Wednesday, February 27, 2013

The Gun Debate...

With gun control such a huge topic right now, I think it’s time for me to give my opinion on the whole ordeal and here it is…  Maybe it’s me but there needs be more restrictions and laws put in place to govern privately owned firearms.  My guess is that will be too broad for both the gun nuts and conservatives that want all privately owned guns taken away.

The gun nuts will try to tell me there are already too many laws in place and I’m trying to take away their rights due to the 2nd Amendment.  First of all the 2nd Amendment is a bill that was created in 1791 that gives people a right to keep and bear arms.  Let me stay that again, the bill was created in 1791 when none of those Founding Fathers could even fathom a semi-automatic or fully automatic assault rifle capable of killing 100’s of people in minutes.  Guns in 1791 were single shot weapons that couldn’t be reloaded within a couple of minutes.  They were loaded through the muzzle and by means of fire through a flintlock.  So basically, it was just as dangerous loading the damn thing as it was firing it at someone.  Revolvers wouldn’t be invented until 1835, use smokeless powder until 1885 or load bullets from a clip until 1890.  Shit, the first automatic rifle wasn’t even made until 1887.  Do you see the problem here?  These ancient “arms” weren’t capable of doing the damage they can do now.  If someone fired a 1791 musket in a mall, he would be tackled or put down before he could even load the thing a second time.

Let’s also look at why that Amendment was even put in there in the first place.  Well the country was brand fucking new and only extended as far as Ohio.  Which means there was a danger from Indians, other countries invading our young asses and wild animals breathing down our necks.  With an advanced military, police and other means of protection, I don’t think you have to worry about a Native American sneaking on your property to scalp your ass.

The nuts that want to stand behind the 2nd Amendment just aren’t being realistic.  Also, the Amendment doesn’t say that laws can’t be put in place to regulate “arms”. In fact, I think if you could go back in time and ask any of these Founding Fathers, they’d be all for restricting who gets “arms” and how they should be regulated.  Especially if you could show them how destructive they become.  For those that want to take them away entirely, that’s not fair as well.  Not only is their protection for that in the Constitution but I think people should have a right to protect themselves or own anything they damn well please.  Most of the gun owners in the country are actually pretty responsible and if you look at the recent tragedies, pretty much everyone had the person stealing the guns or obtaining them unlawfully.

Maybe it’s me, but here’s a sample of things I would do given the power to help with gun control.  First, broader background checks that include everyone in the household where a gun will be located.  If anyone in the household was criminally convicted, was/is mentally unstable or has any other socialogical problems, then the HOUSEHOLD can not have a gun.  I don’t care if Mother Teresa is the one applying.  If she’s living with a convicted criminal with a mentally bi-polar son in the house, no deal!  Second, take all fully automatic guns off the market for private citizens.  I’m sorry, but I don’t see the need for fully automatic rifles in the public.  Its fine for law enforcement and military but you shouldn’t need a fully automatic assault rifle to go hunting with your buddies or to defend yourself against an intruder.  Third, make those that abuse ANY and all gun laws subject to strict penalties.  Mandatory 5 years in jail for even the smallest gun infraction.  Maybe that’s too extreme but if the laws that abuse guns are strict more people will obey them.

Lastly, I would like to see mandatory training programs set up with skilled military and law enforcement groups teaching them before you can obtain a firearm.  I think passing a test and background check are not enough.  Setting up groups that teach the importance of safety, the importance of the laws and the proper techniques for owning and using a firearm would prevent accidents and hopefully tragedies in the future.

Maybe it’s me, but it’s time to smarten up and for both sides to start thinking logically about this situation…

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