Our government is failing its mandate to ‘insure domestic Tranquility’

The preamble to the United States Constitution proclaims that a foundational purpose of our government is to “insure domestic Tranquility.” It is without dispute that our government has dismally failed in this regard. When gun violence stalks practically every facet of our lives, it is clear that we do not enjoy a tranquil domestic society.

People cannot go to grocery stores, Fourth of July parades, entertainment venues, elementary schools or practically anywhere else without a nagging fear of being shot. There were 309 mass shootings (where four or more people were shot or killed) during the first half of this year. There were 692 in 2021, 610 in 2020 and 417 in 2019. Between 2009 and 2018, the country lost 12.6 million years of life due to guns.

The recently passed gun safety bill nibbled around the edges of the gun violence tragedy and may produce some modest relief. It may have escaped the attention of congressional Republicans, however, that every shooting has one element in common — the gun. Until our government takes decisive action to limit the weapons that are causing the mayhem, there will be no realistic chance of reducing the slaughter.

The place to start is the weapon that poses the greatest danger, the AR-15-style rifle. This type of weapon was used in about 30 percent of the major mass shootings since 1999. The AR-15 is a civilian derivative of the military’s M-16 rifle that was used in the Vietnam War. It was developed as a war weapon to inflict the maximum amount of damage to enemy bodies, even when the bullet did not hit vital organs.

Our adversaries in Vietnam have attested to the weapon’s impressive destructive power. In 2018, I saw an exhibit at the War Remnants Museum in Saigon that denounced the M-16 as a war crime weapon. In the same vein, a doctor who witnessed the July 4 shooting in Highland Park, Ill., said the victims were “blown up” with “unspeakable” injuries.

What do you do with a deadly weapon that is now so prevalent in the country? There are reportedly up to 20 million AR-15-style rifles in the U.S. today. It would be nigh unto impossible to get Congress to ban ownership of these weapons. But there are actions short of that which should be pursued.

The manufacture and sale of new AR-15s should be prohibited. There is no valid reason to allow more of these military killing machines to flood America’s public places. Possession of magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds should be outlawed.

This might be a minor inconvenience for sportsmen but would give some potential victims of a mass shooting a fighting chance of surviving.

Congress strictly regulated the ownership of machine guns in 1934 because of their ability to spew out a massive number of bullets with a single pull of the trigger. Machine guns must be registered with the federal government, and 741,000 are currently licensed. Semi-automatic AR-15s, which can spit out over 100 rounds per minute, are at least as dangerous as most licensed machine guns because of their high velocity and impressive rate of fire. They should be subject to the same registration requirements.

Because of the substantial dangers posed by these weapons, those AR-15s currently in the public sphere should be required by law to be safeguarded, either with trigger locks or in compliance with secure storage standards. Where injuries or death result from failure to implement these safeguards, civil and/or criminal liability should be imposed.

One of the most effective ways to protect the public from dangerous products is to make manufacturers bear financial responsibility for injuries caused by their products. In 2005, the gun industry was able to muscle Congress into granting it immunity from damage suits for injuries caused by firearms.

Gun manufacturers currently have no incentive to implement safety measures with their guns or to take steps to ensure they do not end up in the wrong hands. In fact, some gunmakers have used unethical advertising tactics to sell as many AR-15s as possible, regardless of the potential consequences. They prey on the fears and anxieties of the public regarding both the mass shootings and the potential for governmental restrictions — essentially playing both sides of the gun violence fence. Advertising campaigns have been targeted at young men, painting a macho picture of those owning an AR-15.

The immunity statute should be repealed, which would give the gun industry a financial incentive to become part of the solution to the gun violence problem, rather than a significant cause. There is no reason why this industry should not have to answer for wrongful actions that have brought such pain to the American public.

There are several other things that should be done to alleviate America’s gun violence problem, but it is essential to start with the most dangerous cause. No change will occur unless the public focuses its efforts on the most effective measures and forcefully demands action on them. Clamping down on the production, sale and unregulated handling of AR-15s, as a first step, would have a real impact in helping to restore the domestic tranquility that our Constitution envisioned for the American public.

Jim Jones is a Vietnam combat veteran who served eight years as Idaho attorney general (1983-1991) and 12 years as a justice on the Idaho Supreme Court (2005-2017). He is a regular contributor to The Hill.