Congress must pass gun control one brick at a time
Al Hoffman Jr.
School shootings are a disproportionately American phenomenon and it is time for America to change. The latest shooting in Uvalde, Texas, left 19 innocent children and two adults dead on May 24. It came 10 days after a shooting in Buffalo, New York, that killed 10 and wounded three.
This cycle repeats itself too often. A shooting occurs in places like Columbine, Parkland or Sandy Hook. The nation cries out in frustration. The left proposes far-reaching gun control legislation; the right digs in. The impasse grows insurmountable, nothing gets done and the nation soon forgets. To escape this bloody loop, Republicans and Democrats must adopt new tactics.
As a former finance chair of the Republican National Committee, I have long carried a pistol with me and I remain permitted for concealed carry. But I also back gun reforms. We can start by raising the purchase age of all firearms from 18 to 21 years old. Similar federal restrictions exist for the purchase of alcohol and tobacco products. It is reasonable to allow some additional space between teenage hormones and high-caliber weapons.
Introduced as a stand-alone bill in the House or Senate, as Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell did in 2019 when he introduced legislation that raised the legal age for tobacco purchase to 21, an age restriction is a simple gun-control measure that has a decent shot of passing.
USA TODAY EDITORIAL BOARD:How to help stop more school shootings? Raise the age to buy a rifle to 21.
Republicans must change on gun control
Further, we conservatives must concede the fact that the AR-15-style rifle is the weapon of choice for many mass shootings. Restrictions must be placed on its purchase. Republicans oppose limiting it because it is a popular rifle for home defense. But as the body counts stack up, defending this weapon is an increasingly untenable position.
They must reconsider compromise legislation such as high-capacity magazine bans that have been passed in states like California and upheld by the courts. Such a ban would preserve handgun ownership while denying mass shooters their favorite tool, magazines that allow them to shoot more rounds before reloading.
Democrats also must compromise. The left often goes overboard or oversimplifies the problem. This is just as unhelpful as Republican obstinacy. Following the mass shooting in Buffalo, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi championed the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act. The bill is partisan theater, not a solution. It would create new government offices to address gun violence, in particular violence with racial motivations.
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These offices are superfluous to existing law enforcement arms, will pad Washington with a host of useless new bureaucrats and will do nothing to prevent the problem of mass shootings.
Democrats should also accept there are other dynamics at play in mass shootings beyond firearms. They should accept that criminals care little for gun laws. Prohibitions have limits. Bans on narcotics have not prevented addicts from obtaining drugs.
Indeed, mass shootings have other connective tissue besides high-capacity weapons. At Parkland, Columbine and Uvalde, police demonstrated hesitance to engage while shootings were in progress.
Train police better and arm teachers
Increased police funding and better training for swift, tactical response could help inhibit the time mass shooters have to kill. Specialized units like SWAT teams are helpful, but they can be slow to mobilize. The first officer on the scene must be trained to engage with instant and lethal force. This is a tough, but necessary, pill to swallow for a party that has argued for defunding law enforcement.
I’ve confronted an active shooter.We need more answers to know what went wrong in Texas.
They should also drop their objections to arming teachers. The idea of guns in school is a discomforting idea for teachers, parents and students alike. But arming a select few responsible, well-trained, anonymous volunteers, known only to school principals, would empower schools to defend themselves in those critical moments between the first shots fired and the arrival of first-responders. They have a saying in the infantry, “Make yourself the hard target.”
Schools are a preferred setting for mass shooters because schools are easy marks. Arming a select few teachers would give any would-be shooter pause, and have an instant deterrent effect.
Prevention is the most important element to this crisis.
The problem with Democrats is that they have only bad solutions. The problem with Republicans is that they have no solutions. Compromises must be made. Lawmakers could start small and draft a bill that does two things and two things only, modestly increases background check requirements for gun purchases and modestly increases funding for police. Baby steps will develop into a full sprint.
Conservatives can accept that new controls on guns are necessary and will not impede Second Amendment rights. Liberals can also accept that large, performative legislative vehicles that focus solely on gun control have resulted in decades of political stalemate. Common ground exists. Congress must put laws on the floor that deal with gun violence one brick at a time. Only then will we have walled off our innocents from the malevolent intents of the wicked.
Al Hoffman Jr. served as finance chair of the Republican National Committee. He was the U.S. ambassador to Portugal under President George W. Bush.
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