Wednesday, October 04, 2017

The Essence of Gun Control

An email friend of mine sent me her nephew's post:


> The first car was built in the mid-1880's, at approximately the same time that the first fully automatic gun was made. Approximately 15 years later, when cars started to become more prevalent, Chicago and NY required testing before being allowed to drive cars. The first age restriction was placed for driving cars in 1909. It took the US, in total 15 years to start getting serious about determining who is qualified to drive. From there, we now have restrictions on the size of engines, speed limits, vigorous training and licensing testing, and regular license renewals, with testing. While at the same time, it took nearly 55 years to enact the Federal Firearms Act, which began the firearm dealer licensing system. Seems logical, after all, back then cars must have been used on what seems to have been a regular basis to conduct mass killings, whereas guns must have been there so people can shoot out the tires of those trying to run them down.
>
> I agree with the right to bear arms. Most argue against the slippery slope of regulating or taking away parts of that freedom. Really? That ship has sailed. Why not bear nuclear arms? Oh yeah, they weren't around when the second amendment was written, and that would just be plain old stupid. But what about people having cannons in their front yards, after all, cannons were around then? Oh yeah, we have that thing called common sense. But let's get back to cars. Clearly since regulations were faster there and have better evolved. If I have a couple of drinks and happen to be pulled over, even though I haven't hurt anyone or intended to hurt someone, I can have my license pulled and be put in jail. I have no clue if similar laws exist where gun holders in public have similar consequences. If someone leaves a bar with a gun, and a police officer sees them, is the gun confiscated? Is their right to use a gun is taken away for a while? Does the gun owner goes to jail? I really don't know the answer to that, and don't feel like looking it up right now.
>
> I'm tired of going into movie theaters and looking at the exits, not so I know where to possibly run in the event of a fire, but in an event of a shooter. When going into a theater with my family, I literally run through options of where to run, and how many of them I can get on the ground and lay on top of to shield them from gun fire. This is not normal. Why do my kids have to go through active shooter drills at school? Somehow we look back at ducking under desks as crazy, but we are back at it, for a much more real and random scenario. The first thing in every college tour these days has the tour guide boasting about not being anywhere on campus without having at least two emergency call boxes visible. At a recent freshman orientation I literally listened to the head of public safety who was previously a chief of police for one of the largest police forces in the world, discuss active shooters and other safety concerns. He even had the head of the local FBI field office in attendance. This is not normal!!!
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> So here's the solution. Stop playing partisan politics. Stop feeling like the answer always needs to be in the extreme in order to protect something. Give me a break. If a hunter needs an automatic weapon to kill a bear, they are not a good hunter. Enact stronger gun controls. Background checks, safety testing, regular license renewals, restrictions on number of rounds, restrictions on types of weapons, no silencers. If a gun is allowed out in public, open carry must be required. What's the point of a concealed weapon? If a bad guy sees someone with a gun, they may think twice before shooting. Why have them start shooting and then realize that there is going to be a shootout.
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> Enough is enough!!!!! I can't even imagine what my kids will have to deal with when they have kids.

NOT ANYMORE

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