Anchors Aweigh

   The takeaway from President Obama’s inauguration speech was his vow to address mass murder by gun violence.  On Monday, he was in Minneapolis to make his point in a meeting  with state and local elected officials, law enforcement officials, citizens’ groups, and victim survivors.  The President wants universal background checks of all gun buyers, a ban on the sale of military-style rapid fire rifles, and limiting ammunition clips to a capacity of 10 cartridges.

    The president’s proposals come as a result of VP Joe Biden’s search for solutions to gun violence as announced in the inaugural address.   Since then, Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif, has submitted a bill containing the measures the president advocates.  Also, on January 30,  the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on gun violence, a highlight of which was  the appearance of Gabrielle Giffords and her husband,   Astronaut Capt. Mark Kelly, USN.  Giffords is a former U.S. Representative from Arizona who was shot in the head in the course of a mass murder in Tucson two years ago.  In a grisly coincidence, an honors student in Chicago was shot to death just hours before the hearing in Washington began.

    Although no minds on either side of the question were changed, the hearing proceeded civilly.  The Committee will take up the subject again in a second hearing, to be scheduled later this month according to Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont.   A great deal of civility will be required going forward, as the nation grapples with the consequences of a huge cultural shift that is antithetical to America’s professed values.

     Readers were shocked by a picture that dominated the front page of the New York Times two Sundays ago.  It showed an Army marksmanship instructor teaching proper techniques in the use of an assault rifle.  The pupil appeared to be a chubby post-pubescent boy lying in a prone firing position.  Next to him was a girl of seemingly the same age range, who was also prone and attentive.  Much of reader reaction compared the photo to those of African children depicted with military weapons.  The African kids were soldiers.  They had completed their instructions and were now engaged in the real thing.

    The sub-head of the Times’ story read, “Industry Recruits Children, Using Contests, Games and Semiautomatics.”  The objective, quoted from a report prepared for the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the Hunting Heritage Trust was stated as follows:  “The point should be to get newcomers started shooting something, with the natural next step being toward actual firearms.”

    The story goes on to review NRA sponsorship of youth shooting programs, along with newer initiatives such as the Scholastic Steel Challenge, which “introduces children as young as twelve to competitive handgun shooting.  Sponsors include the shooting sports foundation,

Smith & Wesson, and Glock.”

    The article was the first in a series in which the Times will “examine the gun industry’s influence and the wide availability of firearms in America.”  Meantime Bloomberg News forecasts that U.S.gun deaths will surpass auto accident deaths in 2015.

    At stake here is the rule of law, and it is the President’s responsibility to make sure Americans understand that.   Mr. LaPierre dissembles by averring there are enough laws already, then turning his back.

     He overlooks the Wellstone-Domenici Mental Health Parity Act, which could have great bearing on the mental health aspect of gun deaths, and on American mental health generally.  The Wellstone Act became law in 2008.  It remains inoperative, because Congress has not yet written its rules.

     Similarly, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is headless, as it has been for six years.  Six years of mass murder by gunfire.  This is the bureau that regulates lethal weapons, and no one’s in charge.  Obama’s current nominee seems certain to be rejected.    Republican obduracy wins again.  Congress doesn’t care.

     While action on Wellstone and the BATFE is vital, neither by itself, obviously, will solve the problem.  Which is whether the USA is governed by the rule of law, not by some fantasy Samurai nor eye for eye code of justice, and certainly not by the imaginary code of Frontier Justice, a fable created by Ned Buntline in the 19th century and fostered by Charlton Heston, John Wayne, and Clint Eastwood, 20^th century movie actors.

    The president is committed.   He seems prepared to take his case to the nation, campaign-style.   The way to unity is long and arduous.  It must be guided by civility and mutual respect.  But the Ship of State has at last weighed anchor.  Let us pray it will hold its course.