Originally Posted By: buster
Thoughts on this?
Quote:
The weapons that are desired to be out of the hands of civilians will already be in their hands by the time the ban is passed and signed into law. The only way to accomplish the goal is to make it so that if one owns a banned weapon, the federal government owes the owner the book value for the weapon and then must confiscate it. Otherwise the law will have no teeth and really no impact. Additionally, mental health records must be digitized, nationalized in a databank, then matched against any attempt to purchase a gun as well as current gun ownerships (i.e. if someone living in your home has a documented history with mental illness or personality disorder, you may own nothing more than a handgun). Finally, it should resemble aspects of the original crime bill where resources must be poured into local, state, and federal law enforcement to track down and cut off the source and flow of illegal weapons - except for real this time, not the half-assed attempts made in the past. I would also involve the CIA in this endeavor.
For those who say that the law won't work because 1. the guns are already out there, 2. it's about mental health, not guns, 3. guns don't kill people, people kill people, 4. it's a violation of American freedom, or 5. all of this is pie in the sky and too difficult to pull off, I would say this: If you feel it is better to stand with folded arms on this issue, you must also be willing to say (out loud) that you are okay with these shootings happening occasionally, including the one in Newton.
I am very sorry, but I have thought about this issue for years. I have considered many different angles to the story and kept considering them after Columbine, VA Tech, Arizona, Aurora, CO, the Sikh Temple in Wisconsin, and the mall in Oregon. Now, I no longer feel torn or conflicted in any way, shape, or form. I am now completely convinced that we, as Americans, are a wicked and violent people and can no longer be trusted with high-powered and deadly weapons, nor do we have any ground to stand on in order to call this a "right." The news of twenty dead children, none of which was older than seven, has completely sealed this for me. The American people must now be treated like you would treat a child that is near a stove with a kettle of boiling water bubbling away.
It is regrettable that Americans cannot be trusted with these weapons any longer. It is regrettable for many Americans that take gun safety very seriously, are careful with their weapons, and follow the rules. But, I honestly don't care. No one's weapon collection is worth one of those kid's lives in Newton and constitutionally, no one person's right can infringe upon another person's. If people want to argue the Constitution, then the shooter's mother's "2nd Amendment right" to bear those weapons infringed upon the 5th Amendment rights of all 26 individuals killed by her son. To me however, that argument is meaningless. The fact is that Americans can no longer be trusted and if there is another assault weapons ban it needs to be retroactive - you may keep a handgun or a weapon that is designed for hunting and nothing else (i.e. a weapon that must be reloaded after one or two rounds are fired). I would accept nothing less if I was in a position of political power in Washington. If people want to hold a more powerful firearm with multiple rounds in a magazine, then join the [censored] Marine Corps. Otherwise, you don't need it and cannot be trusted with it.
Thoughts on it ?
I lived through it in Australia with their buyback.
A Krico .22 semi (declared illegal) got $150, versus $300 new in the shops. Govt argues that they were "used", and not "new"....and also knew that people who typically obey the law would comply anyway.
an AR15, or SLR, which was already illegal in nearly every state and therefore had no "market" (in the traditional sense) was $7,500, in order to try to flush out those that had already been illegally obtained. Note the AR had never ever, in the history of the country been a legal import, but there were/are thousands of them...even after the buyback, people were buying them.
Semi auto pistols, including 10mm glocks are the tool of choice in the more than 180 drivebys that have occurred in my state this year. Pistols have never been readily available, and the most likely thefts appear to have been armed guards for wheel guns. 10mm glocks have NEVER been sold to the public in this country, and therefore have never had a base of machines to go underground.
Interestingly, not long after the buyback, the Police justified Glocks over 6 wheelers, and lost an entire container load, on a train between two major cities. It blipped into the media, and flashed out again.
Yep, stolen guns are a problem...but if the authorities don't fess up to them being a part of the problem, and a problem that simply doesn't exist through the average Joe in Oz...and the buyback achieved squat
