim Rockefeller owns the Rockefeller Law Center and is a former Houston Co. Chief Assistant District Attorney, and a former Miami Prosecutor. Visit www.rockefellerlawcenter.com to submit confidential legal questions, and to review former articles and Frequently Asked Questions.

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