Gun control has once again become a central issue in national politics, following the Mandalay Bay shooting in Las Vegas, and Democratic lawmakers are already calling for stricter gun control reforms. But can these desired gun control laws actually prevent mass shootings?
John Lott, author of “More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime And Gun Control Laws,” claims that gun violence is not a problem that can be legislated away. The author said that it’s Democrats pushing gun control that don’t have American’s best interests at heart.
“We don’t even know all the facts yet. What is going to happen is Democrats are trying to push for this poison pill. The main reason they push these reforms is because they want to make it costly for people to go and buy guns,” Lott told The Daily Caller News Foundation.
Background checks are presented as simple and cheap, Lott said, but are actually a way of pricing out potential gun owners by charging them higher rates for approval.
“It costs $175 to do a background check on a private transfer. Those are real costs. It may not stop you or I from buying a gun but it will stop minorities in high crime neighborhoods,” Lott said. “Under Obama you had things like the social security rule that said if people got help with their finances, they couldn’t go and own a gun. Two million people on social security would be banned from buying a gun, and they’ve been doing the same things to veterans.”
Democratic lawmakers, like Sens. Chris Murphy and Dick Blumenthal of Connecticut have already started insisting on gun legislation, along with Sen. Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts.
Murphy said on MSNBC that the idea of a mourning period was just a “tool” used by the gun lobby to delay talk of reform. He also released a statement less than 24 hours after the massacre, urging Congress to “get off its ass and do something.”
Connecticut state Sen. Joe Markley, who is currently running for lieutenant governor, opposes Murphy’s gun control agenda and told TheDCNF that it’s ill advised to assume the government can fix this problem.
“I’ve read this maniac had been thorough background checks and there was nothing to flag him. So this idea that more background checks or banning certain types of guns will stop someone like this isn’t true,” Markley said. “It’s simply intellectually dishonest. Doing more of the same, and enacting laws that aren’t working only serves to harass law abiding citizens and Murphy knows it. He’s banking on the fact that the public is confused enough to buy his rhetoric because it sounds good. But in the end it doesn’t produce results.”
Markley thinks mass shootings and mental breakdowns can be linked to society’s newfound dependence on technology. That, coupled with the erosion of spirituality have created a recipe for disaster.
“It may be the price of the kind of society we live in nowadays. Which has made an awful lot of people unable to function and has left them in a state of extreme depression,” he said. “Most people are in need of medication to deal with their day to day lives and I think there is something at the root of society that’s gone wrong. The fading of religious faith has left a hole in people’s lives that has gnawed at them, and led to ridiculous acts of violence like the one we saw in Nevada.”
You can Follow Nick on Twitter and Facebook
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.