Mass Shooting Allen, TX Outlet Mall - May 6, 2023

Where did I say parenting wasn’t important?

You’ve extrapolated my disproving your initial point in this thread that increasing divorce rates in the US ( which are actually falling) were causally related to an increase in mass shootings in the US the past 20 years) with a whole host of other things and trying to make it look like I don’t understand the importance of family structure, parenting, etc.

It’s not as if families broke, mental illness started and good parenting ended at some discrete point in time here, and now we have this huge mass shooting problem in the US as a result. And mass, easy, fast, cheap access to weapons is also irrefutably part of the problem. Why can’t you admit that simple piece of the puzzle without bowing up and acting like someone is trampling the Constitution and pointing fingers at everything else?

 

Seriously, screw anyone defending existing gun laws and blocking any new meaningful legislation to address this.

 

“Republican Rep. Barry Moore of Alabama and three of his fellow GOP House members on Tuesday introduced a bill “To declare an AR-15 ……the National Gun of the United States.”

Today I unveiled my bill to make the AR-15 the National Gun of America,” Moore tweeted. “We must send a message that we will meet every attack on any of our constitutional rights.”

House Republicans introduce bill to declare AR-15-style assault rifle US 'national gun'

Lauren Boebert, George Santos Co-Sponsor Bill To Make AR-15 The ‘National Gun’

 

Could it be due to multiple factors???

 

Then if Manchin was the lynch pin they should have gotten something through he would pass or get him on board.

 

Stupid.

 

You can go find actual studies on this showing it doesn’t lead to violence. Go find another excuse.

 

Question is what causes someone to do this?

 

You post summarizes why it is sadly not likely to be solved soon or easy.
Many factors but it’s too easy to lock in on one thing.
The lines have been drawn and neither side wants to budge.

 

Access to the gun is the one thing you can make a difference on in relatively short order, if we had the courage to do so.

 

Can you be specific?
And how do we handle the illegal trade or those who would find a way regardless?

 

It’s also the one thing that separates us from other first world countries.

 

Not l_boy, but here are my thoughts:

1. Make prospective gun owners demonstrate real time mental fitness. Don't assume those without existing disqualifying mental health events are healthy enough to own guns. This will also go along with insurance (see #4).
2. Track gun purchases. Any sale, gift, or theft of a gun needs to be reported (important for #1, #3, and #4).
3. Gun safety classes are mandatory and required every few years, as they serve an important purpose of priming people to consider the responsibility of gun ownership.
4. Require insurance for gun ownership. If your gun is used in a crime (due to theft or due to your own carelessness or criminal actions), that insurance has to pay out to the victim or survivors of the victim. Internalize the externalities. If the gun is stolen and destroyed (see number 5), the insurance pays you for it. Let the private sector discourage risky behavior. The only out on this is if the gun is used in self-defense.
5. Start a massive gun buyback program and require destruction of all guns used in a crime without resale (which is the opposite of the law in some states, which absurdly require the state to put them back into circulation).

 

I can get on board with all of these.

What penalties for those found in possession of a gun illegally?

 

Same as now. Prison terms that escalate based on any other associated crimes. However, those regulations would likely increase the risk of having those penalties exacted on an illegal gun owners, as police would more easily be able to verify that somebody shouldn't have a gun.

 

1. Impossible to nail down with any meaningful legislation. How do you demonstrate not being a loon?

2. Too expensive and likely not to make much difference. The gov can't even track your taxes without random audits, adding that task would be extremely expensive.

3. Can be done in K-12 education , especially in high school. Teach weapon safety, active shooter profiles, and training/drills. Everyone should know gun safety and what to do in an active shooter situation.

4. Not sure what insurance would solve other than discouraging gun ownership by economic means. Just ban guns.

5. Just make all fed taxes = 0% for every year you turn in a firearm.

 

Mental health exam. Allow an appeal. But too many of these have occurred where everybody that knew the person knew they were mentally unstable. And they legally bought a gun anyway.

The government knows what house you own, what car you own, and many other things. Tracking gun purchases really isn't that hard or expensive. Especially when you think of the cost savings in other ways.

No reason for people without guns to go through the training. Just make it a precondition to gun ownership. Everything else is a waste of money.

It internalizes the externality of gun ownership. Make somebody pay for the potential that their guns will be used to harm others. It will let the free market encourage safer storage and less risky behavior with guns overall.

Or just pay people a flat rate for guns. Like any other product. Not sure why somebody with millions in income should get a higher benefit from turning a gun in than a poor person.

 

The Mental Health Matters Act was put before Congress last year. 205 Republicans voted against it.

Roll Call 459 Roll Call 459, Bill Number: H. R. 7780, 117th Congress, 2nd Session

 

As any one of these post psycho shooter threads demonstrate, Constitution means zip to the lefties...