Working Together

The Brady’s seem to be playing up the working together angle on HR2640.

The Virginia Tech shootings tragically demonstrated the unnecessary gaps in the system that allowed a dangerous person to be armed. By supporting this legislation, the National Rifle Association, which fought the Brady Bill for so many years, now joins the Brady Campaign and the vast majority of Americans in affirming that effective background checks can help save lives.

I think effective background checks make people feel better.  The truth is, they just created the straw purchasing problem that the Brady’s say they need more gun control legislation to stop.  If they get those laws, then criminals will resort to more theft and smuggling, which will, of course, be used as evidence for the need for further restrictions.

We hope that Congress and the gun lobby will continue to support meaningful reforms that extend Brady background checks to all gun sales, not just those by the licensed dealers who are covered by current law. That would be a significant additional step to prevent guns from getting into the hands of dangerous people.

We already did that here in Pennsylvania, and it didn’t work.  Now the various gun control organizations, including the Brady Campaign, are pushing for one-gun-per-month restrictions here in Pennsylvania to deal with the straw purchasing problem.   Where does it stop?

I am not opposing HR2640 because it doesn’t change much, and give us a few things that I think are beneficial.  I don’t believe the instant check system is serious infringement on the right-to-bear arms.  But do I think it works?  No, I don’t.  I think gun laws are about as effective at keeping guns out of the hands of criminals as our drug laws are at keeping marijuana out of the hands of potheads.