Straight Shooting

 I don't pretend to know the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' business, but I am wondering how we are privy almost immediately to the knowledge that the 9mm handgun that accused Brooklyn subway shooter Frank James used was "purchased legally." This means, for the purposes of this discussion, that Mister James was never convicted of a felony. His arrest record includes nine charges in New York from 1992 through 1998, including a criminal sex act and possession of burglary tools. He was also arrested in New Jersey three times, from 1991 through 2007.

In the aftermath of the shooting last week, agents recovered 9mm ammunition, a threaded 9mm pistol barrel that allows for a silencer or suppresser to be attached, targets, and .223 caliber ammunition, which is used with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle from a storage unit Mister James was renting. The Glock pistol that James allegedly used jammed, keeping him from firing additional rounds from the additional magazines that he was carrying at the time of the attack. Allegedly. 

The saving grace of this tragedy is that no one died. None of the ten people who were shot. None of the additional twenty-some who were injured fleeing the scene. So maybe the blessing is that besides being a very flawed individual in so many ways, he was also a really bad shot. Maybe the ATF knew that too, and that's why they didn't seem to mind that man with a criminal record like Frank James had "legally" acquired a handgun and all the ammunition described above. Knowing that he could not hit the broad side of a subway car at close range might have been a contributing factor. 

Or maybe the jammed pistol and divine intervention had more to do with it. But knowing within minutes that the suspect had purchased his gun in Columbus, Ohio suggests that there is a system that might be very useful in the tracking and documenting of firearms. What if everyone who bought a gun was subject to a background check? What if every gun sold had to be registered? 

Because I know that there are plenty of voices out there that say "law-abiding gun owners shouldn't have to blah blah blah." Well, here we have a case of a gun owner who seemed to have a pretty difficult time staying within the lines of polite society. And in spite of all the talk we hear from some corners about how people steal guns and use them in crimes, it sure seems like an overwhelming number of mass shootings are taking place with "legally purchased" guns. Perhaps it's time to do a little more than ask someone to fill out a form before we hand them the machine that could take a life. Because next time the "legally purchased" gun might be in the hands of someone who is a better shot.