Orlando shooting

I would not say that it just a matter of toys, as you put it. Whether one likes it or not, firearms are deeply interwoven with the lives of the people in large regions of the United States, and with the history of those regions. In many large cities, firearms are criminal instruments, things you rob and kill people with. In regions like the Plains States, the West, and much of the South firearms are common ordinary tools like shovels or tractors. Any firearms legislation we enact must take account of the differences between the regions of the nation and between town and country. To be equitable and enforceable such legislation must also take account of the difference between responsible and law abiding firearms owners (the majority, from what a non-expert like me can tell) and irresponsible and criminal owners. Legislation by itself cannot solve a problem; it can help solve a problem when it is equitable, enforceable, and supported by public opinion.

 

Nope

 

I have seen no legislation offered that meets that criteria or is even aimed at the guns or the sources of guns used in crime. Guns used in crimes come from two main sources, straw purchasers and stolen guns.
There's not a lot you can do about stolen guns, but guns from straw purchasers are trackable from the manufacturer right down to the retailer. If the ATF would do their job and track every gun picked up on the street they'd soon have the names of the straw purchasers. A quick sting or raid and you could put them away for life. The ATF doesn't do that, so the guns flow unchecked.

Federal prosecutors don't appear because they don't wish to prosecute these cases.

Here's the federal law, and it's damned strict, or would be if enforced: http://famm.org/projects/federal/us-congress/gun-mandatory-minimum-sentences/

 

Enact all the laws you want, the criminals do not obey them. If you are intent upon murdering 50 people do you really care about breaking a firearms ownership law?

We need to fix the root problem(s), unfortunately it is very complex I believe and no easy fix exists.

KTK

 

That's not how it works....that's not how any of this works.
The Federal Sentencing Mandates require that Superior Courts sentence according to Federal Requirements.

 

I don't think so, many guns are made in other countries and they are not subject to American or Canadian laws.

Again it it blaming the baseball bat when some mad man beats someone's brains out. To my way of thinking the problem is much deeper than the inanimate object, we need to try to figure out why humans can be capable of causing so much misery, revel in it I'm afraid.

It is only common sense that some controls must be in place to stop folks from legally owning guns who should not own them due to mental issues or previous activities that show they are a danger. But this really is only a rudimentary check and easily circumvented by those of some small intellect and evil intentions.

As long as men keep placing the blame for these horrific acts on the inanimate object and do not address the root causes we are doomed to repeat history over and over again. As I said I do not believe there is a simple solution.

But to answer your question, no I do not believe all gun purchases start out as legal purchases but even if they did, I do not think that would not stop the killings.

KTK

 

I will finish with you now, you would appear to be incapable of any line of thinking that does not reflect your own, so further discussion with folks of your type really is waste of time.

Can someone tell me how to put someone on the ignore list as I have never done this before.

Thanks

KTK

 

And they don't.

 

More obtuseness. Every gun, foreign or not, is serial numbered. Even if you dremel out that number, a simple x-ray can bring it up from deeper in the metal. The guns are sold to wholesalers who then sell them to retailers and then to individuals with that number on file at each transfer. Straw purchasers make circuits buying one or two guns at each locale and then sell them on the streets of Chicago or Detroit for a huge markup.
So, the police are picking up hundreds of guns a year in each city, and they could easily be tracked right down to the retailers and thus the actual purchasers. If a dozen or fifty guns turn up on the street from the same guy, you know you have your straw purchaser.

ATF won't do that. The local police can't do that since these guns are coming from outside their jurisdiction.

Why won't the federal government carry out that work? I don't know. I suspect that if they lowered the inner city murder rate they'd have no reason to scream for gun bans. When you get outside the inner city, our murder rates are not markedly higher than any other nation in the developed world.

 

Hand-wringing.

 

#153
"Politically motivated events like San Bernadino and Orlando..."
Would disagree and say those events were religiously motivated.

Appreciate your good work, and delicate touch here Bella... Could be wrong- it seems to me that your recent promotion has encouraged other mods to post more than they had in the recent past...

 

As to your first I think it would be more precise to say 'Political-Religious' motovation.

As to your second, actually i'm censoring myself some and for the others I believe they have a bit more time to post.

 

I will ignore registration and/or confiscation and if it makes me a criminal so be it. I do not have a criminal record, I haven't even had a traffic ticket in over 30 years, but the greater good will be served if I register or relinquish my guns? How so? I, as you did took an oath to support and defend the Constitution, there was no expiration date to that oath. Last time I checked the 2d Ammendment was an integral part of the safeguards included in that document. If politicians want to change that protection they need to do so by the Ammendment process and not bit by bit by legislation, executive order or bureaucratic regulation. You call them toys, and in one sense they are, they are also a check against over reaching government. The Bill of Rights, the first ten ammendments, were guarantees used to induce the states to ratify the Constitution. Without them a number of states would have refused to ratify the Constitution and would have not submitted to a strong central government.
You mention the guy with 300 guns, it does appear excessive but what harm is he doing? What would be an acceptable number? 50? 10? 1? 0? I don't want an unelected, unfireable bureaucrat deciding. Say I turn in my AR's and AK's, what then stops them from deciding my 03 Springfield is a sniper rifle, or my M1 has too large a round capacity? What if they decide 5 rounds is the max acceptable and an eight round internal magazine is excessive? If they pass these laws I'll keep my mouth shut and passively resist. When they start using law enforcement to kick in doors and forceably seize weapons from otherwise law abiding people I will protest. When the first innocent is killed I will become an insurgent. When that happens if I can find 20 like minded people I can shut a city down. If it comes to that, the sheep that are willing to trade freedom for security will lament the good ole'days when Al Queda and ISIS were the threat.