Initial Thoughts on the Shooting in Texas
18th May 2018
Charles C.W. Cooke cuts through the spittle spray from the DemLegHump media.
What do we know about the guns? Well, while all the eyewitnesses thus far seem to have mentioned only a shotgun, Governor Abbott has announced that he also had a revolver. Unless he was given permission to acquire these weapons from his parents, at least someone has broken the law here. Federal law prohibits the commercial transfer of a handgun to anyone under 21, and the private transfer of a handgun to anyone under 18. Because the shooter was 17, he was federally ineligible to be gifted, sold, or leased such a weapon, other than on a temporary basis for “legal sporting purpose.” Long guns are a different story federally—there is no federal law prohibiting the private transfer of a long gun to a minor—but more complicated at the state level. While there is no minimum age to possess firearms in Texas, it remains illegal in the state for to sell, lease, rent, or give a firearm to a person under 18 years of age without a parent’s permission. Again, the shooter was 17. Bottom line: Unless his parents agreed to let him have the guns, someone broke the law. That may seem a little obvious given that he concealed-carried a handgun (illegal at his age), took weapons into a school (illegal under federal law), and then committed murder (illegal). But it’s helpful to know what is and what is not allowed when debating what to do in response.
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It will be interesting to see what gun-control measures are proposed in response to this incident. Shotguns are almost never included in the lists of weapons that the gun-control movement hopes to prohibit — except, obviously, by those who covet a full ban on the private ownership of firearms — and, because they hold only six rounds and do not take magazines, .38 caliber revolvers fall well within the limits that even heavily regulated states such as California have seen fit to impose. Indeed, shotguns and revolvers tend to be held up as the “reasonable” guns that “nobody wants to ban.” Famously, Joe Biden told Americans who want to protect themselves to eschew modern sporting rifles and instead “buy a shotgun.” Likewise, I am asked constantly why I’d need a semi-automatic pistol for home-defense when I could buy a six-shooter instead. Whether this will be reflected in the coverage remains to be seen. If I were a betting man, I’d predict that it will not.