International Herald Tribune Editorial: Silence on guns

International Herald Tribune Editorial: Silence on guns
Copyright by The International Herald Tribune
Published: May 10, 2007


The tragedy of America's runaway gun culture can only deepen now that it's clear the new Democratic Congress operates in fear of the gun lobby's well-practiced demagoguery and rich campaign treasury. A collective silence descended on the Capitol after the pro forma expressions of outrage over the Virginia Tech gun massacre.

Truly responsible lawmakers would put political survival on hold and shut two of the most lethal loopholes in gun control created by the Republican-controlled Congress, with the Bush administration's blessing. The first barred police forces from getting access to information on illegal gun sales regularly collected by federal inspectors. Police forces in the past have used that data to help trace and stop gun trafficking. They have been blinded by lawmakers in service to the gun lobby.

The second abuse has made a mockery of homeland security by tolerating the sale of firearms to people on federal watch lists of terrorism suspects. This outrage was laid bare two years ago by two Democratic senators, Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey and Joseph Biden Jr. of Delaware. In a six-month period, agents uncovered gun sales to 44 individuals on the federal watch lists.

And because of flimsy requirements for gun buyers' background checks, federal agents were unable to come up with the additional data that would have stopped arming some of these potentially very bad guys. After two years of pleas, the White House finally endorsed a proposal that would give the attorney general authority to stop people on the watch lists from buying guns.

This, of course, was only after Virginia Tech stirred public anxiety about what legal gaffe will next drive up the toll of victims.