Since the horrific events at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, pundits and politicians of all stripes have spilled gallons of digital ink online and filled the airwaves. “We must do something about gun violence!” they bellow, much as a water buffalo attempting to birth farm equipment. Part of this is quite understandable as I noted in an earlier article. After all, Children! And to a point, I agree. If something threatens my two lovely (now adult) daughters, the only rational capacity remaining in my brain, would be totally focused on how to most effectively and painfully exact retribution.
But as I also noted, this is a time for cooler heads to prevail and to understand that this is not the Federal government’s issue to resolve. Violence of all kinds and not just via firearms, is a problem for the states severally, along with their political subdivisions, to deal with. Of course, whenever a politician opines thusly, he is immediately excoriated by the left and often from the right as well. Fortunately, there is a method to significantly reduce crime, specifically violent crime and even more specifically, gun crime. And best of all, it’s a state-driven solution that has been proven to work. This solution has three parts. I’ve adjusted the language to curb the well-noted excesses of previous efforts along this line.
First of all, the states need to modify their gun possession prohibitions, limiting them such that every adult citizen or legal resident; not incarcerated; not on parole or probation; not having been legally adjudicated as a violent threat (mentally incompetent) and finally not having been convicted of a violent felony.
Second, bring back (with proper oversight) Terry Stops. Terry Stops, known colloquially as Stop, Question and Frisk, are a long-proven technique for effective, and preemptive policing, especially in dense urban neighborhoods. The U.S. supreme Court has ruled it “constitutional,” with the usual caveat regarding racial targeting, which is why better oversight by police leaders is necessary. Ultimately however, Terry Stops have been long-proven to be a great tool in getting illegal firearms off the street, especially when used in conjunction with #1 above and #3 below.
Finally, bring back “3 Strikes,” but not as originally written. States should modify their statutes such that only VIOLENT felonies and/or illegal gun possession (IAW #1 above) count as a “strike.” Casting too wide of a net by counting drug sales or even grand theft as a “strike,” somewhat defeats the purpose of focusing on the violence. We don’t want to end up handing down a life sentence for some guy who on his third strike, go caught with just enough weight to qualify as “dealing.“
Previously, by using the above, albeit with fewer restrictions and oversight, we managed to take an entire generation of violent felons off of the street. Because of that, we ultimately saw a huge decrease in violent felonies, to include gun violence. It works.
The reason it works, is it can have the ultimate effect of turning illegal gun possession, aggravated assault, battery on a LEO and a host of other violent felonies, into LIFE felonies. Career criminals with two strikes already against them, are far less likely to risk life in prison over a felony that would ordinarily mean 1-5 year sentence. That my friends, then becomes a real deterrent. Best of all, it’s focused on the violent criminals, not law-abiding gun owners.
What is the Federal role in all of this? Simple. Stay out of the way and let the states get on with it. The only active role the Federal government should play, is to eliminate Federal laws that impede the states and to make sure the states do not violate civil rights, including gun rights, in their zeal to “Do something!”
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All dumb suggestions and will not stop random mass shootings, we will never be able to stop the crazys.
Here is how you start reducing these mass shootings.
The moment you use a firearm you are now responsible for each round that is fired. If you are with a group of people or in a car they are also charged with the same crime.
If you utilize a firearm without the sole purpose of defending yourself then you will receive the death penalty. Straight to Federal jail until your trial date and then once the verdict has been rendered it’s straight to the needle in the arm. No sitting on death row for 20 years, it’s done in less than a year. There is so much video surveillance out there most of these shooters are caught within 3 days.
Crazy people will be crazy people. Nothing you can do to stop that. We have entirely too many stupid people in this country who think you can brandish a firearm and start shooting into crowds of people.
Mr Ford wrote:
Yes, we do.
Drug dealers, and even simple drug users, are always committing other crimes. The simple drug user is aiding and abetting his dealer, by giving him money, keeping him in business, and not providing evidence to the police to arrest and convict the drug dealer.
Simple drug users are a major drain on our society. They cost businesses time and money in lost productivity, they cost society in that most remain dependent upon welfare and other government largesse, and they are toxic to society by bringing up children who use drugs as well.
My nephew is an EMT in eastern Kentucky, and he has told me that the majority of his ambulance runs are over drugs. This costs the county and the state, and it usually costs hospitals in that drug users frequently have no health insurance.
Were God to tap me on the shoulder and say, “Dana, I am giving you my power to do just one thing,” my response would be immediate: I would change the human brain so that it would be wholly immune to narcotics, opiates, marijuana, alcohol, and any other mind-altering substances there are. That would be the best hing anyone could ever do for mankind.
The federal government has never had a solution to anything associated with a violent criminal’s actions. That is all up to the states. Federal government has no business doing anything to govern how a state deals with crime, inside any state. New gun laws are useless and ineffective, since criminals don’t care about laws, especially laws concerning gun possession. In fact, they make it easier on the criminal.
If a state wants to go the three strike rule, that’s fine, but it is up to the state to follow their own laws, regardless, and nothing to do with federal legislation. Terry stops are probably a good tool for the urban cop. I’ve never experienced one, though, so I only know what I read about that.
One set of laws that needs to just be repealed, however, are the Hate Crimes laws. Those get in the way of the basic laws, and are used more as a political criminal weapon, since hate is already on the same path that most crimes are embedded with.
With a judicial system, there need not to be layers and layers, just certainty that justice prevails, either way.