The gun debate in the U.S. may never end, but opinion polls show most Americans want stricter gun laws. In a recent move, an alliance of organizations representing police chiefs and executives released a unilateral statement proclaiming they would strongly support universal background checks for firearms purchases.
Currently, only licensed dealers have to insist on background checks, but firearms sold through private parties or gun shows do not require any checks and actually constitute 40 percent of total gun sales. Proliferation of illegal firearms is a definite reason for the rise in crime. Unless the problem is uprooted right from its roots, there is no use expecting a safer America.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Chicago last month saw senior law enforcement officials wholeheartedly agreeing that illegal gun sales have contributed to the rise in homicide rates in many U.S. cities this year. Each year, the percentage of illegal guns seized is rising as high as the percentage of crimes committed with them.
The powerful gun lobby has influenced the decisions of Congress for decades, which has to date been pretty reluctant to enforce stricter gun laws. Not going into the complications of that, the police chiefs simply expressed the need for stricter and more expanded background checks to cover all gun purchases.
Stressing they were not anti-gun propagandists, they laid down specifics of how these checks can help in better police work. Recent shootings have highlighted that the easy acquisition of guns must be stopped. It is not just the underaged or disturbed minds, but also people with criminal backgrounds who should find it harder to procure firearms than they do now.
A stronger background check system with ready records on criminal and mental health backgrounds that can be shared by all law enforcement agencies is imperative. Pro-gun groups say increasing these background checks could impact sales and deter buyers, infringing on Second Amendment rights to bear firearms or carry them. But a recent Gallup poll survey shows that 55 percent Americans are calling for tighter regulations on gun sales and for more gun control.
With President Barack Obama still weighing on whether to take action and expand the nation's gun laws, this joint address from the nation's police chiefs may well influence his decision. Now the coalition of police chiefs wants more from the Congress.
Strengthening of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) will include all qualifying records in the system from all agencies and cover all kinds of gun purchases. It also wants to a faster turnaround for the FBI background check before a sale is automatically completed.
Easy access to guns in the hands of the wrong people has to be curbed. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2014 saw a 40 percent rise in gun-related crimes in the United States from 2013, while mass shootings were up by 56 percent. These surveys have revealed that a staggering 466,000 people were victims of crimes involving guns in America last year.
The focus on the background checks request from the top cops is expected to shift the dynamics of gun control. Early polls already indicate overwhelming public support, which the officers hope will add to their voice and convince the politicians to move legislation that will significantly reduce gun violence.
