Opinion: Lawmaker efforts should focus on violence, not guns

If it’s January in New Mexico, it’s time for Democratic lawmakers’ annual efforts to make up unconstitutional gun laws that have no chance of accomplishing stated goals.

So it’s also time to remind our elected representatives why their time is better spent trying to isolate violent criminals – or preventing them from becoming violent criminals -- so they can’t hurt the rest of us.

We can outlaw guns with large-capacity magazines, we can outlaw guns in schools and shopping malls, we can make up laws prohibiting convicted felons from even thinking about picking up toy guns. But we can’t forget that outlaws don’t obey laws. Such laws can never be effectively enforced.

So-called “gun-control” proposals expected to be introduced by the state Legislature over the next two months will serve only, if they’re successful, to increase the number of outlaws among us. If the mission is to reduce the number of mass shootings and murders of all kinds, it makes no sense to target game hunters or rural landowners who have coyote problems.

What does make sense is to separate violent criminals from the rest of us for extended lengths of time, or maybe even lifetimes.

This is not to suggest everyone accused of a violent crime should be kept in county jails for years until their trial can be held. That issue, too, is complicated and needs common-sense judges and attorneys to solve on a case-by-case basis.

But once someone is convicted of a violent crime, whether it was spurred by alcohol or drug abuse or not enough hugs in childhood, can’t we all agree they should be isolated from those they might victimize again?

It’s important to forgive. It’s important to improve safety in our prisons and look seriously at the causes of crime, which might cost less money if we can find answers. It’s important to treat inmates and the mentally ill with dignity. It’s not a good idea to let people who’ve proven they’re unable to control violent tendencies walk among the rest of us. At least not until they’ve been rehabilitated, which should be the goal of all incarceration in a caring society.

All that said, it’s important also to note that Democrats are not wrong about every issue related to guns.

The Second Amendment is not one of God’s Ten Commandments. It was written by mere mortals, more than 230 years ago, who had no concept of nuclear weapons or even mass shootings in elementary schools.

It’s reasonable to encourage gunshop owners sell only to responsible adults. It’s not OK for a child to walk around unsupervised with an AK-47, no matter what you think the Founding Fathers intended. Those convinced their Second Amendment rights are unconditional probably don’t spend a lot of time thinking about anyone else’s rights.

The conservative among us would do well to consider everything everyone says about eliminating crime and violence. Same goes for the progressives. The goal should be eliminating crime and violence, not forcing others to accept the decrees of the majority.

This issue should not divide us.

We don’t need more gun laws. We need to remove violent people from society until they learn – we may have to teach them -- to respect the rights of others.

If we can do that, there will be no need to debate gun ownership.

— David Stevens

Publisher

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