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Arnaud de Borchgrave, former editor of the Washington Times, was once asked if he accused the American media of a "conspiracy." No, he replied, what he was accusing the media of was far more ominous than a conspiracy. He was accusing them of a "consensus."
In the wake of the Littleton, Colo., massacre, the drumbeat has begun in earnest among the media and the media-driven politicians, President Clinton among them, that what this tragedy calls for is more restrictions on the right of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms in their own defense. As National Public Radio opined a week after the massacre, how can even the Republicans be against "reasonable gun control?"
They are not. No one is. But no one should expect that any "reasonable" measure, or any firearms control measure for that matter, will stop the violence that is sweeping our schools. The sources of this anarchism are 30 years of liberal social policy that have put our children in day care, taken God out of the schools, taken Mom out of the house, and banished Dad as an authority figure from the family altogether.
This the liberals cannot admit, so they focus on evil guns, fiddling while Rome burns. To inform the debate on "reasonable gun control," I offer the following incomplete list of the federal and state firearms statutes that the terrorists of Littleton likely violated. I leave it to the reader to decide whether another law banning gun "clips" or restricting gun shows would have prevented what happened in Littleton on April 20, 1999 if the laws listed below could not.
But before we rush pell-mell into drafting new laws to entrap the law abiding, consider this: Mr. Clinton's Justice Department prosecuted only six people in 1998 under the "urgently needed" juvenile gun transfer provisions of the last crime bill. Of the "desperately needed" ban on certain semi-automatic weapons, Justice prosecuted only four people in 1998. And of the thousands of people that the Brady Bill supposedly kept from obtaining firearms illegally, only nine have been convicted for being a felon trying to buy a gun.
Here are just some of the laws — federal and state — that the two Columbine High shooters broke when they went on their killing spree:
1. Possession of a "destructive device" (i.e., bomb). (Multiple counts.) Each violation is punishable by 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
2. Manufacturing a "destructive device" (i.e., bomb). (Multiple counts.) Each violation is punishable by 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
3. Use of an explosive or incendiary device in the commission of a felony. A class 2 felony.
4. Setting a device designed to cause an explosion upon being triggered. Violation of Colorado law.
5. Use of a firearm or "destructive device" (i.e., bomb) to commit a murder that may be prosecuted in federal court. Punishable by death or up to life in prison.
6. Possession of a firearm or "destructive device" (i.e., bomb) in furtherance of a crime of violence that may be prosecuted in federal court. Penalty is 10 years if a firearm; 30 years if a "destructive device" (bomb, etc.).
7. Brandishing a firearm or "destructive device" (i.e., bomb) in furtherance of a crime of violence that may be prosecuted in a federal court. Penalty is 15 years if a firearm; 30 years if a "destructive device" (bomb, etc.).
8. Discharging a firearm or "destructive device" (i.e., bomb) in furtherance of a crime of violence that may be prosecuted in a federal court. Penalty is 20 years if a firearm; 30 years if a "destructive device" (bomb, etc.).
9. Conspiracy to commit a crime of violence prosecutable in federal court. Penalty is 20 years if the weapon is a firearm, life imprisonment if the weapon is a bomb.
10. Possession of a short-barreled shotgun or rifle. A violation is punishable by 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
11. Manufacturing a "sawed-off" shotgun or "sawed-off rifle." Each violation is punishable by 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
12. Possession of a handgun or handgun ammunition by a person under age 18. A violation is punishable by one year in prison.
13. Providing a handgun or handgun ammunition to a person under age 18. Penalty of one year, unless the provider knew the gun would be used in a crime of violence, in which case the penalty is l0 years,
14. Age restrictions on purchasing firearms. Licensed dealers may sell rifles and shotguns only to persons age 18 or over, and handguns to persons age 21 or over.
15. Possession of a firearm on school property. Five year penalty. Colorado also prohibits a gun on school property.
16. Discharge of a firearm on school property, with a reckless disregard for another's safety. Five year penalty.
17. Possession, interstate transportation, sale, etc., of a stolen firearm. A violation is punishable by l0 years.
18. Intentionally aiming a firearm at another person. Violation of Colorado law.
19. Displaying a firearm in a public place in a manner calculated to alarm, or discharging a firearm in a public place except on a lawful target practice or hunting place. Violation of Colorado law.
Instead of adding to the list, perhaps we should try something novel: enforcing the laws we already have.
