In the aftermath of the Newtown school shooting, many Americans, the Andover community included, were alarmed and horrified by the events that transpired. A voter poll published just after the school shooting showed that 92 percent of Americans supported background checks for all gun buyers, according to CBS. It is not acceptable that, just past the one-year anniversary of the Newtown tragedy, there has yet to be a response from the United States legislature mandating background checks for all gun transactions—something that the vast majority of Americans want. Currently, an 18-year-old Andover Senior can visit a website or walk into a gun show and buy weapons from unlicensed sellers, no questions asked. On websites such as Arms List and Gun Broker, there are thousands of guns for sale. Using these websites, which connect sellers and buyers of guns such as the AR15, a civilian variation of the M16 assault rifle, an 18-year-old Andover student could even have the gun shipped to the George Washington Hall mailroom. This is only one of the ways to purchase a gun without undergoing a simple criminal and mental health background check. Although the Brady Law, passed in 1993, requires background checks for gun sales at retailers, there are no background checks required at gun shows, online sales and other venues where unlicensed sellers operate. 40 percent of the guns purchased in America are bought without a background check. Felons, domestic abusers and the mentally ill can therefore easily obtain weapons. Since its ratification, the Brady Law has prevented over two million felons and domestic abusers from acquiring guns at gun stores by subjecting all customers to criminal background checks. But this effort can and should be expanded; background checks should be mandatory for the purchase of all guns in the United States. On Friday, January 4, the Obama administration announced two executive actions on gun control related to mental health. One proposal aims to clarify ambiguous terminology in the Brady Law on what it means to be committed to a mental health institution. The second proposed rule provides guidance to hospitals and other institutions in how to provide the necessary information for background checks while complying with their patient privacy requirements, particularly in the cases of the mentally ill, according to the “Wall Street Journal.” While the White House proposals are a step in the right direction, they are just another memo urging Congress to act. Congress should require a simple criminal background check on all gun sales, closing any loopholes that currently exist in gun sales. Requiring a simple background check on all gun sales is not a new idea. Back in 2000, increased regulation was a primary goal of the Million Mom March, which was held on Mother’s Day in Washington, D.C. Among the 750,000 people who attended the event were my mother and older sister, who had boarded a bus in New Jersey to join the throngs of demonstrators in front of the Washington Monument. My mother says the energy of the crowd was electric. Hundreds of thousands of people walked together with banners and T-shirts, many of them mothers. Some had lost their own children to gun violence. People chanted and cheered joyously because they thought they could bring about a change in gun laws. But nearly a decade and a half later, the United States is no closer to passing effective federal gun control legislation. Every day in the United States, an average of 289 people are shot by a gun, 86 of whom die, according to the Brady Campaign. In 2011, a total of 32,163 Americans died from gun violence. If nine out of ten Americans support background checks, it is time for the leaders of our country to make them happen. Background checks do not infringe on Second Amendment rights, nor do they strip citizens of privacy. Instead, they will further protect American citizens since guns will be less likely to fall into the wrong hands.
