Americans must choose between accepting the status quo on gun violence or taking action. The clearly superior decision is to take reasonable action to reduce the carnage. Vice President Joe Biden correctly maintained this week that “we are not going to get caught up in the notion that, unless we can do everything, we’re going to do nothing. It’s critically important that we act.”In other words, extremists on both sides could “yeah, but what if …” this debate even deeper into the abyss of inaction. But the better way is for rational realists to find common ground.
Biden says his special committee — created by President Barack Obama in the aftermath of the Dec. 14 Newtown, Conn., shootings — will announce recommendations by Tuesday. That’s a fairly quick response by government standards. And we hope those recommendations advance the nation toward action. An Associated Press story on Thursday mentioned three possible recommendations, all of which should be endorsed by right-thinking and resolute Americans: banning assault weapons (actually reinstating the ban that expired in 2004), prohibiting high-capacity ammunition magazines and tightening background checks on gun purchases.
Note that none of these three would inhibit the rights of hunters and recreational target shooters, rights that we fully support. Nor, as gun-control foes continually point out, would any of these three measures solve the problem. But we believe they would help reduce the chance of mass killings. Enacting reasonable restrictions also could help lower this terrifying estimate: about 85 shootings daily in America (about 53 in suicides), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Perhaps the Founding Fathers could not envision a society where up to 60 shots could be fired from a high-capacity weapon in a crowded movie theater. But it happened in Aurora, Colo. last July. The Newtown school tragedy reminds us of the sole function of an assault weapon, one that should belong solely to the military. It is to maximize human deaths in just a minute or so. This horrific intent strays far beyond the standards of hunting or target shooting.
