Sitting at a conference table at the White House with 84-year-old Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) by his side, 71-year-old Donald Trump stunned the National Rifle Assn. [NRA] speaking boldly about seizing guns from the mentally ill. Trump told the group of Democratic and Republican lawmakers, he’d rather see law enforcement take the guns away “first [and] go through due process second,” something shocking for the NRA’s favorite candidate in 2016. When Trump saw upfront the carnage from the Valentine’s Day massacre in Parkland, Fl., then meeting with grieving families, he switched gears when it comes to protecting the Second Amendment rights of deranged gun owners. “I like taking the guns away early,” Trump said. Trump was referring to law enforcement—including the FBI—having advance notice about 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High shooter.
Trump’s instinct to let law enforcement act preemptively when they have reason to suspect a clear-and present-danger. “Like in this crazy man’s case that just took place in Florida—he had a long of [flags], the saw everything—you could do what you’re saying, but take the guns first, go through due process second.” Reacting to Trump’s remarks, the NRA defended gun owners’ rights to bear arms at age 18, the law’s legal threshold. “Instead of punishing law-abiding gun owners for the acts of a deranged lunatic, our leaders should pass meaningful reforms that would actually prevent future tragedies,” said Jennifer Baker, spokeswoman for NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. Baker’s suggestion does nothing to prevent the next ballistic episode that could cost more young people’s lives. NRA likes to blame gun violence on mental illness but offers no suggestions how to fix it.
When you consider the widespread nature of mental illness, it’s unrealistic for the government to come up with a practical fix. Taking guns away from mentally ill teenagers or young adults would be good first start in trying to contain lethal consequences of guns and mental illness. “They can start by fixing a broken mental health system, strengthening background checks to ensure the records of people who are prohibited form possessing firearms are in the [the National Criminal Background Check system, securing out schools and preventing the dangerously mentally ill from accessing firearms,” said Baker, regurgitating NRA talking points. Baker knows fixing the mental health system won’t happen overnight or in the near future. She also knows that arming schools, whether adding more security guards or arming teachers and administrators, doesn’t take guns away from teenagers.
NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch repeated the old NRA talking points. “It’s not a failure of the law, it’s a failure of enforcement,” knowing, there’s only so much law enforcement can do to find every needle, in every haystack. If the law enabled law enforcement to seize the weapons of teenagers contemplating acts of mass murder, that would be a step in the right direction. Trump points out there are times when there’s no luxury to get warrants and drag heavily armed individuals to court. Law enforcement must be able to act preemptively to stop gun violence. “They go before a judge, they’re adjudicated either mentally unfit, a danger to themselves or others or, because of their own free will, they’ve voluntarily given up their rights because they’ve behave so criminally heinously that the punishment is giving up their Second Amendment rights,” said Loesch.
Loesch’s too naïve to understand that many forms of mental illness or planned acts of mass murder aren’t easily detectable Shooting heroin, smoking weed or taking any other illicit drug or prescribed medication isn’t easily detectable by friends and family. Only with giving law enforcement the preemptive rights to intercept violence in advance can lives be saved. “But they receive dud process. That’s really important to remember here,” said Loesch, forgetting that there’s no time for due process when friends, family or law enforcement must act decisively. Going through due process takes far too much time to save lives. Once law enforcement confiscates dangerous weapons, suspects can petition the court to get their guns back. Loesch opposes age-restrictions, something Trump strongly backs. Just changing the legal age from 18 to 21 for handguns or rifles would save lives.
Ignoring law enforcement’s right to probable cause to confiscate guns of individuals deemed unsafe, the NRA wants to protect Second Amendment right at the expense of human lives. Trump takes essentially the public health stance, preempting violence before it occurs before dealing with due process. Public health officials don’t have to wait to watch someone spread disease or act violently before compromising an individual’s civil rights. Increasing the gun purchase age, like Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods did on their own, should help reduce gun violence with youthful offenders. Letting law enforcement confiscate guns without due process, whether or not legally purchased, from individuals deemed high-risk, should also help save lives. Trump shocked the NRA—and Democrats—coming up with practical solutions to deal with the current spate of teen gun violence.
