Ban these guns

In an America where fingers pulling the triggers of firearms (whether in suicides, homicides or accidents) kill 45,000 people per year, and where nearly 400 mass shootings have transpired so far in 2022, and where 400 million guns are already in circulation, and where the Supreme Court just invalidated many state concealed carry laws, bending trendlines will require many changes of law and culture. Only hucksters claim to have the silver bullet for radically reducing gun violence.

But given that assault rifles like the AR-15 are the weapon of choice among men who perpetrate mass shootings, barring their sale and importation would be a meaningful step forward. These civilian versions of battlefield guns can fire rounds at a greater speed and more rapidly than other firearms, and have easyto-obtain add-ons allowing shooters to unload dozens of rounds without reloading.

When people determined to kill get their hands on them, they can turn a classroom, a supermarket, a house of worship or a street corner into a free-fire zone, no matter how many armed good guys may be near. (Late last week in New York, law enforcement caught a man with a loaded AK-47-style rifle outside the Brooklyn home of a prominent Iranian dissident and journalist.)

So it is no small thing that the U.S. House Friday passed legislation barring the sale and importation of such weapons. Two Republicans, including upstate’s courageous but retiring Chris Jacobs, joined 215 Democrats in voting yes. Five Democrats joined 208 Republicans, including Nicole Malliotakis and Lee Zeldin, in voting no. The exceptions underline the rule: Democrats overwhelmingly want to restrict access to these lethal instruments, while Republicans overwhelmingly see that as an unacceptable curb on basic freedom.

Now it’s onto the Senate, where the 60-vote filibuster threshold makes a mockery of any possibility of passage. Even if Democrats needed a bare majority, they’d likely struggle to win over their entire caucus. Close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades and mass shootings where murderers spray enough ammo in every direction to wound and kill with ease.