Philly dot com
After years of writing about gun issues, I developed a plan to reduce the risk of gun violence. Neither side will love it all.
* Mandatory instant background check for everyone, for every gun sold.
* One gun purchase a month. This is aimed at slowing the multiple straw purchaser.
* Increase prison time to 10 years for straw purchasers (who buy a gun to pass along to someone who can't pass a background check).
* Lost or stolen guns must be reported, to thwart straw purchasers who may claim the guns they sold illegally were lost or stolen.
* No "assault weapon" ban. It was tried for a decade to little effect, and the Washington Navy Yard maniac used a shotgun. In 2011, the FBI reports, shotgun homicides (356) outnumbered rifle homicides (323). Both were dwarfed by handguns (6,220), the biggest problem.
* Make carrying a gun in a crime a federal offense, 10-year mandatory, added to the sentence for the original crime.
* No clips with more than 15 rounds. If you can't hit a target with 15 chances, you shouldn't be packing. (Limiting ammo negates a "need" to ban "assault rifles.")
* States must report people with mental illnesses to a federal database, as they are required to do. Most lag behind.
* Hollywood should reduce violence - in films, recordings, video games.
* No more "gun-free" zones. They don't stop gunmen; they provide defenseless targets.
Will my plan end all gun crime? Of course not. Will it stop some? You make that call.
Debate Magazine
