Dispatch Hails Veterans Disarmament Bill

The Columbus Dispatch today in its editorial pages praised Congress for passing the NICS Control Act of 2007, but criticized the body for not requiring background checks on all firearms transactions.

"Congress repeatedly has failed to approve legislation that would require private sellers of guns to run such checks on customers. The federal law applies only to sales by licensed firearms dealers. Private sellers using gun shows, the Internet and other means do not have to run background checks on buyers."

Hello!!?? Congress has not "failed" in such a measure. It has purposely not done so because it is not the will of the people, and Congress -- thankfully-- still works for the people.

The unintended consequences of this bill, veterans groups and Gun Owners of America are concerned that veterans who even once have sought counseling due to stress of the job and combat may be forever denied their 2a birthright.

The piece takes an editorial poke at me and others who make the strong case that if all private firearms transactions must first involve a background check, then so must private automobile transactions. Their statement: "Some have complained that this would make weapons harder to sell privately than cars. Yes, but the states require drivers to show some sort of skill behind the wheel before they can have a license to take a car out onto the road. Gun buyers face no scrutiny of their aptitude or motive for handling firearms."

In truth, not just some, but many people have pointed out this disconnect to the media. Cars kill. There are stories pointing out such every day. There is no background check when you get a drivers license, and even under the new Homeland Security ID program, such checks (if they ever come to fruition) are nearly a decade away. Do I want background checks for private commerce? Of course not. Should we have medical background checks in the grocery when people buy salt, just to make sure they don't have a health problem that salt might worsen? Or background checks on people buying five-gallon tubs of drywall mud at Lowe's or Home Depot to make sure these people don't have children in the home? Because kids all over this country die every year drowning in five-gallon buckets.

The comment on automobile buyer background checks is a red herring. And this NICS law, however well intentioned, is likely to create significant difficulties for law abiding veterans across our nation. Think about it.