10-02-2015, 09:51 AM
The sticky wicket with this is that the right to bear arms is a right. So banning firearms in the hands of the citizenry is not only implausible, but unconstitutional. However, the 2nd does have that phrase of well regulated in there, and the courts have upheld that our rights are not without limits. So I am for regulations to try to improve safety and responsibility with firearms.
The NRA and many right wing types like to point out that banning firearms will not really do any good, which is correct. It's an argument I often bring up with abortion. Making something illegal just means that there is no oversight involved and so the activity becomes more dangerous to the health and safety of the citizenry. Safety courses, state level registration (because I do have concerns about a federal firearm database), liability on owners for lost/stolen/sold firearms not reported, universal background checks, etc. Obviously there are a lot of details that would need to be hammered out, and nothing would solve the issue because there will always be people that intend to do harm with or without a firearm and if they want to use a firearm they will find a way to get one. But we can at least put up some barriers to make it more difficult.
The NRA and many right wing types like to point out that banning firearms will not really do any good, which is correct. It's an argument I often bring up with abortion. Making something illegal just means that there is no oversight involved and so the activity becomes more dangerous to the health and safety of the citizenry. Safety courses, state level registration (because I do have concerns about a federal firearm database), liability on owners for lost/stolen/sold firearms not reported, universal background checks, etc. Obviously there are a lot of details that would need to be hammered out, and nothing would solve the issue because there will always be people that intend to do harm with or without a firearm and if they want to use a firearm they will find a way to get one. But we can at least put up some barriers to make it more difficult.
"A great democracy has got to be progressive, or it will soon cease to be either great or a democracy..." - TR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
