Stopping Mass Murders Isn’t About Background Checks or Gun Control, It’s About Understanding Emerging Aggression By Mark “Six” James
Our focus has to be how do we get in front of the violence. How do we eliminate the environment that spawned the monster? Over the last couple of nights I have listened to President Obama outline some topics under consideration via a proposed Executive Order in an attempt to help reduce active shootings. There is no doubt we all have a sense of urgency in wanting to find ways to help reduce the potential for any mass killings. Whether the visual is Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, the Aurora Theater, the Washington Naval Yard, the Charleston Church Massacre or San Bernardino any life lost is one too many whether adults or children. The more I listen to discussions from the “pro-Gun Control” group or the” 2nd Amendment or Bust” crew the more I am convinced it doesn’t make any difference what the message or who the messenger is Americans The Bite – “Stopping Mass Murders”
are predisposed to support whatever fits their personal narrative. Logic, common sense or fact need not apply. While the President displayed emotion Wednesday night, and I believe it to be sincere in my humble opinion most of the remarks were feel good talking points which cater to our emotions not concrete solutions. As the majority of topics discussed already have safety measures in place, are misunderstood by the public further contributing to the fear and paranoia, or would have had little to no impact on stopping any of the active shootings discussed above.
Let me start by addressing a few points of the discussion: Internet Sales
So if you purchase a gun off the Internet from a different state, it will be sent to a federal firearms license holder in your state, and you would not be allowed to take possession of it until a background check is done on you and form 4473 completed.
It is already illegal for violent felons to purchase guns so no action required there only enforcement. Contrary to the misinformation being circulated by some, no one can just order a firearm off the Internet without going through a background check. Also once the background check is completed firearms cannot be just sent directly to the buyer but first must be sent to a dealer (individual or company) holding a federal firearms license (FFL). The Gun Control Act, as amended by The Firearms Owners` Protection Act of 1986 (P.L. 99-308), specifies a dealer is a persons that is engaged in the business of dealing in, manufacturing, or importing firearms, or manufacturing or importing ammunition, obtain a FFL. As applied to a dealer, the term "engaged in the business" refers to "a person who devotes time, attention, and labor to dealing in firearms as a regular course of trade or business with the principal objective of obtaining livelihood through the repetitive purchase and resale of firearms." The federal firearms licensing system is administered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), an agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. • Such gun transactions processed by a federal firearms license holder must include a background check, regardless of whether the sale is across state lines or not. This is commonly referred to as a transfer and Federal Form 4473 must still be completed along with the background check.
• Gun transactions across state lines must be processed in the home state of the recipient. The Bite – “Stopping Mass Murders”
• The only exemption to the federal requirement for background checks applies to non-federal purchases: transactions between two private individuals who reside in the same state. It is against the law for anyone, regardless of whether they hold a federal firearms license, to sell or give a firearm to anyone who is reasonably believed to be a “prohibited person.” • If an individual ran a gun commerce site, they would not be considered private but, rather, in the business of selling guns. As such, they’d need to have a federal firearms license. And even if there were an online shopping site that processed sales between private individuals, they would still need to be shipped. In order to ship guns to private individuals, you need to be licensed to both ship 2 and receive.
Gun Show Loophole In reality there is no such thing as the infamous “gun show loophole.” It a horrible name and has continued to give gun shows a bad rap. Licensed dealers at gun shows still have to carry out background checks. They can perform them over the phone or electronically via the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). The actual loophole is that someone can meet with a private seller at a gun show and buy a firearm from that person without a background check. However that meeting can take place anytime or anyplace and does not require a gun show. In other words, the gun show doesn't create a loophole; the private sale does. If someone purchases a gun from a private seller, such as a collector, friend, or family member, no gun background check is required. However if the private sale owner does not execute some type of documented transfer and a crime is committed with that firearm the first door that the ATF or local sheriff is going to knock on will be yours. So there is still incentive for private sale owners to do due diligence in the execution of any sale.
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For me as a matter of record, I won’t sell a firearm to anyone who does not have a valid concealed weapons license and a driver’s license that matches. While it may not be a requirement of the law for a private sale, it is my measure of attempting a level of due diligence in the transfer process. For me this even applies to friends and family members. While President Obama looks to take aim at private gun sellers who attempt to exploit the law, the President’s actions may narrow the hole, but it can only be closed by Congress as the federal firearm laws are just that federal laws and can only be changed or amended by Congress. How do criminals get their guns The vast majority of criminals, and mass murders get their guns from illegal sources like the Black market, the results of home, car and retail break ins, friends and some through straw buyers. A straw buyer is someone who purchases a firearm for someone who is not authorized to have one. Straw purchases are also illegal and makes the purchaser a co-conspirator and an accessory after the fact to any crime committed. So any actions that focus on law abiding citizens has little to no impact on criminals and terrorist as their actions are already inconsistent with the law. A background check is also not going to stop a person who lacks a moral compass who is intent on committing violence.
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Understanding Mental Health One of the things that did actually represent promise for me from the President’s press conference was when he talked about allocating $500 million toward mental health. That is one of the biggest steps in the right direction. Monsters always start out as Gremlins. One of the critical things we have to do first is to de-stigmatize mental health challenges so families are not ashamed to seek assistance for a family member in need. On the surface, a mass murder is the product of a dysfunctional mental process. In 2001 Dr. Jeffrey Swanson of Duke University School of Medicine did a study that looked specifically at 34 adolescent mass murderers, all male. 70 percent were described as a loner. 61.5 percent had problems with substance abuse. 48 percent had preoccupations with weapons; 43.5 percent had been victims of bullying. However only roughly 23% of active shooters had a history of documented psychiatric history, which means three out of four did not. People with serious mental illness are three to four times more likely to be violent than those who aren't. But the vast majority of people diagnosed with mental illness are not violent and never will be. As they are often the victims of violence. However a more recent study conducted by the Fusion Center looking at Mass Shootings between 2011– 2013 found 79% were attributable to history of mental illness. It is hard to gauge the actual numbers because all the studies I have reviewed have focused on different time frames.
However a better barometer of potential violence is someone who has a history of any kind of violent or assaultive behavior. That's actually a better predictor of future violence than having a mental health diagnosis. The Bite – “Stopping Mass Murders”
How do you stop mass shooting (Understanding Emerging Aggression) If you really want to have an impact on violence reduction respectfully you don’t start with a discussion about the tool you start with understanding the root causes of aggression and how they manifest themselves.
When we look at the root causes of aggression whether they are religious Ferrer, political extremism, mental illness, criminal intent, workplace challenges, domestic issues, or disenfranchisement these root causes have been the catalyst for many mass murders throughout time. The causes typically manifest themselves through verbal abuse, discrimination, bullying, militancy, violence, and terrorism. Our goal is crisis mitigation not crisis management. Our focus has to be how to we get in front of the violence? What we need are quick, accurate assessments of pre-incident indicators to not just allow us to survive encounters but effectively prevent them. That is where funding needs to be directed you must understand emerging aggression. How do we eliminate the environment that spawned the monster? We need trained observers who can recognize aggressive behavior in the early stages and distinguish aggressive behavior from simply abnormal behavior.
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This is critical regardless of the underlying root cause of the aggression. Primal Aggression
Primal aggression is instinctive, we typically associate it – Fight, Flight or Freeze. It is adrenaline fueled characterized by an increase in your heart rate. This can be your morning road rage incident which is trigger more by the fact you are late for work in conjunction with someone cut your off. Sometimes the aggressive person loses control and attacks. However most of the time primal aggression is often diffused. This is not generally the behavior that fuels mass killers.
Pre-Incident Indicators • • • • • • • • • •
Cognitive Aggression
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This is the food that feeds the monster. It can be conscious or nonconscious response. However do it enough it becomes the new normal. This is intent fueled where the perpetrator is often calm and tactical. Their objective is to victimize, predatorize, or terrorize.
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Often characterized by the body losing animation! When we talk about victimize they look to treat others how they were treated. When we talk predatorize they are focused based. The predator wants what you have. They often dehumanize you. They look to disconnect you from the object of their desire. When we think about the terrorist their goal is to instill fear. They not only dehumanize their victims they also disconnect themselves. This is what creates the murder/suicide. So when a person disconnects from their own well-being they have no problem in killing others.
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Increased use of alcohol and/or illegal drugs Unexplained increase in absenteeism; vague physical complaints Noticeable decrease in attention to appearance and hygiene Depression / withdrawal Resistance and overreaction to changes in policy and procedures Repeated violations of company policies Increased severe mood swings Noticeably unstable, emotional responses Explosive outbursts of anger or rage without provocation Suicidal; comments about “putting things in order” Behavior which is suspect of paranoia, (“everybody is against me”) Increasingly talks of problems at home Escalation of domestic problems into the workplace; talk of severe financial problems Talk of previous incidents of violence Empathy with individuals committing violence Increase in unsolicited comments about firearms, other dangerous weapons and violent crimes Anti-government rhetoric not disappointment with a policy Visiting restricted websites or constantly shutting down or closing their computer when others are around
Prevention will always be more expedient than recovery. We must train parents, educators, and employers etc. how to recognize the signs of troubled individuals so we can help provide assistance.
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With some individuals you may only notice one indicator and with others you may identify of series of behaviors. So our goal as a nation and protectors of humanity is to move away from the politics of party. We have to stop preying on people’s fears, and move toward real solutions focused on responsibility not rhetoric. Hope will never be a protection strategy and neither will ignorance of the real issues or root causes.
Mark “Six” James is Founder and Executive Director of Panther Protection Services, LLC, and an internationally published author and keynote speaker.
The other issue which is even bigger is whether you agree with the President on not, laws are enacted by the Legislative brand and not the Executive Branch. So it is a dangerous precedent if at any time we allow any President friend or foe to start thinking the Executive Order is a way to bypass Congress. But that is a discussion for a different day. Stay safe and most importantly stay informed.
Panther Protection Services is a full service protection agency focusing on Risk and Crisis Mitigation, Protective Services, Self-Defense Training, and Firearm Instruction. For additional information visit www.pantherprotectionservicescom or contact us at info@pantherprotectionservices.com
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