Kerby Anderson

We have once again been hearing that we need to do something to stem gun violence. Even though most gun purchases are significantly regulated, are there any gun law reforms being proposed that make some sense?

Benjamin Dierker, writing in The Federalist, proposes some reforms of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System that would make a difference. The system is composed of three databases, but not all relevant data is listed. For example, the Air Force failed to provide important information about the man who killed more than two-dozen people at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

Legislation has been proposed to address this problem of inadequate records but failed to pass in Congress. There is a need to clarify which authorities must report and which records need to be reported.

Another piece of legislation that has been proposed (but not passed) would increase criminal prosecutions of felons who try to buy guns and would also criminalize straw purchases. The bill proposed by Senator Ted Cruz and Senator Charles Grassley would address the problem of people who lie on applications. Cruz says that in 2010, there were 48,000 felons and fugitives who lied and illegally tried to purchase guns. “They prosecuted only 44 of them.”

David French writes about a way to deal with people who already have guns and pose a danger to society. It is called a gun-violence restraining order. Various versions of these laws have been working their way through states. It would empower family members and others close to a potential shooter to use the courts to temporarily take an individual’s guns away. Obviously, it needs various safeguards. French shows how this law might have stopped at least four of the mass shootings in the last four years.

We keep hearing that we need to do something. I think these types of common sense gun law reforms might actually prevent the next mass shooting.