This might surprise you, but I don’t think last week’s Supreme Court decision that affirmed the right to own a gun is necessarily a bad thing for those of us who believe in sensible gun control. In the 5-4 decision, Justice Antonin Scalia indicated in his majority opinion, "Nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms."
The gun issue, like abortion, has festered too long in our national debate. Both the National Rifle Association and the gun control lobby have often resorted to extremist charges in order to scare and retain their ranks. While both have screamed across a chasm at one another, the rest of us just wished for a sensible compromise. The court’s decision has given us the basis for such a compromise, but we will have to overcome the hysterics coming from both sides.
As a supporter of gun control, I have never had a problem with law-abiding citizens owning a properly licensed weapon in their home. However, I do have a problem with the NRA and gun control organizations who believe any compromise is a step down the "slippery slope."
The NRA always used the "slippery slope" argument to thwart any reasonable limitations. Their argument was and still is the government is trying to take your gun away from you. You would have thought NRA spokesman Wayne LaPierre, appearing on "Hardball" the same afternoon as the favorable Supreme Court decision, would have been ecstatic. Instead, he ranted members had better be wary because the government is still trying to disarm its citizens.
Some in the gun control lobby are playing the same hysterical tune. They are wringing their hands over the decision and predicting all kinds of dire consequences. Their argument, much like the NRA, is it will lead to widespread litigation over all the limitations on gun control ownership that are on the books across the country. In other words, we are heading down a "slippery slope" on the other side of the issue. Yet these fears ignore the fact the court reaffirmed in its decision reasonable limitations on gun ownership.
The court, in overturning the District of Columbia’s ban on handguns, is really saying, "Look, this is a sloppy law that violates the Constitution in the name of law and order." The easy way out for D.C. was just to ban ownership outright, rather than impose reasonable restrictions. Those of us who are for reasonable gun control should not view that as a defeat, but a warning that in imposing restrictions we should be aware of the rights of lawful citizens. This is, after all, what the public has really been calling for all these years.
As Americans, particularly in these times when some of our rights have been taken away in the name of fighting terrorism, we should celebrate any expansion of our Constitutional rights. I am struck by the sensible reaction of Mayor Michael Nutter to the ruling. Nutter, a longtime proponent of stricter gun control for Philadelphia, said he drew a "certain sense of excitement and a little bit of pleasure" from it.
We have been given the basis for reaching common-sense solutions to restricting guns while affirming the rights of our citizens. The old "slippery slope" argument used for so long to keep the debate flaming has been extinguished. Extremists on both sides can wring their hands all they want (it helps them to increase members), but it is up to the rest of us to seize control of this problem and make it work, not only in the rural areas where gun ownership is a source of pride, but in big cities like Philadelphia where guns on the street tell a different story.
It will not be easy. We are in the midst of a presidential campaign where there will be the temptation to widen the divide rather than talk sense. We will be able to tell quickly if either candidate tries to gain political advantage by fear-mongering.
My sense is, while gun control will flare up from time to time when local restrictions are inevitably challenged, the time when it could divide a nation has thankfully passed. Now let’s get to work on stopping the violence.
