‘Historic’ action by justice department closes ‘doggone dangerous’ loophole in Biden administration’s fight against gun violence
The sale of firearms on the internet and at gun shows in the US will in future be subject to mandatory background checks, the justice department said on Thursday as it announced a “historic” new action to keep weapons out of the hands of criminals.
The closing of the so-called gun show loophole, which exempts private transactions from restrictions that apply to licensed dealers, has long been a goal of the Biden administration, and is specifically targeted in the rule published in the federal register today.
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The White House estimates that 22% of guns owned by Americans were acquired without a background check and that about 23,000 more individuals will be required to be licensed as a dealer after the rule’s implementation.
The thing is, kids dying is a cultural and social problem, not a gun problem. Mass shootings didn’t start until the early 90s and they didn’t really become “popular” until after Columbine. Mass shootings have been accessible and practical for far longer than that.
I want to stop then as much as the next person, but the source of the problem is the isolation and perceived injustice of a particular demographic within whom mass shootings are a popular form of lashing out. E.G. “They’ve made me feel small and impotent for too long! I’ll show them how much of a man I really am!” Taking away the guns, even if it were practical, would just cause a shift in tactics (see: Toronto van attack).
We need to make these people feel valued and supported. We need to fix so many different aspects of our social services and economic landscape. The problems they’re facing are the same problems a lot of other people are facing, so fixing them would lead to a better life for a huge pile of people.