February 22, 2011

LAW-ABIDING GUN dealers and gun owners have rights. So says the Second Amendment and so says the Supreme Court. But that doesn't make common-sense regulation unconstitutional.

Yet the gun industry continues to resist modest provisions that do not infringe on dealers' or gun owners' legitimate interests but that could significantly enhance public safety. And lawmakers - some perhaps acting as much out of fear of the powerful lobby as on principle - continue to enable this irresponsible aversion.

Last week the House scuttled a proposal by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to require licensed dealers in four Southwest states to report the sale of multiple long guns to the same individual. (Lawmakers attached the anti-ATF amendment to a must-pass budget bill.) The ATF proposal is narrowly tailored; the reporting requirement would be triggered only if the dealer sells within five consecutive business days two or more semiautomatic rifles greater than .22 caliber with detachable magazines. The provision does not prevent the sale of these types of weapons - although that would be a worthy pursuit. It does not prohibit bulk sales - although common sense would suggest that, too, is a good idea. Even so, gun rights advocates fought back, arguing that the requirement would burden dealers and erode their rights and those of their customers.

Lost among the impassioned embrace of rights were the 30,000 people murdered in Mexico over the past three years by drug cartels often using weapons from the United States. Some 65,000 crime guns recovered in Mexico have been traced back to the United States. Mexican President Felipe Calderon has all but begged the United States to revive the assault weapons ban and close the gun show loophole that allows sales of guns without background checks. The Mexican government last week expressed disappointment that its neighbor to the north balked at an even more limited measure that could help law enforcement officials trace and possibly stem the flow of illegal guns.
ad_icon

For far too long, the gun industry has been abetted by the silence of politicians who would champion gun control measures but for fear of political backlash. Some have shrugged their shoulders, believing that a fight against the industry would be fruitless. But this ignores the support throughout the country for gun registration and reporting requirements. The Senate - and above all, the president - should take this opportunity to reclaim this issue and reverse course.