Lethal Passage_ The Story of a Gun - Erik Larson [104]
We must endure tyranny—the new tyranny of the gun with its concomitant loss of dignity, honor, and compassion—in order to avoid tyranny.
I propose a five-part omnibus law that will use the word ban only once—yes, I apologize, I betray a rather antiquated bias here: I do happen to believe that silencers should be outlawed, even those registered by police and law-enforcement agencies. However hard I try, I simply cannot foresee a practical use for silencers that would conform to our society’s belief in due process and the rule of law.
If enacted in its entirety, with none of the almost-criminal loopholes that have marred existing laws, I guarantee my proposed regulations, which I like to think of as the “Life and Liberty Preservation Act,” would sharply impede the flow of guns to kids, felons, and irresponsible shooters, with no significant impact on those upright citizens who keep guns for self-defense, for plinking, or for hunting. If anything, today’s patchwork of laws has made things far more difficult for the legitimate shooters, something the shooters tend to blame on gun-control advocates, the media, and other “gun grabbers.” In fact, the blame belongs with the NRA itself, which bears so much responsibility for the disarray in firearms regulation that exists today.
I propose, for example, to abolish all barriers to the interstate transportation of firearms. Wouldn’t that be nice, those of you who hunt or who for professional reasons feel a need to carry a gun? (I refer here to private detectives, bodyguards, and the like, not hit men.) In fact, I suggest that the nation’s first step ought to be the wholesale repeal of every state, county, and municipal firearms regulation currently on the books. The NRA is quite right in pointing out, ad nauseam, that New York and Washington, D.C., have some of the toughest gun-control laws in America, and two of the highest per capita homicide rates. Erase these ineffective regulations—but immediately replace them with a formal, rational federal code that at last recognizes guns for what they are: the single most dangerous, socially costly, culturally destabilizing consumer product marketed in America.
Herewith, the Life and Liberty Preservation Act, its provisions divided into three parts governing the distribution, purchase, and design of firearms:
I. DISTRIBUTION
Any serious effort to halt the mass migration of weapons to illegal hands must first concentrate on the firearms distribution network, in particular, the role played by retail dealers. As things stand now, it is simply too easy to get a license to buy and sell guns. As a first step, Congress should repeal all provisions of the McClure-Volkmer Act, except the machine-gun ban.
The Life and Liberty Preservation Act would then:
♦ Sharply increase the cost of the basic gun-dealer license to $2,500 and designate this a one-time business-entry fee. This alone would sharply reduce the number of Americans who now hold Federal Firearms Licenses. At $30 the license has proven too tempting for would-be felons to pass up.
♦ Require that before receiving a license, a prospective gun dealer first present proof that he has met all local and state regulations governing the operation of a business. For example, he would be required to show proof that his dealership satisfied all local zoning requirements.
♦ Require every dealer to take a course designed to familiarize him with all federal firearms laws, with the ways in which buyers try to evade the laws, and with proper techniques for protecting firearms and ammunition from robbers and burglars. The law further would require that dealers demonstrate a basic working knowledge of firearms and firearms law by passing a licensing examination, as doctors and lawyers must. The dealer would have to attend a refresher seminar every three years to revalidate his license. These seminars would brief dealers on new changes in federal regulations, new court precedents, and the latest patterns in