Emotions Run High on Gun Control Debate

In the next week, the Senate will gear up to vote on new gun control legislation. Gun violence appears to be a very complex issue, with some control measures seemingly having some success, while certain cities with some of the strictest measures remaining among the most violent in the nation. An example often cited is Chicago, who’s relatively strict prohibitions and staggering rates of gun violence lead critics of gun control to conclude that the issue requires a much more complex solution than a simple ban or background check.

In a recent public statement, the First Lady recounted the tragic story of young Hadiya Pendleton, a successful, bright 15-year-old young woman, who just a week after performing in the inaugural ceremony this January, was gunned down in her Chicago neighborhood by a gang member. Hadiya’s story and the tragedy of Sandy Hook have been used to set an extremely emotional tone to the gun control debate, one that threatens to sidetrack effective efforts to curb violence with hasty and illformed solutions.

The gun used by the suspect was a handgun and the reported motive was mistaken gang warfare. Furthermore, the weapon in question was almost certainly obtained illegally, and if the demand for handguns among gangs is as inelastic as the demand for drugs, there’s no reason why further restrictions on those guns wouldn’t result in the same sort of black market as drug prohibition, leading to even more violence. While time will only tell whether background checks will curb freak tragedies like Sandy Hook, neither bans nor background checks will do anything to address the violence that claimed Hadiya’s life. The public should absolutely be outraged that such a promising young woman died in such a senseless way, and the debate must remain reasoned and rational lest the true cause of intercity violence go unaddressed.