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| Reepicheep wrote: |
| Caedus_16 wrote: |
| Unfortunately as much as I think we need more money in mental health care part of our Bill of Rights can' be changed, so while we can regulate what is available to the public we still have to allow people to own guns. |
Allowing people to own assault rifles is ridiculous to me. What else are they going to use them for?
| Caedus_16 wrote: |
| I do, however, think they need a stronger mental health screen for it. But even if its illegal people will get their hands on them. Pot and cocaine are illegal, yet I know people who do the former constantly and I know some who do the latter fairly regularly. When we banned alcohol we just had a huge increase in trafficking and such, and indeed it worked its way into things like gatherings that also led to an increase in prostitution and drug use. So we repealed it. Legalizing marijuana is making it less of a taboo thing, but with guns there has to be more regulation. I'm hoping eventually it will be required to have a full psychiatric evaluation to buy one and that buying a gun safe will be mandatory so that kids won't have access to them. |
I hear the "people will get guns anyway" argument a lot, but I still think it would help somewhat. I wouldn't know where to begin looking for a shady arms dealer, so I doubt I'd be able to get my hands on an assualt rifle even if I wanted one. Also guns are a different thing than alcohol and drugs. I imagine less people would run the risk of getting caught with illegal merchandise without an addiction to it (though I suppose some people are addicted to guns  ).
I f people absolutely need guns, I like your idea of psychiatric evaluation... except that people would just steal each others guns. I still think an outright ban would be the best. |
A shady arms dealer isn't really that hard to find, I live in a smaller area of the midwest and we've got people who will sell guns to those who can't get them due to felon status or not passing the conceal and carry classes.
People borrowing each others guns will happen, of course, but with the school shooting things the problems start both in the classroom and at home. If we aimed at the mental health evaluations then we wouldn't have the problems we have, and that also lends a bit towards the "people will just borrow them" argument.
I believe in the right to own one, but I believe it should be a heck of a lot harder to get one. I don't own one because I don't need one but if I lived somewhere where I felt I might need one I'd buy one. I have my conceal and carry for other reasons, but a gun just isn't necessary at this point in my life. I have friends who own guns simply to 'exercise their right' but they don't need them. They shoot at cans on their land outside city limits. They don't even hunt to them. So that, to me, is a waste of time and money but they aren't people I'm worried about. I think its pointless for them to own them but they are mentally competent and for all the pointlessness they are ridiculously careful, have purchased full gun safes, and always unload everything when they come home. They are also fairly conservative and do not partake of marijuana or alcohol or anything that would inhibit mental faculties. They just aren't part of the problem.
We have issues with mental health. Raising the requirements and making people get full psychiatric screens would be the only way we can legally get this taken care of, we just aren't going to ban them, legally America can't. Maybe we might want to, but we can't.
Incidentally I agree with you about the assault rifles. Having those because they are cool isn't a reason to have them, no one needs to go deer hunting with a full-on auto. I hope that they take that off the market but they just aren't going to.
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Perfection is a lifelong pursuit requiring sacrifice. The only way to get it quicker is to sacrifice the most.
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