Too often politicians overly react to crisis situations and the call to do something with nebulous, boilerplate recommendations. Yet, they offer no specific and concise solutions based upon meticulous analysis, that is what leaders do.
In the case of the recent mass shootings in Texas, I would have gone back and assessed each incident on its own. Case in point: Sutherland Springs was the result of the failure of the US Air Force in uploading the assailant’s criminal record.
In the Santa Fe High School shooting, the assailant took his parents’ legally purchased firearms and hung out in an old trailer, the property of the parents. As well, the assailant wore a heavy coat to school on a hot day.
In the most recent cases, we had a mother in Allen, Texas, who reported her son. In Midland-Odessa, we had an individual with a violent nature who seemingly lived off the grid but had previously threatened a woman with a semi-automatic rifle. The woman reported the incident.
This is not about more gun control or ‘universal background checks.’ We need better reconciliation processes of our National Instant Criminal background checks system (NICS).
We currently have a stove-piped system with poor cross coordination, the real loophole. But more importantly, we need engaged parents. And, parents who are gun owners must better secure their weapons or potentially face prosecution.
I believe we also need to add a question to our BATF 4473 asking if the gun purchaser has anyone living in the home with a history of mental illness. Again, it should not deny them their Second Amendment right, but as an aid in consideration of gun security, as in the Sandy Hook case, it becomes vital.
We must act, but we must act within our established law. We need not create new laws that infringe upon our constitutional freedoms.
This column was originally published at The Old School Patriot.
The views expressed in CCNS member articles are not necessarily the views or positions of the entire CCNS. They are the views of the authors, who are members of the CCNS.
