Doc, as I mentioned in another thread, we will never be able to stop gun murders in this country. With illegal immigrants and others coming through our porous southern border, firearms will always find a way here into gangmembers’ hands. Chicago had 400+ gun-related deaths (most from handguns) in 2012, and most of those were gang-related. New York had 300+. LA similar. And I’m willing to bet most of those firearms were purchased out of the back of a van or from a cartel or three. You could ban the sale of firearms, confiscate all firearms, and ban the sale of ammunition in this country (all violating the 2nd Amendment while doing so), and you’d still have gun violence in this country because we don’t have border security for spit.That doesn’t mean to just ignore the gun violence, but what should be done is to take a rational and even-handed approach instead of the knee-jerk actions that are being taken now. If criminals want to get a firearm, they aren’t going to go to the local firearm store and purchase one. They are either going to steal one or buy one illegally. The Republicans are right on this matter. First, we need to enact and use the laws we have in place now instead of drafting new laws that won’t do one bit of good to curb violence. Just like immigration “reform,” drafting new laws while not enforcing current laws will mean whatever else you come up with won’t do diddly squat.Secondly, they need to make a more robust early-detection system for those with mental disorder. We can’t have a psychologist blocked by HIPAA in reporting someone who is clearly homicidal to the police. IMHO, we should make a list of red-flagged citizens who have been reported as mentally unstable to trigger a background check flag, instead of forcing a registration of law-abiding citizens into a national database, like the idiots in Washington are suggesting. The list will be smaller, and protect the privacy of many more individuals. One thing that I struggle with understanding is the liberal mentality on this subject. They insist on a registry of all firearm owners, but their entire platform is supposed to be about individual liberty. So why are they pushing for more government oppression instead of sticking to their base concept?
Doc, as I mentioned in another thread, we will never be able to stop gun murders in this country. With illegal immigrants and others coming through our porous southern border, firearms will always find a way here into gangmembers’ hands. Chicago had 400+ gun-related deaths (most from handguns) in 2012, and most of those were gang-related. New York had 300+. LA similar. And I’m willing to bet most of those firearms were purchased out of the back of a van or from a cartel or three. You could ban the sale of firearms, confiscate all firearms, and ban the sale of ammunition in this country (all violating the 2nd Amendment while doing so), and you’d still have gun violence in this country because we don’t have border security for spit.That doesn’t mean to just ignore the gun violence, but what should be done is to take a rational and even-handed approach instead of the knee-jerk actions that are being taken now. If criminals want to get a firearm, they aren’t going to go to the local firearm store and purchase one. They are either going to steal one or buy one illegally. The Republicans are right on this matter. First, we need to enact and use the laws we have in place now instead of drafting new laws that won’t do one bit of good to curb violence. Just like immigration “reform,” drafting new laws while not enforcing current laws will mean whatever else you come up with won’t do diddly squat.Secondly, they need to make a more robust early-detection system for those with mental disorder. We can’t have a psychologist blocked by HIPAA in reporting someone who is clearly homicidal to the police. IMHO, we should make a list of red-flagged citizens who have been reported as mentally unstable to trigger a background check flag, instead of forcing a registration of law-abiding citizens into a national database, like the idiots in Washington are suggesting. The list will be smaller, and protect the privacy of many more individuals. One thing that I struggle with understanding is the liberal mentality on this subject. They insist on a registry of all firearm owners, but their entire platform is supposed to be about individual liberty. So why are they pushing for more government oppression instead of sticking to their base concept?