Scandal-ridden NRA should make itself useful: Butt out of Florida age limit on rifles
The National Rifle Association is appealing a court ruling upholding the Florida law that prevents people under 21 from buying long guns, including assaultstyle weapons.
Never mind that the law arose from a collective wail of pain after the nation’s deadliest mass high school shooting killed 17 and injured another 17 at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in 2018.
Accused shooter Nikolas Cruz, a former student, was 19 when authorities say he bought a semi-automatic AR-15 style rifle at a Coral Springs gun shop to slaughter the victims. His motive? No one but Cruz knows for sure.
And so far, no one has come up with a reasonable prevention plan to stop the next Nikolas Cruz, least of all the NRA, a group plagued by financial scandal and declining membership.
That’s the group whose longtime, disturbing stance on mass shootings has been to get guns in the hands of everyone — so many guns in so many hands that hordes of people theoretically would pull out a firearm to stop some kook from unloading multiple magazines into high school classrooms.
Fighting gun violence with more gun violence seems unlikely to prevent gun violence — does that really have to be said? — and prevention ought to be the goal of sensible people.
The NRA almost immediately challenged the Florida ban on sales to young adults, claiming postponement of such firearms purchases is “a categorical burden on the fundamental right [of young adults] to keep and bear arms.”
What nonsense. The out-of-touch gun lobby based its position on a tortured reading of a portion of the U.S. Constitution written in the context of a time when young America was fighting for her freedom on her own soil. Since then, plenty of states — and the federal government — have passed laws to regulate firearms sales using age as a criterion.
In ruling against the NRA, Chief Judge Mark Walker of the Northern District of Florida identified a bigger Pandora’s box of ammo than he may have realized when he remarked that upholding the ban was “a constitutional no man’s land.”
His comment was accentuated by a ruling Tuesday from the federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, which overturned a 1968 federal ban on selling handguns to Americans under 21. The ruling was a victory for gun advocates, though it likely will be appealed.
So, where is this all going? Will Americans continue to wrestle with each other over who should be armed while more schoolchildren die?
Unfortunately, the answer is yes. Consider that the Supreme Court several months ago agreed to hear a challenge to New York’s gun licensing requirements.
In Florida, gun advocates likely see an opportunity to chip away at gun restrictions next year as Gov. Ron DeSantis positions himself as the ultimate conservative and gun advocate in the race for the presidency in 2024.
Prediction: The next gun law they’ll go after could well be the state’s licensing requirement to carry a concealed weapon. Gun advocates will want to follow in the footsteps of Texas, which on Sept. 1 will start letting people carry guns without requiring a permit or training.
Playing copycat in Florida will do nothing to solve the social contagion of mass school shootings.
It’s not like we don’t know who is responsible. A breathtaking 98% of mass shootings are staged by angry or troubled boys and men, according to The Violence Project, a nonpartisan research group that analyzes U.S. mass shooting data. Two of the most horrific high school mass shootings — Columbine and Parkland — were committed by teenagers. A 20-year-old shot and killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary.
After Parkland, Florida lawmakers used their heads by passing sensible laws that allowed authorities to “red flag” unstable people likely to do harm to themselves or others with a gun.
They also made it illegal for someone under 21 to buy a rifle, recognizing the inherent difference between a young person in the military receiving strict oversight and training with weapons versus a kid off the street who gets a hankering for an AR-15.
Polls show clear public support for such measures, like universal background checks for buying a gun, and clear opposition to less strict gun laws, like open carry.
At the same time, anti-gun activists need to recognize that gun ownership is and will remain a reality in the United States, embedded in American culture and law.
The United States has the highest rate in the world of civilian gun ownership, and with it should come the highest rate of responsibility — including the most rigorous background checks, the most training for school counselors to recognize potential shooters and the most effective waiting periods.
Without compromise and cooperation, the NRA might get its wish of arming everyone. What an America that would be.
Editorials are the opinion of the Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board and are written by one of its members or a designee. The editorial board consists of Opinion Editor Mike Lafferty, Jennifer A. Marcial Ocasio, Jay Reddick and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Send emails to insight@orlandosentinel.com.