There might just be an opportunity to solve the problem of mass murders caused by disturbed people with guns. If we can get the politicians to stop talking long enough to pay attention. They may realize they’re both wrong on the issue of gun control. Note how carefully I chose my words there. Guns usually do not kill people. Disturbed people with guns kill people. Maybe that is a point we are able to all try to agree on? Maybe we are able to all agree that we have a real public safety issue in the United States today the effect of a system that is broken. Unfortunately, we’ve lots of proof what can fail once the system fails. It’s time for people to stop talking and start offering real answers.
To begin with, we need to have the politicians on the left stop politicizing this problem. They, a lot more than anyone, have been behind the culture of violence within America today. The liberalization of the media, television, movies, and on-line games have already been defended by their first amendment rights with little or no regard for the after effects they cause. We accept that it is not an infringement of your first amendment rights to yell fire in a crowded theater but showing gratuitous violence is a lot more dangerous. There are and should be limits on which Hollywood can produce.
We also know that the proper defends their second amendment rights in justifying weapons like the AR-15. Automatic weapons have always been banned as is running a bazooka, but the right properly states that the AR-15 isn’t an automatic weapon. https://www.freedom-weapons.com/ is a false argument. The problem with the AR-15 is not whether it is a computerized weapon. A 9mm handgun has a muzzle velocity of 1250 feet per second (FPS). When the bullet hits a bone, it stops. The muzzle velocity of an AR-15 is 2700 to 3300 fps with respect to the size of the barrel used. When it hits a bone, it splinters the bone and the bone shards splatter causing a lot more damage. This is why it must be classified as an assault weapon. Now don’t get me wrong… I do not advocate getting rid of the right to possess an AR-15. Lets admit what it is and ensure it is difficult to get one assuming you have problems. I would like to solve a public safety issue by keeping it from the hands of individuals with mental issues and criminal backgrounds. Even the NRA seems to support this. The problem is the current system meant to do this does not work.
Consider this… Under today’s system, who’s responsible for checking someone’s background when they head to buy a gun? The gun store owner is. That is except if it’s a private sale or a gun show, in which particular case nobody does a background check (and there is no 3-day cool off period). The gun store owner, whose job it is to sell guns, does the background check. There is an obvious conflict of interest there.
Further, there is absolutely no true point where all the persons information comes together. In the Broward County attack the individual had a brief history of mental illness, he previously posted irrational statements on his web-site, people had reported him to the FBI, and the police have been called to his house over thirty times. No one was singularly in charge of saying “This person should not be able to buy or own a gun.” For the same reason, public safety, we ought to not defend his to own a gun under the second amendment. Public safety must override his second amendment rights.
Just how do we solve this?
We must license people to buy and possess guns. The licensing procedure ought to be tough because it should be an obstacle that weeds out those that should not own a gun. The licensing authority ought to be the point where all the persons background comes together. To get a license to possess a gun, there must be a 40 hour program and yet another 40 hours for an assault weapon such as for example an AR-15. Police and veterans who have had training should be deferred from the training… but should still feel the application process. For anyone who is caught with a gun and so are not licensed there must be mandatory jail time and all your guns should be confiscated.