Gun Rant

A gun issue rant:

First let’s get the preliminaries out of the way. I am a center left person. Deal with it. Yet, I can see both sides of the issue. Both have some good points and both have some stupid points.

First to those on the left. You are not going to get all the guns banned or confiscated. There is this little thing call the “Second Amendment.” It is a time honored tradition here in the United States that goes back 200 years. The Supreme Court has up held various versions of it since the beginning of the country. So, the guns are here to stay.

To the rabid gun owner, knock off the dumb rhetoric. The government is not coming for your guns. It’s not that you are a great threat to them, you not, it is the fact that 100 million guns is just too much of an effort for them. They have bigger fish to fry than you. So, quit thinking that you are going to help in some great uprising.

So, what can be done to prevent these mass shootings and killings that seem to be on the rise? Well, several things. But this means that both sides have to give a little. And admit that the other side has some good points too.

The NRA is right one major point. The government should be enforcing the current laws. Even the most gun friendly state has laws about gun ownership and those laws should be obeyed. So, what does this mean? Well, that means gun owners be careful for what you wish for. There was study done that showed that about 70,000 violations of application and background checks for gun ownership and only 7,000 were followed up.

What can the gun owner do to give a little? Three basic things. The first is Universal background checks. This means closing the gun show loophole. And no whining about how hard it would be to perform at the show. With the smart phones and iPads that are out there, the background check could be done in minutes. This would prevent people that have criminal records from getting these guns. Yes, I know that they will probably get them somewhere else illegally, but that does not mean you have to help them. This also means that states need to start reporting the info needed for the background check more consistently and accurately. Currently only 12 states actively report the correct info and 25 give it lip service.

The next two are hard for gun owners, but should be done. No more large ammo clips. Look, if you feel that you need a thirty round clip to hunt Bambi and Donald, than you are a piss poor hunter. And no that large clip is not going to help if you think that you are going over throw the government. Large clips like that just show that you are compensating for something.

The next is to stop the sale of all assault rifles. Notice that I did not say ban. Let’s stop putting more out there. You don’t need an AR-15, a Bushmaster, or a .50 cal for home defense. A hand gun or shot gun is better and easier to handle and cancel if necessary. Those of you on the left that are now screaming at me, here is a simply solution for you. Make the gun owner an offer to buy them. You would be surprised at how many of them will take you up on the offer if the price is right. Then you can do what you want with the guns.

To you on the left, you can take heart in a couple of things. Justice Antonin Scalia in his majority decision in D.C. vs. Heller stated that (And I’m paraphrasing) weapons, like the M-16, that would be used for true militias can be banned from the public. Yet he also stated that the Second Amendment does protect guns (Handgun, shotguns, and rifles) and that the Second Amendment rights are not unlimited.

Lawful guns owners do not have anything to worry about from people that want to stop the next Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, or Newtown. But throwing rhetoric around, about the Nazis and Communists taking guns as being the same as any sort of talk about gun control defeats your argument. And more guns, especially armed teachers in schools is not the answer. Kids will know which teacher is armed and the ones that have something to prove or have issues will take them out first.

So, there it is. You can call me names, insult me, or ignore me. But these are reasonable and honest feelings and ideas. It is a good compromise and everybody gets a little.

Follow up:

One of the points brought up about these mass shooting is the mental health of the shooter. Some have blamed the media (Video games and movies) for leading to these problems. Baloney!

In the 1950s, it was Comic Books that were leading kids to delinquency. In the 1960s, violent Westerns were the cause of campus up risings. In the 1970’s, Saturday morning cartoons were the cause. The 1980s saw how Crime Dramas and films were the cause of drug use. Finally, the 1990s and 2000s, it was Video games and Sci-FI/fantasy/cop films that lead to trouble with kids.

Kids today with real mental health issues don’t get the help that really need. Cut backs in Mental Health programs, the stigma of admitting that you have a problem, and people in just plain denial about a family member with an issue, have led to more people on the streets that are danger to themselves and society.

We need a real plan to get people mental health care. Not the stop gap measures that insurance companies think they can get away with. But real help that can sometimes take years to deal with.

So, what can be done in the mean time? Parent have to quit being in denial about the state of their kids health. Little Jane or Junior are not perfect. If they need help, don’t pretend that there is nothing wrong. Mental Health problems are harder to deal with then bumps, scraps, and bruises. Admit that there is problem and get the help.