AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) said:
Duke said:
Hmmm, I don't entirely agree with him, but I can sure see how someone can get to feel that way.
No one needs to agree. That's kind of the point. I'm not required to agree with the people here with bad ideas, no evidence to support their plans, no sense of history, and who's policy choices blow like the wind with Hollywood.
No one needs to agree, but if you don't agree with the hive mind here ill wishes, banning, "yellow cards," and locked threads are all in the menu.
Guess what's not on the menu? Free, open, honest, evidence based discussion, and mutual respect are all not on the menu. Conform or be cast out. So the answer is still a resounding no.
If you don't agree, prove me wrong. I'm always fine with that. Saying I'm wrong, telling me to get therapy, or telling me to die in a fire doesn't make me wrong. It all just proves you have nothing to counter my points. Since you have no easy solution to this problem that will actually work, I recommend we keep the 2nd amendment and allow law abiding citizens to be armed however they choose to be armed. That's it.
So what emotional, diversionary, or name calling tactic will you choose next? Pardon me for not bothering to check again. Per usual most of society wants to feel like they are doing something, while in reality they choose to harm others. I hope you all feel great as things continue to deteriorate, because they will. Your inaction, indecision, well wishes, and emotional pleas will fuel the fire.
Awright, Anthony, let's you and I try to have a chat and perhaps we can provide some illumination. Some decades ago I read The Samurai, the Mountie and the Cowboy which offered some comparison of gun control in different countries. If you haven't read it, you should. Anyway, the best example of cooperative gun control as national discussion the author offered was New Zealand. At that time, the firearm enthusiasts and the government worked relatively hand in hand to respect and (hopefully) enable changes desired by the other side. Since then, there appear have been significant changes as a result of mass murders. What I find interesting about the linked article is that it sounds like NZ police, despite the leeway allowed in the law for their discretion in licensing, don't appear to be abusing that discretion as have major US metropolitan police departments (like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago) into a de facto ban. If that were not the case, it would remove a significant argument from the Pro 2A side. NZ laws have tightened considerably but it sounds like there's a hierarchy of approval stages available for shooters. I have no information if that acquisition/ownership process is honest or simply a "who you know" or bribery situation now. Perhaps we have a Kiwi Hive member who can offer some information.
Now it's true this is an apples to oranges comparison because NZ doesn't have the Second Amendment to consider. But my point in writing this is to discuss if the pro 2A advocates were to start with a clean piece of paper to try and reduce/eliminate mass murders with firearms, what legal changes (if any) might be on the table. I've heard the Parkland shooter had an extensive list of warnings which were not acted upon. I'm guessing the Uvalde shooter will be no different as time goes on.
Now I've only done some online research so it's probably not worth much in terms of scientific integrity, but this article emphasizes the four main points:
These trends include that mass shootings are often:
1. Perpetrated by someone legally prohibited from possessing a firearm
2. Perpetrated by someone who displayed prior warning signs
3. Intermingled with acts of domestic violence
4. Far deadlier when they involve military-type weapons
So let's see if we can arrange a hierarchy of successively higher thresholds to prevent the perpetrator from succeeding. The thrust of the discussion centers around "assault" firearms so let's focus on that for the purposes of this discussion. To me, the key issue we need to deal with is pre-meditation. I'm not aware of any mass shooting with a military-style weapon that was spontaneous. Can anyone offer an example of one that was? Now we have to look at the intended purpose of the perpetrator. I'm not aware of any cases where the goal of the shooter was to commit murder then survive. I'm going to take that as a case so rare it fails to warrant discussion. So basically we're talking about a perpetrator who plans ahead and is willing (or intends) to die.
1. So how do these perpetrators acquire their firearms? If they have no criminal record and already own them, I've seen no proposals that will work other than an outright ban. Per my previous posts that's flatly unconstitutional and will not happen. If they acquire one from a private sale, the only prevention would be a "Universal Background Check". There are two problems with that. First, it basically sets up a database for a Federal firearms registry which violates Federal Law. That's a non-starter. Second, in more than one recent shooting, the background check failed to function properly (that raises some interesting questions as to why the background check failed to identify the perp but nobody seems to want to discuss that--it's just assumed background checks actually work). I'm wondering if suspending governmental liability protection in that situation might offer some incentive for the bureacracy to work, but I have my doubts. Now what if, as a seller of a firearm, the ability for the buyer to acquire some sort of background check certification upon which I could insist they provide before the sale might be useful? E.g. I have an AK which I'm willing to sell you. You have to provide me a certified copy of a background check from your local LEO to shield me from liability. Notice I'm not required to do so, but I think anyone who didn't insist upon it might be civily liable. I'm not a lawyer, though. The other problem is that A sells to B with the background check then B sells to friend C without the background check. Would that situation be palatable to 2A supporters? Of course the other problem with addressing supply/acquisition is that 3D printing will soon be so common as to render the question of supply moot.
2. Warning signs reflects background checks. I am very loathe to appear embracing something like "social scores" but the gun control crowd do not take into consideration how in the most recent murders there were plain and obvious signs the shooter was unstable. We need some means of bringing these to the attention of LEO who will treat it with the same gravity as an Amber Alert. I do not know whether LEO are compelled to respond in that situation, but it seems to eliminate civil rights violation concerns. That reporting cannot be anonymous--I'm thinking LEO responds to both the reporter and the alleged problem simultaneously. I would think that sort of report gets an automatic top priority and anyone abusing it gets to face federal jail time.
3. Again, part of the background check. Does a completely transparent governmental process of using an algorithm scanning rap sheets for patterns violate a civil right?
4. Again, Constitutionally protected firearm--not much that can be done with that.
Okay, that's enough for this post.