If you thought Democrats and Republicans finding common ground on the fiscal cliff was a long shot, try gun control. It’s been a source of unending political frustration for decades. In this election cycle, the issue of gun control was barely addressed; in the one debate where it was mentioned, the candidates talked only about the “culture of violence” and the “importance of parents and schools.”
Isn’t it time to get serious about the Second Amendment? Former New York Times editor and foreign correspondent Craig Whitney tackles the question in his new book Living with Guns: A Liberal’s Case for the Second Amendment.
“We as Americans have had guns and the individual right to keep and use firearms since the earliest colonial days,” Whitney said on The Cycle today. “The right is there. There’s also a right to live in safety from gun violence and those two rights need to be reconciled.”
So how do you stop guns from getting in the wrong hands without punishing law-abiding firearm owners? The Cycle’s S.E. Cupp said that the debate is full of flawed reasoning. For example, microstamping, the practice of marking each bullet shell casing automatically with an identifying serial number that traces back to the gun, was hailed as a major step forward for criminal investigators. But as Cupp notes, “That only works if you have a law-abiding criminal who registers his hand gun, gives an actual home address and a real name and a driver’s license and is sitting at his house waiting to be arrested.” Check out the video for some of Whitney’s suggestions on how to make guns a safer part of American culture.
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