Guns Don’t Kill, But…

The argument that guns don’t kill people, people kill people is, of course, logical to a point. It takes a person to pull the trigger and ideally that person should be of sound mind and well-intended. When the gun in question is a Glock with a 31-round clip all logic ends. That weapon in that configuration has one purpose; to assault, wound and kill people. Sadly that is what we recently saw in Arizona.

In the aftermath of that tragedy there is soul-searching again about how easy it is to acquire a gun in many states. Certainly, even the most fervent supporter of the Second Amendment right to bear arms would agree that guns should be kept out of the hands of the mentally deranged. The process, however, does not allow enough time for that essential disconnect.

In this regard the United States can take a page from its territory in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico. Packing heat is as prevalent on the island (per capita) as it is on the US mainland, however, the process of legally acquiring a firearm is lengthy and costly. The process begins with the purchase of the firearm and an application for possession within ones home. Consideration of that application involves an investigation by the police, including a visit to the home for a personal interview with an investigator, who also talks to the spouse and neighbors to assure that they have no objection to the applicant’s possession of a firearm.

A permit to carry a concealed weapon in Puerto Rico is even more involved. It requires that the individual go to a lawyer for an affidavit establishing a valid reason for carrying a weapon, such as personal safety, which considering the level of criminal activity, is reason enough. However, the person seeking to legally carry a gun must finally go before a magistrate to swear to handle the privilege responsibly.

This whole process can take a month or more before the individual can actually take possession of a weapon. Yes, the procedure is pretty much cut and dried and very few people are denied the right to own and carry a firearm, but the various checkpoints allow the authorities to catch blatant crazies who should be nowhere near a lethal weapon.

Again, people fall through the cracks but the net that tries to catch them is strung more tightly in Puerto Rico than it is in most states of the union. As a result, violent crime in Puerto Rico, and there is much of it, is criminal in nature and mostly drug-related. It rarely is prompted by acts of passion in the Latin tradition, but there has never been a mass murder of the magnitude that concerns everyone in the United States today.

Hopefully, there never will be and, hopefully, our nation will find a way to reduce the risk of similar acts of senseless violence in the future.

And That’s That…