Acceptable solutions to firearm violence

In my opinion, the laws concerning what one can, and cannot legally own are just fine. I don't support bans of particular types of weapons or high capacity magazines, as these bans do not work.

What are some solutions which do not involve pointless bans?

Some ideas:

- While incidents such as the ones in Connecticut and Aurora, CO are especially shocking and tragic, these incidents make up a small portion of overall gun related deaths. Most gun violence is related to gangs and felonious activity. This is where the bulk of our resources and attention should be focused

- Mandatory licensing for the ownership of all firearms.

- Mandatory safety training for all gun owners.

- Stiff fines for your weapons showing up at crime scenes, as a result of improper storage (theft).

- Possibly mandatory pysch screenings for those who purchase firearms.

- Removal of weapons from those who are submitted for psychiatric treatment (though it would difficult to avoid bias and such).

- Extremely harsh penalties for black market dealers.

What are some other ideas?

 

Federalize all gun ownership, taking these ridiculously lax laws out of the gun friendly south and central US. Meaning require every gun owner to sign up for a federal gun registry. Uniform all gun laws, if that means certain states will lose concealed carry permits so be it.

 

As a fervent supporter of the 2nd Amendment, I must respectfully submit that most of what you have on your list will do little to prevent what we saw lst week in CT, or in OR, or CO, etc.. The bottom line is you can make guns nearly impossible to obtain through legal means and those who want them will still get them--by whatever means necessary.

There is only one solution that I can see even having a marginal impact on assaults committed with firearms: ZERO TOLERANCE. America is unique in that we are one of the few countries on earth that trusts its citizens to regularly carry on their person the ability to deliver lethal force. With this ability comes a grave responsibility. The problem, in my view, is that we as a society have decided to relieve the individual of said responsibility and have instead sought to blame everything under the sun from violent video games to fluoride in the water, to "lack of godliness" when in reality, there is only one person responsible for the discharge of a firearm every single time: the person who brandished the weapon, aimed, and squeezed the trigger.

So my position is we need to make a stand here: If you are convicted of a crime and you used a gun, YOU GO AWAY FOREVER. Life in prison--no parole, no handwringing, no beard scratching, no time for good behavior, you are just gone. And I mean if you walk into a 7-11 and stick a gun in the illegal alien's face behind the counter, that's enough for me--you have lost your right to be a member of my socierty because you have shown me that you can not handle the awesome responsibility that comes with freedom.

Let the flames begin.

 

We should follow Constitutional provisions regarding the militia to the letter. This means that the Federal Government should increase its role in the organization, arming, and disciplining of the National Guard. In doing so, the following aspects should be established:

1. All adult citizens 18 through 64 are required to register as a member of the National Guard.
2. Registered adult citizens who seek to not own a gun for private use must attend biannual firearms education sessions.
3. Registered adult citizens who seek to own a gun for private use must place their firearms in a National Guard gun registry, a similar provision to mandatory licensing of all firearms. They must attend mandatory functionality and competency trainings with any and all firearms before being able to use them in private, a similar provision to mandatory safety training for all gun owners. Use of an unregistered weapon or failure to be certified as a responsible gun owner is subject to punitive civilian punishment comparable to those under the Uniform Military Code of Justice.
4. All adult citizens will be subject to mandatory psychological screenings every year.
5. Removal of the firearms of people who psychological screenings.

General solutions:

1. Harsh penalties for black market dealers
2. Expansion and modernization of psychiatric wards. We need a massive public health improvement campaign.
3. Passage of a national may-issue concealed carry law.

 

First you have to remember that you simply cannot stop the random wacko, particularly if said wacko is suicidal. There is absolutely nothing you can do about killers like the Lanza wacko. So just emote your brains out about the CT incident but leave them at home when formulating public policy.

You really want to do something about gun violence? That's easy. Vigorously enforce existing gun laws in high-crime areas. Put the gang members that do most of the shooting (of minority victims) in prison. Make sentences for gun violations consecutive to any other sentences incurred at the time. For example, if Billy Bob gets caught for selling meth and has a gun (what self-respecting drug dealer isn't packing?) and get s two years for the drug violation and two years for the gun violation, today most judges run the sentences concurrently, so Billy bob does two year on the two violations. If gun violation sentences are served consecutively, billy Bob does four years in the Big House. Deterrent? Maybe, maybe not, but at least you get a bad actor off the street twice as long.

In no way shape or form is it acceptable to penalize law-abiding gun owners for the actions of a lone wacko.

 

Many of these people have something go wrong in their life and then go down and buy a gun. If we made it mandatory that you have to wait 30 days before getting a gun after buying it, it would help give that person a cooling off period where things might look different to them then.

Make a law that rifles and hand guns can hold no more than a 10 round clip. Our troops fought 2-3 wars with a rifle that only held 8. Make it a heavy fine for anyone that has a bigger one. I know there are some people who can cut and weld clips together and make much larger clips, but I think they are the exception, not the rule. Make it so if people want to fire more rounds without reloading that clip, they would have to buy more. That would at least give people a chance to grab him before he can change clips.

Make it a law if you sell a gun, you have to give the name, address and serial number of the gun and buyer to authorities.

All guns must be registered.

 

Enforce existing laws like you mean it and then get back to us.

 

I would also require gun makers to put in a lever that must be pushed down before the button is pushed to drop the magazine out of the gun. It would give people an extra second or two to rush the shooter before he can put in another magazine.

 

Exactly! In some states, it is not even mandatory to actually 'report' a lost or stolen firearm.

Here is an example, of why I think many more Federal Laws will ultimately be created and enforced:

It is a no-brainer... to generate and implement laws which aid law enforcement in tracking/controlling illegal firearms activity.

I don't know how many more people (including children) must die, in order for most Americans to come to their senses and be reasonably activistic about creating and enforcing better gun laws... but in light of what happened in CT this past week, it is surely worth considering.

 

I don't think existing laws is enough to stop the things that are happening. We could add the things I said without limiting a person's right to own a weapon.

 

Even so, we have to ask why those laws are not enforced, as you so casually claim they they aren't.

Can you cite examples and reasons why such laws are handled as you say?

 

Wow this works everywhere today:
We can send Egypt, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan... money to defend themselves and billions upon billions patrolling and securing the world with borrowed money but we can not properly defend our schools.

Companies give billions in bonuses every year but they can not secure the malls they have stores in or or malls they own.

Hollywood makes billions in profit promoting violence and they can not properly secure movie theaters that make them money.

We can send billions in health care aid around the world while we close mental health facilities in the US.

We can help subsidize medication in third world countries while mentally ill people in the US go untreated because they can't get the meds.

Adding to this we must look at the criminal element that constantly repeats its crimes. Our prison system does no work.

 

Its really quite simple, enforce the laws that are currently on the books. Stop feeling sorry for criminals because they may have had a rough childhood. Lock their asses up for a long long time.

In the case of murderers like Lochner, and others that do not kill themselves as they kill others, give them a very short and quick trial and then a public execution by firing squad.

 

I agree with your comments 100%----------to summarize them in a couple of words--------remove liberal thought from our society.

 

It's been a long time coming, this increasing awareness... that those who see making money/profit as their primary goal... do not generally care to invest in saving lives.

From our healthcare to our foreign policy, that is more evident than ever.

The American people are waking up (late/slowly). Things are about to change.

 

As I said before, existing laws won't stop the things that are happening with these mass murders. Some of the things I mentioned would help.

Many of these people have something go wrong in their life and then go down and buy a gun. If we made it mandatory that you have to wait 30 days before getting a gun after buying it, it would help give that person a cooling off period where things might look different to them then.

Make a law that rifles and hand guns can hold no more than a 10 round clip. Our troops fought 2-3 wars with a rifle that only held 8. Make it a heavy fine for anyone that has a bigger one. I know there are some people who can cut and weld clips together and make much larger clips, but I think they are the exception, not the rule. Make it so if people want to fire more rounds without reloading that clip, they would have to buy more. That would at least give people a chance to grab him before he can change clips.

Make it a law if you sell a gun, you have to give the name, address and serial number of the gun and buyer to authorities.

All guns must be registered.

 

Okay. How is your fascist notion, going to solve all of our problems?

 

I would also require gun makers to put in a lever that must be pushed down before the button is pushed to drop the magazine out of the gun. It would give people an extra second or two to rush the shooter before he can put in another magazine.

 

I don't agree with a national gun owner database. I think state level is the highest it should go.

 

as usual you attribute the problem to the wrong elements in our society. People made money in this country since 1776. The problems you cited, most of which I agree with, did not begin until the country began its swing to the left with FDR and his liberal cronies. We stopped requiring personal responsibility and self sufficiency and began to feel sorry for everyone that did not care for themselves (notice I said 'did not', not 'could not')

Liberalism has destroyed much of our society and our national pride. If allowed to go unchecked it will destroy this nation completely.

 

conservatism is not fascism. not even close. conservatism is freedom and personal responsibility. conservatism is small unintrusive federal government. liberalism is slavery to the state.

 

The guy in Tucson was taken down when he tried to change magazines in his gun and he had one that held more than 30 rounds.

 

true, but why does the average citizen need a 30 round magazine?

 

Lets make the law abiding citizen a criminal, how rich. Seems that the farther we push everyone to becoming a criminal the less safe we all become. At what point do you finally realize that as we pass more laws, the less safe we all become! You can not make everyone safer by making everyone a criminal.