Summary
We believe that:
- The Constitution guarantees individual citizens’ the right to bear arms
- The Supreme Court is right to hold that the right is not absolute
- Federal, state, and local governments have the authority to regulate it
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Background
Like many other rights, the right to bear arms is not absolute. Federal, state, and local governments have the authority to regulate the sale of guns to prevent them from falling into the hands of convicted felons and individuals with serious mental health conditions that pose a risk to themselves or others. We also believe that the government has the right to restrict access to certain kinds of weapons, ranging from explosives and bomb-making equipment to certain categories of firearms, including assault weapons and devices such as bump stocks that convert weapons to fully automatic fire. We believe that governments should exercise these rights carefully and avoid overly simplistic assumptions about the relationship between gun availability and violence or the belief that banning the sale of guns will eliminate their presence. The experience of Washington, D.C., and other major cities, suggests that such bans do not necessarily reduce gun violence.
We support sentencing guidelines that impose longer sentences for crimes committed using guns. We also support making parents criminally and civilly liable for the use of guns that the parents either intentionally or negligently make available to their children.
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