02-22-2021, 01:21 PM
(02-22-2021, 09:34 AM)Au165 Wrote: I don't think we can ever put the genie back in the bottle unfortunately on guns and their prevalence in the country. I may be in a minority as I actually think background checks do very little in terms of preventing things as the sheer flood of weapons out there is part of that genie that can't be put back. In terms of school shootings, where I do a lot more work, most of these weapons are taken from people who did legally purchase the guns and would have passed a background check.
Yeah, this point has been made several times, by both sides, here n this board. There are far more guns than people in this country, short of dictatorial confiscation, nothing is going to change that. Also, there needs to be some perspective about these types of shootings. Your odds of being involved i one, or knowing someone who has, is miniscule.
Quote:For me, I think it's about accountability. If you want to poses these items then you are accepting the responsibility that comes with owning them. Failure to report a lost or stolen gun should be nationwide and it should be a felony, not a misdemeanor. If your gun is used in a crime, and you failed to report it lost or stolen, you should be charged with a felony on top of the failure to report. If your gun is obtained by a minor and used to hurt themselves or someone else, you should be charged with a felony.
Eh, there's a lot that go wrong with this idea. First, your gun could be stolen without you knowing. This would then require a positive defense from someone whose gun was stolen and then used in a crime. That's a big no no as far as criminal law goes, the burden of proof is on the state. Also, the people most likely to get by this type of law would be your amateur gun owner, the atypical gun owner who has one pistol to protect themselves or their family. Many, if not most, gun owners buy their gun, take it to the range once, if at all, and then store the gun, uncleaned for that day they hope never comes in which they will need to use it. A firearms enthusiast will have a safe and will be taking the firearms out of the safe on a reasonably common basis. Also, what if you take every reasonable precaution and your teenaged kid gets your gun and accidentally shoots someone? Your kid is now facing heavy charges and so are you.
Quote:Going this route still lets the enthusiasts have whatever kind, whatever capacity, and whatever amount they want...as long as they want to carry the responsibility for them. I think it allows responsible gun owners to continue exercising their rights and punished the irresponsible gun owners, the people even responsible gun owners hate.
I appreciate what you're going for, I just don't think what you're proposing is workable.
