The problem with guns is not the clip size. It is not the caliber. It is not the semi-automatic factor. It is not the number of guns or gun owners. The main problem with guns is the fact that the wrong people sometimes acquire a gun or guns. This includes mainly criminals and mentally unbalanced individuals, but also some people who own guns for “protection.” Trying to pass more useless laws that do not address the real problems, and that only law-abiding people will follow, maybe, simply adds more bureaucracy and we certainly do not need that.
These laws will not affect the ability of criminals or the mentally unbalanced to obtain guns, none of the current gun registration laws have done so in the past, and none of the new ideas for control will either. We are a society of gun owners, it is too late to try to limit or take away someone’s guns.
What should be addressed is the large amount of guns owned or being purchased by law-abiding citizens for protection, whether from home invasion, an unstable person in a mall, or from our own government. Very few of these people have been properly trained in gun use and safety.
There are two main ways that would help reduce gun tragedies. First, and foremost, every person who wants to purchase or own a firearm should complete a gun safety course to learn how to shoot and take care of the firearm. During this training they would learn how to store, protect, care for, and fire their gun. Hopefully this would make them a more responsible gun owner. They would then receive an endorsement on their drivers license, or government ID, like the endorsement required for motorcycles, and then they could buy firearms legally. Second, the government needs to get serious about recognizing and treating mental illness. This means appropriating the funds for diagnosis and treatment, and increasing access to medical records.
The paranoia and fear induced by the recent tragedies is understandable, but the answer to this problem is not to make more useless laws, or persecute the majority of gun owners, who are responsible people, but to go after the root of the problem. We do not need to control guns, we need to control “some” people.
Mike Hanson
Arlington
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