New Zealand Banned Assault Weapons In Less Than One Week- What’s the Hold Up In The US?

By Sarah Everhart

On March 15, 2019, fifty Muslims were killed and fifty more were injured when a gunman opened fire in two mosques in New Zealand. Six days later, New Zealand banned military-style semi-automatic weapons. On April. 1, 2019, New Zealand’s government introduced legislation that would ban most semi-automatic firearms. The bipartisan bill is expected to go into effect April 12, 2019. If the bill passes, New Zealand will have banned all military-style semi-automatic weapons and most semi-automatic firearms within four weeks of the mosque shootings.

The debate for gun control in the US is one of the most controversial and heavily-debated topics. By some estimates, there have been over 350 mass shootings in the US in the past decade. Yet, the US federal government has not passed any gun legislation since 1994 to ban, limit, or prohibit the amount or type of weapons that one person can own. While surveys show that more Americans than ever, both Republicans and Democrats, support some sort of gun control, the federal government has yet to do so. If, or when, the US federal government decides to pass gun control legislation, it must also undo layers upon layers of legislation that have insulated and safeguarded gun owners and manufactures for decades.

Congress must first repeal laws that limit governmental control and regulation of firearm manufacturing. The Firearms Owners’ Protection Act of 1986 (FOPA) limits the number of inspections the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) can conduct and prevents the federal government from maintaining a database of gun dealer records. In 1972, Congress created the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to set the safety standards for a majority, if not most, consumer products. The Consumer Protection Act, passed in 1976, banned the CPSC from asserting “any regulatory control” over the firearms industry. This Act ensures that no federal agency oversees gun manufacturing.

Congress must also repeal laws targeted at silencing gun violence research. In 1996, Congress enacted the Dickey Amendment which prevented the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), The National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other agencies from using from using federal funding to research firearm and gun violence or for gun control. The Dickey Amendment reduced the CDC’s funding for gun violence by 96%. In 2005, Congress passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA). This Act protects gun manufacturers from liability in tort actions.

Congress must also be proactive and implement laws to regulate gun ownership and usage. At least 100 gun control proposals were made to Congress from 2011 to 2016. Each one failed. More gun control proposals have been made each week, but they continue to fail. While many still fight for laws focusing on gun ownership; e.g. who can own a gun, how many guns one person can own, etc., several advocates have shifted their focus to regulating ammunition. Evidence indicates that some of the most notorious mass shootings in recent US history were possible due to a lack of ammunition constraints.

With the US federal government slow to enact any measure of gun control, states have taken it upon themselves to protect their population. States seem more receptive to the idea of gun control as an effective means of decreasing gun violence. In the wake of the Parkland shooting, at least twenty-one states implemented some form of gun control law to limit gun violence. The number of states that have enforced gun control laws grew in 2018, and is expected to continue to grow in 2019.

The US has several self-made hurdles that block the path to gun reform. While Congress has much work to do to clear the path, it is well worth the effort.

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