Let’s have a different conversation about guns, one based on responsible gun ownership. Not one that automatically elicits the standard NRA response, “they’re going to take all your guns.” This is the farthest from the truth but a fear tactic they like to use.
Let’s start with the possibility of taking the NRA completely out of the equation regarding “the gun issue.” Imagine no NRA money buying our candidates or our politicians. No more fear mongering or pressuring elected officials.
Think for a moment, if you will, about what we could do without the NRA’s disruptive influence. Meaningful gun conversation, maybe even action, would have a chance at the state as well as the national level.
So, what would a meaningful discussion about “the gun issue” look like then? Could we talk seriously about NIH funding for gun violence research? Could we limit magazine sizes being sold? Could we separate true military style weapons from general hunting weapons and determine that those true military weapons should stay in the military, not on our public streets? Could we enact “red flag” laws that truly had protective teeth, along with due process? Could we build computer systems that would enable law enforcement, in the permitting process, to identify mental health risks for gun possession? Could we have universal background checks for gun ownership? Could we close the “boyfriend” loophole in the Violence Against Women Act and then actually pass this act?
Let’s have that different conversation ... now.
Beverly Clark Floss
Baxter