4-2-91 The National Rifle Association (NRA) is a formidable force in American politics. It has a huge membership, lots of resources, and an energetic (“fanatical” would be a better word) staff. Charlton Heston [1923-2008], an esteemed actor, appears in television ads singing the praises of the NRA. He claims that it trains people to protect themselves, fights for tougher criminal penalties, and defends the constitutional (Second Amendment) rights of the citizenry. There is now a bill in Congress (the Brady Bill) that would establish a seven-day waiting period for the purchase of handguns. The NRA opposes it. One argument is that so-called criminals don’t buy guns at licensed dealers; they get them in the underground arms market. This argument has always puzzled me, for it rests on a distinction between criminals and noncriminals (usually referred to as “law-abiding citizens”). The criminals, it is said, don’t care about and won’t abide by the law, so the only effect of the waiting period will be to prevent law-abiding citizens (those who, by definition, will not harm anyone) from purchasing guns at their convenience. The problem with this argument is that it oversimplifies the situation. People are not born criminals; every one of us is a potential criminal (in the sense that any one of us can choose to break the law). The objectives of the waiting period are to give law-enforcement agencies a chance to do a background check and to prevent spur-of-the-moment purchases and killings.
Recently Ronald Reagan [1911-2004], the former president and longtime conservative darling, came out in favor of the Brady Bill. It has been ten years since he was shot by John Hinckley. NRA members must be gnashing their teeth, for until now they counted Reagan as an ally, as someone who defended principle rather than pragmatism. George [Herbert Walker] Bush, the current president, has never been thought of as a principled conservative, so many commentators believe he will use Reagan’s change of mind as cover to support the Brady Bill. This is all very interesting from a political point of view. It is as if Reagan has made it acceptable for conservatives to be in favor of a waiting period. The NRA, however, faces a dilemma. Knowing of Reagan’s popularity among the people, it can’t come out and criticize him; but it has to do something or it will lose the fight in Congress. What we have is a classic confrontation between those who believe in absolute principles (deontologists) and those who believe in pragmatic solutions to social problems (consequentialists). I admire the NRA for taking a principled stand, but I reject its principle(s). Not only should the Brady Bill be passed and signed into law, but there should be severe restrictions on the manufacture, sale, and possession of all manner of firearms.
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 