I recently extended an offer to my Facebook friends — they could submit anonymous questions about guns or gun policy here, and I’d do my best to answer. I’ll repeat what I said in my original Facebook post:
There are no stupid questions — we all start from zero. I’m aware that the information asymmetry on this topic is huge, and if you’re on the short end of it, that likely has more to do with circumstance than anything else. Ask away.
- How do we address mass shootings without infringing on the right to bear arms?
Over the next few days, be on the lookout for a piece from me that will discuss some useful paradigms for understanding and reducing violence in America. That piece has a lot more research time invested into it than what I can put into this AMA. Some of what I say there about violence in general will also be applicable to mass shootings in particular. In addition, I briefly address some reasons why gun control isn’t a promising solution to violence. That’s especially true in the case of mass shooters, who are usually well prepared and highly motivated.
Until that article comes out, I’ll leave you with this: most people grossly overestimate the extent to which mass shootings are a part of America’s violence problem. Mass shootings constitute a tiny fraction of the homicides that America experiences — about 1.5% in 2019, to be specific. And even that small fraction includes a lot of gang and familial violence that differs sharply from the popular “mass shooter” archetype. We ought to focus more on addressing the other 98+% of homicides. Not only is that the much bigger problem, but also the solutions are clearer.
So while I do have some answers that you’ll see soon, I nonetheless maintain that “How do we address mass shootings?” is largely the wrong question to be asking.
If you’re unsatisfied with the perspective presented in the forthcoming piece, please ask your question again.
2. Where and how do we draw the line, of what would be acceptable for civilians to own, if gun regulations were relaxed?
I think this question has a few baked-in premises that need to be addressed.
First, I think this question implies that there is — or ought to be — a robust distinction between military and civilian firearms. That’s never really been the case, and once you understand that the right to bear arms has never been about duck hunting or target shooting, it’s easy to see why such a distinction wouldn’t exist.
Second, I think this question implies a perspective in which the right to bear arms is counterbalanced by a public safety interest. According to this perspective, “optimal” gun policy is to be found somewhere on a continuum between “maximum freedom” and “maximum safety”. That’s more or less the conventional wisdom in many circles.
But I reject that narrative. For starters, it’s pretty clear that gun policy often has nothing to do with public safety. For a thorough and lengthy example of what I mean, consider the piece I wrote on the regulation of short-barreled firearms. Some of the most burdensome, restrictive, and problematic gun regulations have little or no plausible connection to public safety.
Moreover, there’s also a public safety in interest in people having guns — estimates of defensive gun uses (DGUs) range from tens of thousands to a few million annually. Surely that’s at least considerable! For perspective, there are around 10,000 of gun homicides annually.
Given all that, there’s no way for me to answer your question. It’s like asking me to draw a line at the halfway point between “1” and “green”. Conceptually, I simply don’t view those two items as existing on the same spectrum.
3. Where is the best place to buy a stripped lower, right now?
Buy? Be a lot cooler if you printed it…
Am I the only one who thinks buying stripped lowers is kinda overrated? They don’t do you much good on their own without parts and uppers!
4. What percentage of guns that are sold required background checks?
According to this study — 87%. Since we’re on the topic, here are the essential things to know about gun sales and background checks:
- Background checks are required for any gun sale from a federally licensed dealer, and anyone engaged in the business of selling firearms (even if they’re selling them at a gun show) is required to be federally licensed.
- Background checks are not federally required for private sales. “As a general rule, you will need a license if you repetitively buy and sell firearms with the principal motive of making a profit. In contrast, if you only make occasional sales of firearms from your personal collection, you do not need to be licensed.” However, some states attempt to require background checks in such cases anyway.
- If you favor expanding the background check requirement to private sales, you need to be prepared to explain how that requirement would be enforced in a country that already has 400 million privately owned firearms — a cop in every home? Needless to stay, I’m extremely concerned that an expanded background check requirement would be accompanied by draconian enforcement measures, registration, and confiscation.
Thank you for the questions! If you want to get in on the next round, submit your question here.
