It's kind of like saying countries with nuclear weapons have generally handled them ok - so what's the big deal with letting any country that wants to have nuclear weapons?Originally Posted by CathyA
It's kind of like saying countries with nuclear weapons have generally handled them ok - so what's the big deal with letting any country that wants to have nuclear weapons?
Are you familiar with the many thousands of existing laws on the books? Many of which don't get enforced, except when convenient?
I'd start with cleaning up the existing mess of legislation, at the local and state levels. Then at the Federal level. Then ruthlessly enforce what remains. (Maybe stop having the Federal government sell guns to Mexican drug cartels while we are at it.)
And I'd keep violent criminals away from guns by not re-releasing them into society if we believe they are still violent. The fellow mentioned above who killed the four police officers in Lakeland in 2009 had 5 felony convictions in Arkansas, and was released from there on parole from a 108-year sentence that had been reduced to 47 years. He then violated parole several times and committed further violent crimes, was resentenced, reparoled, moved to Washington State, where he then violated his new parole and was facing multiple felony charges for violent crimes, released on bond, committed rapes while out on bond, was rebonded after his hearing for the rapes, then he decided to go kill himself some police officers. First let's try keeping these monsters off the streets, forever, then maybe we can talk to normal law-abiding citizens about why they don't have to worry about defending themselves...
Also, I'd like to see concealed-carry licenses recognized by all states, as per Article IV, Section 1 of the United States Constitution, as they currently recognize drivers' licenses and marriage licenses (unless you happen to fall in love with the wrong person of course...).
I'd like to see mandatory firearms safety training made part of the health curriculum in the K-12 school system.
I'm perfectly fine with requiring firearms not in use to be stored safely. I note that many states already require such, and every firearm I have purchased in the past decade or more has come with a lock, instructions on safe storage, and sometimes a mechanism of securing the lock to a fixed object.
I'm quite open to discussion of how we can prevent people who have mental difficulties from accessing firearms, in the context of when it is appropriate for us to preemptively strip someone of their freedoms who has not yet caused any harm...
I prefer an approach based on data and civil liberties over knee-jerk emotional reactions.What do you think the political approach should be in addressing new cries for gun control?
Exactly Steve. In an attempt to think positively it wasn't all that long ago that we didn't understand most physical maladies, either. Great progress has been made in understanding the mental and emotional side of humans, but my layman's guess is that we haven't even scratched the surface of what's really there. It's a daunting task to be sure, but then again most humans were riding horses in 1900 and less than 70 years later we were brushing lunar dust off our boots. Just maybe mankind's next great adventure will be a little closer to home...
"Back when I was a young boy all my aunts and uncles would poke me in the ribs at weddings saying your next! Your next! They stopped doing all that crap when I started doing it to them... at funerals!"
This -- as a starting point. If we need to fine-tune after that, then lets do so. But starting here is a great idea.
And then, i agree with what is often called "prison reform." And of course we need reform in health/human services in terms of mental health care/etc.
But this:
I'm quite open to discussion of how we can prevent people who have mental difficulties from accessing firearms, in the context of when it is appropriate for us to preemptively strip someone of their freedoms who has not yet caused any harm...
is very true. I'd happily talk about options. I love talking about options. But I don't believe that violating the 14th amendment is that cool.
This might be of interest to some:
http://www.nationalreview.com/articl...ngs-john-fund#
A few things you won’t hear about from the saturation coverage of the Newtown, Conn., school massacre:
Mass shootings are no more common than they have been in past decades, despite the impression given by the media.
In fact, the high point for mass killings in the U.S. was 1929, according to criminologist Grant Duwe of the Minnesota Department of Corrections.
Incidents of mass murder in the U.S. declined from 42 in the 1990s to 26 in the first decade of this century.
The chances of being killed in a mass shooting are about what they are for being struck by lightning.
Until the Newtown horror, the three worst K–12 school shootings ever had taken place in either Britain or Germany.
Almost all of the public-policy discussion about Newtown has focused on a debate over the need for more gun control. In reality, gun control in a country that already has 200 million privately owned firearms is likely to do little to keep weapons out of the hands of criminals. We would be better off debating two taboo subjects — the laws that make it difficult to control people with mental illness and the growing body of evidence that “gun-free” zones, which ban the carrying of firearms by law-abiding individuals, don’t work.
...
Thanks, Bae. I had seen this, but not from the original source. Here is a moving first person opinion from someone who grew up in Newtown.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tucker-reed/more-than-prayers-sandy_b_2312583.html
Playing a piano is a little different than buying a gun unless you are an awful at playing it.
You are correct in that I was offensive and I apologize. Uninformed I would have to disagree with you. I have been using firearms since I was sixteen and got rid of most of my guns a few years ago. I still have a shotgun and the 22 rifle I got for my 16th birthday. I was a gun nut at one time. I am no longer a gun nut. That does not make me uninformed.
What is a "clip"?...
Hint: Garands have "clips". AR-15 derivatives have "magazines". The AR design has been in service since 1963, the design is from 1957. Did you serve before this, and lack familiarity with the firearms of the past 60 years or so?
Or is your use of "clip" in your previous posts simply indicative of a lack of knowledge of modern firearms and proper nomenclature?
I was thinking today about how many young people Adam's age that I meet today are depressed and on prescription drugs. They just aren't grounded. When you have a job you enjoy, get a good daily physical workout, have healthy sexual release, and are able to support yourself and pay your bills, you are balanced. You set goals and hopefully work towards those goals and achieve them. You have friends and romance, and you enjoy life. When I was 22, I was having the time of my life! I felt on top of the world. I was talking to my neighbor about it, and she feels that these kids have no hope. (She has two boys in their early twenties. One is in jail.) Most of them still live with their parents, so they have conflict over rules and they don't mature the way they would if they were living on their own.
I wonder how many of the young adults I meet are really emotionally disturbed. (I don't mean Adam.) I've had students in this age bracket come to my class and tell me afterwards, "I did drugs, I cut myself, I drank," and on and on... It's like they are proud of their self destructive lifestyles and want sympathy. There's just such a heaviness of self pity to them. I don't know if it's all the technology, reality t.v., or what. I was very happy and excited about life at that age. It's really a shame.
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