Report: Guns in Home to Blame as Domestic Violence Deaths Surge in Phoenix
Attorney Marc Victor Disagrees
“The link between firearms and domestic violence is strong,” Schell said. “We need to look at our laws if we are going to stem this violence in Arizona.”
The coalition supports universal background checks for all gun purchases, stricter protective orders, and a federal ruling that classifies dating relationships within domestic violence cases, Schell said.
Separately, the Phoenix review team suggests legislators should weigh the options of waiting periods for purchasing guns.
Chandler attorney and criminal law specialist Marc Victor doesn’t believe waiting periods will change anything.
“The issue isn’t the guns,” Victor said. “The gun doesn’t do anything. It sits on the table. It’s the disposition of the person using the gun. Bad guys can use knives; they can use their hands to bash their wives.”
Advocates of the Second Amendment argue it’s the person, not the weapon, responsible for gun violence. This leads to a chicken and the egg scenario. Would an abuser have killed their partner regardless of a gun being present or is it the presence of a gun that leads to fatalities?
Victor’s stance is there is no argument about whether guns kill people. People kill people.
“It’s the truth,” Victor said. “It’s like gravity. It’s a fact. It’s a paperweight until someone uses it.”
Victor, who is the only attorney authorized to speak at the Crossroads of the West Gun Show in Phoenix, said he believes gun violence is a symptom of a larger issue.
“Bad guys do bad things, but we need to face reality,” he said. “We can pass a law that says bad guys can’t do bad things but the nature of bad guys is that they don’t care.”
Instead, Victor suggests legislators should shift their focus to ending drug wars, strengthening capitalist business incentives and property rights, and lastly, prioritizing rehabilitation over punishment for those who are incarcerated.
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