Debate Club

Does the Colorado Shooting Prove the Need for More Gun Control Laws? >

James Holmes Proves Need for Tighter Gun Ownership Regulations

Children being gunned down by maniacs is not the price of freedom

July 26, 2012

About Joshua Horwitz:

Joshua Horwitz, J.D., is executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.

In the wake of the horrific shooting massacre in Aurora, Colo., the National Rifle Association's Faustian bargain has now been made clear to us all. We are told that we must allow innocent Americans—including children—to be gunned down by homicidal maniacs with legally-acquired arsenals because this is "the price we must pay for freedom." All people of conscience must stand resolute against this radical and morally bankrupt idea.

There is much we still need to learn about James Holmes. But we do know many things about him. We know that he is a disturbed young man whose behavior was so odd that one gun range owner in rural Colorado rejected his application for membership. We know that he passed two background checks that took only the most cursory look at his mental health background. Because Holmes hadn't been involuntarily committed or formally adjudicated by a court as a "mental defective," he was free to buy all the guns he wanted. But how many Americans struggling with serious mental health issues fall into one of those two narrow categories?

[See a collection of political cartoons on Gun Control and Gun Rights.]

We also know James Holmes was able to outfit himself for war. When he walked into the Century Aurora 16 theater, he wore full body armor and carried four guns: two semiautomatic Glock handguns, a 12-gauge shotgun, and an AR-15 style assault rifle with a 100-round drum magazine. The NRA would have us believe that the latter weapon is a "modern sporting rifle." Rational Americans will immediately see that such a firearm has no legitimate sporting purpose. It is a battlefield weapon (a semiautomatic version of the military's M-16 rifle) that in a civilian's hands is only good for two things: mass murder and violent insurrection against our government. The AR-15 was one of the assault rifles banned under a federal law that Congress allowed to expire in 2004. It is now clear they made a tragic mistake.

When James Madison drafted the Second Amendment, his intent was to enhance our nation's domestic security, not to promote anarchy and the licentiousness of armed mobs that so horrified him during incidents like Shays' Rebellion. It is time for today's elected officials—including President Barack Obama—to show similar foresight and act to prevent the carnage that has become such a constant and shameful aspect of American life. Condolences will not be enough to prevent the next massacre.

Tags:
Colorado,
gun control and gun rights
Other Arguments
#1
#2

No — If theatergoers had been armed and trained, they could have protected themselves

MIKE SWEENEY, Communications Manager at the Gun Owners' Action League

#3

No — Proponents for more gun control are making a dangerous argument

ERICH PRATT, Director of Communications for Gun Owners of America

#4
#5

Yes — Even gun owners support background checks for gun sales

DAN GROSS, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center

#7

Yes — We need restrictions on both gun and ammunition sales

JOSH SUGARMANN, Founder and Executive Director of the Violence Policy Center,

About Debate Club

A meeting of the sharpest minds on the day's most important topics, Debate Club brings in the best arguments and lets readers decide which is the most persuasive. Read the arguments, then vote. And be sure to check back often to see who has gotten the most support—and also to see what's being discussed now in the Debate Club.

Have ideas about what the Club should be debating? E-mail it to dclub@usnews.com.

You can also join the debate on Facebook or follow Debate Club on Twitter.

Advertisement
Cartoons
Thomas Jefferson Street Blog
President Obama's Code Pink Heckler Medea Benjamin Was Plain Rude

It's become acceptable for people to interrupt the president while he is delivering a formal speech on a deadly serious topic.

Obama Commerce Nominee Penny Pritzker’s Tax Problem

Obama’s Commerce Department nominee has some Romney-esque tax issues.

Oklahoma Tornado Reminds Us of the Value of Teachers

The Oklahoma tornado reminds us of all the roles teachers take on.

IRS, AP and James Rosen Scandals Strike at the First Amendment

The Obama scandals paint a picture of an administration at odds with the First Amendment.

Anthony Weiner Is Too Liberal to Be New York City Mayor

New York City doesn't need another Democratic mayor.

Organizations Masquerading as Tax-Exempt is the Real IRS Scandal

The real scandal at the IRS is electioneering groups getting tax-exempt status.

E.W. Jackson Proves the Tea Party Learned Nothing

By nominating E.W. Jackson, Virginia Republicans hope extremism will save them.

IRS, AP and Benghazi Are Not Obama Scandals

The word "scandal" doesn't appropriately describe anything going on in Washington these days.

Advertisement