Lethal Passage

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In Lethal Passage:  The Story of a Gun, author Erik Larson uses a term—gun tyranny—to sum up America’s failure to address its gun crisis.  And although the definition of “tyranny” has been cheapened by its frequent use in presidential politics, gun tyranny describes in an expressive way the lack of governmental action—especially since most polls indicate Americans for decades have consistently desired more gun regulation.

At the core of Larson’s book is a school shooting that occurred in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1988.  A student using a semi-automatic pistol called a Cobray M-11/9 killed a teacher and wounded several others.  Larson tracks the gun from its design through its manufacture; its sale to an adult who bought it on behalf of the student; its use in the shootings; and finally, to the incident’s impact on the victims and their families. 

Larson then suggests legislation under the name “Life and Liberty Preservation Act.” He says the Act will preserve Americans’ rights to own firearms, but make gun owners safer and more responsible.  It would also hold them accountable when their guns are misused.  But then Larson asserts, “The Life and Liberty Preservation Act doesn’t have a chance in hell of being passed.”

Lethal Passage is a tough read–not only because of the events Larson describes, but also because the book was written 30 years ago. The incident on which the book is based would barely make headlines today. 

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Quotes

Even the simplest regulations meet outraged opposition from the NRA, the Second Amendment Foundation, and the Gun Owners of America.  Theirs is a reflexive opposition based on the rather paranoid belief that any step toward firearms regulation must necessarily take us one more step down the road to federal confiscation of America’s guns and, willy-nilly from there, to tyranny and oppression.  Yet survey after survey shows that most Americans favor rigorous firearms regulations.

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