Owners and employees at gun stores spoke with The Epoch Times about why they don’t think President Joe Biden’s recent executive order will be effective in reducing gun violence.
On March 14, Biden issued the Executive Order on Reducing Gun Violence and Making Our Communities Safer. He stated, “It is the policy of my Administration that executive departments and agencies will pursue every legally available and appropriate action to reduce gun violence.”
His executive order, in part, will clarify the definition of who is engaged in the business of dealing in firearms and required to become federal firearms licensees (FFLs), in order to increase compliance with the federal background check requirement for firearm sales. It will also prevent former FFLs whose licenses have been revoked or surrendered from continuing to engage in the business of dealing in firearms, and it will publicly release inspection reports of FFL dealers cited for violations of the law.
Washington
Washington has an “open carry” law without any permit required unless there’s an intent to intimidate or the safety of others is in question. Open carry means you’re allowed to carry a weapon unconcealed.Due to fear of retaliation, negative feedback, and backlash, only one gun store in Washington would allow a member of its staff to go on record. Nick Merryman of C.A.R. Firearms in Kent, Washington, is a gunsmith and machinist who agreed that Biden’s executive order won’t make a difference in reducing gun violence because criminals don’t follow laws or rules.
“It’s a very deep issue, and I don’t think trying to regulate inanimate objects addresses the issue in the end,” said Merryman. “They [Congress] are utilizing these differences to [stoke] flames of indignation and an artificial dialectic to get people stirred up about these issues so that we’re all distracted by the fact that we’re all getting screwed by the same parties. ... I wish there were simple solutions to complex problems; whether it’s gun control or abortion ... people are still looking for them, and it’s not going so well.”
As for how to reduce gun violence, Merryman said this is “something that we need to look at as society.”
“In the spirit of ideas and suggestions on how to deal with the people that don’t have concern for anyone else and are willing to go in a building full of people to shoot them because they were fired or jilted in some other way, regulation will not fix that,” he said.
On the issue of banning high-capacity magazines, he said the gun’s capacity doesn’t matter much if the user has ill intent.
Oregon
Oregon also has an “open carry” law without a license, but local cities and counties are authorized to place restrictions on who may open carry in public places except at federal facilities and Indian reservations.The right to bear arms is in the state’s constitution, but it’s being challenged in court by a voter-approved law called Measure 114, which was passed in September and will in part limit high-capacity magazines. Many sheriffs released statements saying they wouldn’t enforce it.
Warren Lacasse from Gun Room Inc. in Portland, Oregon, compared Biden’s executive order to the Volstead Act—better known as the Prohibition Act—which prohibited the manufacture, sale, transport, import, or export of alcoholic beverages.
“The only thing that happened was we ended up with the mob and the Depression,” Lacasse said. “It’s a witch hunt that’s hassling owners and dealers.”
He said it’s ridiculous to ban assault weapons because he thinks they’re not being used much in mass shootings.
“Handguns are used the most in shootings. Why isn’t there a call to ban handguns?” said Lacasse. “Our enemies fear us because we have an armed population.”
He shared a story about how someone from India had to watch their family being taken away by their government and wasn’t able to do anything about it because they don’t allow their citizens to be armed.
“Not here; we’re able to protect us from the bad guys and a bad government,” he said.
He expressed frustration about following regulations when criminals don’t.
“A felon can’t come in here and try to get [a] gun. They don’t even try. They have to steal their stuff. This is all a bunch of garbage. It’s not a safe place, and you want to disarm American people?” he said.
“You use a firearm, you do the time,” Lacasse said on the topic of how to reduce gun violence.
He added that gun laws aren’t always enforced, bolstering crime.
Lacasse also wants to remind people: “You’ve got a brain; use it. … Don’t trust the internet.”
Another gun store owner agreed that the executive order won’t change anything and shared his concerns related to being a gun store owner.
“I can tell you how difficult it is to be a gun store owner. I hold my breath every week, wondering, am I going to be able to sell guns? Will I need to get another job? It’s rough. … It’s the bad guys giving guns the bad name,” said Terri Hummel, Jr.
He doesn’t agree with the banning of high-capacity magazines. He pointed out that what was once a standard magazine of 15 rounds is now called a high-capacity magazine.
In addition, he doesn’t think that reducing the rounds to 10 will make much of difference except when you’re trying to defend against criminals. He doesn’t believe it will make a difference when someone wants to commit a mass shooting.
“I can reload the gun in a few seconds. It doesn’t matter if it’s [a] 10- or 30-round magazine. A good operator can reload [in] three seconds.”
When discussing ways to reduce gun violence, Hummel said, “I think a lot of it’s a law enforcement thing, and they’re overwhelmed with gun violence. They need better tools and technology. They need to catch the bad guys with the guns. I also wish there was a way to intervene [in] the black market firearms.”
Hummel supports having armed guards at schools. He said if he could, he would volunteer at his grandchildren’s school.
California
California has the strictest gun laws in the nation and has already banned assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Gun store owners said they don’t pay much attention to what the president says, since California’s laws are stricter.Rick Johnson of Bay Area Firearms in Burlingame, California, doesn’t agree with any of the bans.
“Assault weapons are fully automatic. None are automatic. We need them to defend our schools,” he said.
Another gun store owner had the same sentiments about the executive order.
“It’s kind of like smoke and mirrors. He’s trying to show he’s doing something,” said John Parkin of Coyote Point Armory in Burlingame, California.
“In California, we have an assault weapons ban, but it’s not really, because you still can get a AR15 or a AK47. They just banned the evil features of an automatic rifle, and the industry got around that. [Assault weapons] just look different, but they don’t shoot different. If [Biden] tried to ban assault weapons, he would just do what’s been done here.”
“It’s a new phrase—gun violence prevention,” said Parkin. “It’s the narrative of gun violence … they never refer to it as that. They’re preying on the individuals who don’t know what it’s about. The laws are already in effect; they just need to be acted on.”
He said that when plea deals are worked out, one of the first charges to be dropped is the gun charge.
“We need to enforce the laws on the book,” he said.
Parkin would also like to see more help for those struggling with suicidal thoughts. He believes 60 percent of suicides are with handguns. The Epoch Times verified that that percentage is accurate for 2019.
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