Office Hours: How to take on the gun lobby?

Friends,

The United States suffered 10 mass shootings over the past weekend, bringing this year's total of mass shootings to 144 so far. While a majority of Americans of both parties (including a majority of gun owners) support measures such as universal background checks and red flag laws, the gun industry has successfully pressured lawmakers (primarily Republicans) to block all attempts at substantive federal gun reform for nearly 30 years.

So here’s today’s Office Hours question: What political pressures can be applied to counter the influence of the gun lobby? (I’ll weigh in as usual.)

Excellent comments, as usual. Maybe the best way I can respond is to rebut the five major arguments of pro-gun propagandists:

1. "Guns save lives." Baloney. Consider the federal assault weapons ban. After it became law in 1994, gun massacres—defined as instances of gun violence in which six or more people were shot and killed—fell by 37 percent. The number of people dying from mass shootings fell by 43 percent. But when Republicans in Congress let the ban lapse in 2004, gun massacres more than doubled.

2. "The Second Amendment!" That Amendment was never intended to permit mass slaughter. When the Constitution was written more than 200 years ago, the framers’ goal was permit a “well-regulated militia,” not to enable Americans to terrorize their communities.

3. "More guns will make us safer." Rubbish. More than 30 studies show that guns are linked to an increased risk for violence and homicide. In 1996, Australia initiated a mandatory buyback program to reduce the number of guns in private ownership. Their firearm homicide rate fell 42 percent in the seven years that followed.

4. "Most Americans want their guns." Wrong. The vast majority of Americans want stronger gun safety laws. According to Gallup, 96 percent of Americans support universal background checks, 75 percent support a 30-day waiting period for all gun sales, and 70 percent favor requiring all privately owned guns to be registered with the police. Even the vast majority of gun owners are in favor of common-sense gun safety laws.

5. "The National Rifle Association represents America." Rubbish. The NRA is a special interest group with a stranglehold on the Republican Party. In 2016, the group spent a record $55 million on elections. Their real goal is to protect a few big gun manufacturers who want to enlarge their profits.

America is better than the NRA. America is the young people from Parkland, Florida, who have been telling legislators to act like adults. It’s time all of us listen.