Our nation is faced with a gun crime crisis, but there is little reason to believe the problem will ever lead to legislation that tramples rights enshrined in the Second Amendment. On the contrary, elected officials wary of falling afoul of the gun rights lobby have been unwilling to adopt even modest legislation that would make it more difficult for criminals to get weapons.
Yet, the perceived threat posed by a liberal in the White House is fueling a run on ammunition, gun shop owners report. This over-heated reaction is usually fanned by the gun lobby -- which reinforces membership and improves fundraising by agitating the hypersensitivity that surrounds gun ownership.
Most gun control measures under consideration are tailored toward stemming the crisis of inner-city crime.
In Philadelphia, there is a murder almost every single day. One recent measure rejected by the state Legislature would have required gun owners to file a report when a firearm is lost or stolen.
If elected officials are unwilling to take such a seemingly modest step, why would anyone believe much more dramatic change is coming?
The lack of a political response from Harrisburg or Washington has inspired protesters to begin targeting gun shops that refused to follow a code of conduct devised to slow the sale of firearms to criminals. Gun shops that agree to follow the code videotape all transactions and participate in a gun-trace log that flags potential buyers who have previously purchased weapons used in crimes.
Local officials and Wal-Mart, the nation's largest seller of rifles and shotguns, created the code of conduct because state and federal lawmakers will not act on this issue.
Candidly, most Valley gun killings would not have been avoided by efforts intended to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals.
Second Amendment interpreters rightly note that guns don't kill, people do. Rather than worry (again and again) about Uncle Sam raiding Valley gun cabinets, residents and elected officials ought to begin calling for measures that diffuse the situation to better help when soured relationships or other forms of stress push people toward fatal decisions.
