I Love Guns, But I Want Better Gun Control Laws

[SecularMotion]

I love guns. I was raised around them and go skeet shooting often to blow off steam, which I thoroughly enjoy. I also value my right to do so. For years, I would argue with anyone who even hinted at gun control, demanding that they could not infringe upon my rights. Looking back, I feel I was being entirely selfish.

Like many other Americans, I spent many days last year glued to the images and stories of those who have been impacted by gun violence, and it changed my perspective entirely. As I watched the events of the mass shooting at a church in South Carolina unfold, something snapped inside of me and I finally understood the urgent need for better and smarter gun legislation. I could not shake the overwhelming fact that the shooter, Dylann Roof, should never have been allowed to have a weapon.

Currently, the National Rifle Association, and much of my social media feed, is up in arms — pun not intended — over President Obama’s plan for executive actions to alleviate gun violence. He announced his plans yesterday while wiping away tears, saying "we do have to feel a sense of urgency about it. In Dr. King's words, we need to feel the fierce urgency of now — because people are dying."

He’s right.

http://www.teenvogue.com/story/gun-owner-supports-president-obama-gun-control-orders

[Duckhunter935]

1. so what new laws do you want?

[flamin lib]

4. These could reduce gun deaths (suicide and homicide) by 30% if all enacted:

UBC with electronic database registration of all firearms
Permit to purchase from chief LEO
Safe Storage
Increased budget for FBI and ATF
Bi-annual inventory of every gun store that has more than two guns show up at crime scenes

I personally would like to see a $1000 tax on every semi auto firearm and a $100 tax on magazines.

[GGJohn]

5. ...

UBC with electronic database registration of all firearms

NO. UBC? Fine. Registration? NO.

Permit to purchase from chief LEO

NO. I shouldn't need a permit to exercise a Constitutional right.

Safe Storage

No problem, but enforcement would be a problem.

Increased budget for FBI and ATF

YES.

Bi-annual inventory of every gun store that has more than two guns show up at crime scenes

For what purpose?

I personally would like to see a $1000 tax on every semi auto firearm and a $100 tax on magazines.

Not only NO, but Hell NO, that's a sin tax, and it would be ruled unconstitutional by the courts, rightly so.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

8. re: $1k/gun $100/mag sin tax

Not even a "sin tax" since IMHO it is only an effort to control consumption that prevents actual drunkenness (which some folks generally accept as a problem) buying either a gun or a mag does, no matter how many or how large, is only considered a problem by a small (and sometimes unreasonable) faction.

Such a tax is no more a "sin tax" than a semi-auto rifle with a bayonet lug, removable mag and adjustable stock is an "assault rifle". And yes absolutely such a tax would be unconstitutional.

[GGJohn]

11. I refer to it as a sin tax,

because to these people, it's a sin to own these weapons and mags.

[Duckhunter935]

7. thanks secularmotion

Lol, I almost thought he actually responded.

UBC, yes
Fully fund law enforcement, yes
Annual inventory of gun retailers, yes

The rest no.

Now will you compromise and allow sound suppressors to be taken off the the NFA and sold like any other safety item. Since that is what they are.

[beardown]

9. Stopped too short on the taxes.

I think that right wingers firing up people in general and gun owners in particular is a key issue as they not only make extreme folks think that they are being oppressed, but enable the repubs to reduce spending on social programs, mental health support, and economic justice.

I'd put a $10 tax on every discussion board posting I don't agree with, a $100 tax on every word published I don't agree with, and a $1,000 tax on every broadcast word spoken that I don't agree with. We can use the money for mental health support and gun buy backs so you'd get something for giving up a Constitutional right.

Now, back to reality.
UBC is generally well supported. Registration a no go.
The KKK greatly approves of having chief LEO approve purchases.
Yes on safe storage.
Don't think that it's affordable and/or workable to do bi-annual inventory. Guns sold in 1997 and 2016 used in crime in 2016 so store get's inventoried?

Where did you get your 30 percent figure?

[Eleanors38]

12. Permit to purchase from CLEO: Foundation of Southern Jim Crow laws.

The South has rid itself of these race-based laws by enacting shall-issue laws so all who qualify may exercise their Second Amendment Rights. I don't want a return to the Good Ol' Days.

[deathrind]

2. Some sanity on an...

Otherwise insane subject.

Thank you. I also enjoy target shooting with both my .45 and 12 gauge. There is no logical reason why 100% BG checks on both private and commercial firearm sales cannot happen The is no logical reason why mag caps cannot happen. There are several cases where a shooter was subdued when they had to reload.

Mandatory safety training and refresher training would be good also. Too many people hurt or kill themselves or others each year because they get complacent. They think the gun is empty when cleaning it or showing it to someone only to find out too late that it is not or they do not store it properly and the 2 yr old finds it...

On top of that seeing yearly registration like a car tag implemented would be a good idea also to ensure a person is still legal to own a firearm. No felonies or judgements against them.

As a gun owner myself having to do the items mentioned above would be a PITA but it would be well worth it if it saved just one life let alone twobor more lives. The idea that no changes should be done to try and reduce the violence produced by firearms because it would not stop ALL gun violence or because there are too many guns in circulation is simply the product of a lack of cognitive abilities.

[Kang Colby]

3. I read this article word for word.

Then I deemed it rubbish. The author just doesn't get it. I'm happy that she is willing to wait a little longer to purchase a gun, that's cool bro. The problem is that the statistically overwhelming majority of homicidal criminals just don't care. The problem isn't the concept of law and order. The issue is that creating acts of mala prohibita in an attempt to reduce mala in se just doesn't work...and I don't think you can find an example of where it does. You don't need a PhD in socioeconomics to understand that. Once someone is willing to accept the risks posed by engaging in gang violence, domestic violence, rampage killings, or terrorism...they aren't going to be hampered by gun control.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

6. "I ... go skeet shooting often to blow off steam"

Most skeet shooters enjoy the sport to test their skill, either trying to best their opponents in some sort of league or match, or the best their own previous scores.

I'd be leery of anyone who picks up a gun when they feel the need to blow off steam. I'd be leery of any opinion offered by a person who needs to blow off steam via firearms.

[beevul]

10. " Looking back, I feel I was being entirely selfish."

" Looking back, I feel I was being entirely selfish."

Then you're a fool. Individual rights are selfish, by nature, and protection of them is the law of the land.