Repost and more...the day after another mass shooting.

[Sancho]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026982171

Newsweek's suggestions and two paragrapns:

Americans Don't Have the Right to Bear Just Any Arms

"Ban accessories that serve no purpose other than to transform guns into weapons of mass slaughter, such as attachable drums that carry 100 rounds.
Adopt rules that make it harder for criminals and the mentally ill to obtain firearms.
Outlaw the public display of weapons.
Allow the concealed carry of guns using the “shall issue” standard.
Stop trying to ban scary-looking add-ons that primarily protect the shooter, but don’t make the gun more dangerous to others.
Forget attacks on the “armor-piercing bullets.”
Abandon efforts to outlaw “assault weapons”—a politically loaded phrase with a mishmash of meanings that pretty much amount to nothing.

Unfortunately, the NRA has been working for years to make sure lunatics and felons can obtain guns as easily as possible. After the deadliest shooting in American history took place at Virginia Tech (32 dead), Congress passed the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007. When introduced, the legislation called on states to submit mental-health records to national databases maintained by the FBI. The NRA declared this violated the Second Amendment and, through intense lobbying, limited the definition of mental illness only to people institutionalized or found by a court to be a danger. Even if a psychiatrist believed a patient posed a threat, nothing could be done to keep a gun out of that person’s hand.

That’s a wonderful system, and it is totally worthless in the real world, because almost half of all gun sales are private transactions that entail no procedural safeguards. No identification is required, there’s no background check, and no records are kept. This is wonderful for a criminal—or a psychopath. This is what gun opponents mistakenly refer to as the “gun show loophole,” but no such loophole exists. Private parties are allowed to sell at gun shows—and anywhere else."

Regardless of the type of gun, bullet, or detailed restriction, to me the only way to effectively implement a process of gun control (other than taking all guns out of circulation) is a license in your pocket for anyone to possess or use a gun. No license, then no purchase, access to shooting activities, or transport.

Newsweek helps make the point that dangerous people have easy access to guns.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. I'd rather have open carry than concealed carry.

Make all guns and holsters bright orange, so you know EXACTLY who is packing heat, and make it automatic jail time to carry a hidden firearm.

Make it so the rest of us can avoid the people who are carrying dangerous weapons.

[Sancho]

2. I have no problem with a public reveal...but I'd rather keep dangerous people away from guns at all.

Like some other countries - you should demonstrate a high level of need and lots of training to transport a gun at all.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

3. Universal background checks is a good start.

For EVERY firearm transfer. No just giving your gun to a friend or relative, no inheritance. It has to be sold, if only for a buck, and that sale has to be registered and have a background check. Every gun has to have a registered owner at every moment in time, and that registered owner shares liability if that gun is used to commit a crime unless they have reported it stolen.

[Fred Sanders]

4. These "solutions" are oddly NRA-sounding, and do nothing about 320 million guns.

Too many guns is the first and primary problem, reducing the numbers is the first step....and why reinvent the wheel - gun control laws are everywhere in the world. Cut and paste.

P.S. Guns are not "scary-looking" because of how they are designed to appear, they are scary because they are designed to kill easily and quickly.

No 320 million guns, no killing by 320 million guns.