Gun Regulation? No, 2018 Starts with a Shutdown

We predicted this two months ago.  At that time, PolisPandit wrote an article about one month after the Las Vegas massacre, and asked: where is the outrage?  America had already moved on from the gun debate.  We stopped asking how we could prevent another mass shooting, and instead proceeded with our daily lives.  Then the shooting at the First Baptist Church happened, and while we mourned for the victims and their families, we did nothing from a policy perspective in an effort to change behavior.

Now the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has released a Preliminary Report on the Las Vegas shooting, which was published yesterday, January 19th.  Of course, it has received almost no headlines to date because instead of fixing policy problems on guns and other issues threatening the lives of Americans, the government has shut down due to disagreements over “big, beautiful” border walls and immigrant children.  Both parties blame one another for the shutdown, as expected.

The political conversation has moved so far from the gun debate that it’s become readily apparent that until another mass shooting occurs, we will still live in a country that barely regulates assault weapons and bump stocks, or enforces background checks and basic training.  It is still harder to get a driver’s license, passport, cold medicine such as Sudafed, and a pet dog, than it is to own a gun.

The LA Times provides a good overview of the Preliminary Report on Stephen Paddock, the Las Vegas gunman.  While enhanced gun controls may not be able to prevent deranged individuals from inflicting harm, they would help mitigate mass carnage, which is what the world witnessed in Las Vegas this past October.  While it is easy to mourn and move on, especially amidst Donald Trumps’ antics and juvenile behavior, we should not forget history, for it is bound to repeat itself.