State gun laws aren't enough
California's strict gun restrictions didn't stop a man with a semiautomatic rifle from wreaking havoc in Gilroy
If there is going to be a solution to the problem of mass gun violence in America, it is going to have to come from the federal government. The states cannot save us, no matter how nobly they try.
That seems to be the prime policy lesson of the mass shooting horror that took place Sunday at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California. A 19-year-old man besotted with white supremacy and armed with an assault rifle opened fire, killing three people — including a 6-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl.
California has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation — including an assault weapons ban — but that didn't matter. Just weeks before Sunday's massacre, the shooter bought his semiautomatic rifle in neighboring Nevada, where the gun remains legal. A 2017 study revealed that, in the weeks after gun shows are held in Nevada, gun-related deaths and injuries in California jump 70 percent.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
That isn't a problem California can solve on its own.
Anti-violence activists have spent the last couple of years trying to circumvent the National Rifle Association and its allies on Capitol Hill by taking their case to state legislatures instead. And they've been remarkably effective: New laws in California, Illinois, Oregon, and Washington state, for example, have placed new barriers on gun ownership — raising the minimum age to buy firearms, taking guns from people deemed a threat to themselves or others, banning domestic abusers from owning guns, and expanding firearms checks.
That's good news. For years, it seemed that Second Amendment fundamentalists had a lock on governance at both the state and federal levels. Now anti-gun activists have started to find traction. But the killings in Gilroy show that state-level action is not enough on its own.
That was foreseeable. There are not walls around our states and cities, so it has always been pretty easy to violate local gun laws by bringing firearms in from the outside. Gun-rights advocates have long pointed out that Chicago has one of the highest murder rates in the country despite Illinois' tough gun laws. But the city is within easy reach of two states with relatively lax gun laws, Indiana and Wisconsin. Similarly, studies have shown that most of the guns used in New York crimes come from out of state.
The feds have to get involved.
Getting federal action on gun control, though, remains a daunting project. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) still runs the Senate, after all, and it is seems impossible that he would let any significant gun legislation ever come to vote in the chamber — not that such legislation could ever win majority backing from Republicans, anyway. The increasing conservatism of the Supreme Court also looms as an obstacle.
But there are reasons to hope. For one thing, the NRA is at a remarkably weak point in its recent history. The organization is beset by infighting and questions about its finances. It is a less formidable opponent at this moment than it has been for the last generation or so. Will that make a difference? Pro-gun lawmakers will probably remain pro-gun — but the lobbying and contributions of the NRA likely stiffens their spines. If the organization slips, there could be an opening for anti-gun activists to pass legislation at the federal level.
Democrats also seem more willing to mount a fight on gun control issues. Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton made a public show of honoring rural hunting traditions during their presidential campaigns. This year's presidential candidates are more outspoken in their advocacy of gun control measures.
"Democrats today not only see the issue as important," Pacific Standard's Seth Masket observed earlier this year, "but as a potential election winner, and not a drag on a national ticket."
Success, if it comes, won't save Stephen Romero or Keyla Salazar, the children so brutally and unnecessarily killed in Gilroy, California. But gun massacres have plagued America for a generation now — in schools, churches, and nightclubs, at concerts and festivals. They are making it more and more difficult for Americans to safely experience community. And it's likely we haven't even really begun to reckon with the ongoing, unending costs of all that violence. State officials have led the way in pushing back. It's time, at long last, that our leaders at the federal level join them.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Joel Mathis is a freelance writer who has spent nine years as a syndicated columnist, co-writing the RedBlueAmerica column as the liberal half of a point-counterpoint duo. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic, The Kansas City Star and Heatmap News. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.
-
Government shutdown looming? Blame the border.
Talking Points Democrats and Republicans say funding for immigration enforcement is the budget battle's latest sticking point. That's about all they agree on.
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Conservatives have not limited their attack on reproductive rights to the US'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?
speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Xi-Biden meeting: what's in it for both leaders?
Today's Big Question Two superpowers seek to stabilise relations amid global turmoil but core issues of security, trade and Taiwan remain
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Will North Korea take advantage of Israel-Hamas conflict?
Today's Big Question Pyongyang's ties with Russia are 'growing and dangerous' amid reports it sent weapons to Gaza
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published