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Gun control debate: Background checks
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- Posted January 9, 2013 by
- stealthdevil Follow
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Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
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Wrong Questions Will End In A Wrong Solution!
Like many posters here, I am also a veteran who proudly served his country. While I ultimately support my right to own and bear arms, I'd like to believe I am also wise enough to recognize this country also bears a level of responsibility and obligation to protect its citizens. Whether or not more strict gun laws, or bans on weapons is the answer is debatable because I don't believe a large portion of the population, including myself, are convinced more regulation is the solution.
How are additional gun laws and bans going to keep weapons and arms out of the hands of bad guys? I may be alone here, but I am not seeing hoards of criminals lining up at wal-mart and gun stores trying to purchase their weapons. The same may be said of the mentally ill. I beleive we're all intelligent and rational enough to recognize the laws being discussed and that have been discussed in the past aren't going to prevent this group of people from obtaining weapons with which to carry out mass shootings. People in this category of users purchase their weapons from the black market, or underground not from a retail outlet.
How are more restrictive gun laws going to prevent when someone who experiences a breif moment of insanity, or perhaps more approrpirately anger from purchasing a firearm? In the case of the horrible Newtown tragedy, how are the laws going to prevent the next shooter from "stealing" a weapon from a family member, or neighbor? They're not, the laws have no jurisdiction over "borrowing," or keeping your weapons in a secure and access restricted manner.
I suppose discussions around a complete weapons ban could be discussed, but then I am inclined to agree with Mr. Boston in regard to his comments that this current administration seems entirely comfortable with crafting laws for the populace, but are not applied to the law makers and politicians attempting to pass those laws.
My point is quite simple. We're not going to address the debate about gun control and provide an appropriate solution until we can begin to ask and answer the correct and appropriate questions. The first question is, how do we prevent weapons and firearms from getting into the hands of the wrong people? People who are known criminals, the mentally ill. When is this country going to take a stand within its own borders to crack down on arms smuggling, gang violence, and other crime? When is this country going to take seriously the threat to our borders and the hoards of individuals from all foriegn countries who enter it illegally for other purposes than to "achieve a better life"?
Arguably more important when are we as a society going to begin to instill in our children a sense of right and wrong? Where are America's traditional ethical values? I don't mean religious values. While I do believe in God and find that religion is useful for me and my family, whether or not someone understands the difference between right and wrong has nothing to do with religion. It has everything to do with whether or not we as parents are actively participating in our childrens lives, whether we care enough to show and demonstrate both compassion and discipline when needed. We talk of education in this country, yet I still see parents care more about going out on a Friday night, instead of staying home and doing family time. I see parents failing to attend parent teacher conferences, even parents who aren't willing to help a child complete their homework. So putting aside religion, where are our family values Americans used to have?
What happened in Newtown was a disgrace, a shame and utterly deplorable. I still weep for those children, the educators and families impacted by that horrible act. Aside from being sadenned by those events, I am outraged and angered. Yet, I am still left with the reality of the situation that there was, and will not ever be any amount of legislation that could have prevented the events of that day from occurring. If we enact an all out ban on weapon ownership, bad people will still figure out a way to obtain their weapons of destruction and there will still be mass shootings. If we enact more laws and regulations, that's only going to hinder law abiding citizens from purchasing and owning firearms.
Instead let's discuss placing more security at schools such measures could consist of replacing windows with bullet proof glass, increasing the ballistic capacity of classroom doors, engaging parents and our veterans in security services for the school (unarmed). Let's discuss more automated methods to place a school in immediate lock down. But let's not immediately and irrationally run out and remove this country's 2nd Amendment right to bear arms. Please do not allow this government to remove the single barrier that helps to ensure the people of this country have a capability to remove a tyrannical leader and government from office. This country was founded and born out of a recognition that governments if not properly checked and balanced could become dangerous, our constitution was developed with measures in place to ever prevent a tyrannical form or leadership. If history and recent events has taught us anything, we have not advanced enough as an entire society to allow our respective neighbors to live in peace, regardless of religious and political belief, ethnicity, lifestyle, or sexual make up. To believe we have is not only arrogant, but is outright ignorance and patently false.
How are additional gun laws and bans going to keep weapons and arms out of the hands of bad guys? I may be alone here, but I am not seeing hoards of criminals lining up at wal-mart and gun stores trying to purchase their weapons. The same may be said of the mentally ill. I beleive we're all intelligent and rational enough to recognize the laws being discussed and that have been discussed in the past aren't going to prevent this group of people from obtaining weapons with which to carry out mass shootings. People in this category of users purchase their weapons from the black market, or underground not from a retail outlet.
How are more restrictive gun laws going to prevent when someone who experiences a breif moment of insanity, or perhaps more approrpirately anger from purchasing a firearm? In the case of the horrible Newtown tragedy, how are the laws going to prevent the next shooter from "stealing" a weapon from a family member, or neighbor? They're not, the laws have no jurisdiction over "borrowing," or keeping your weapons in a secure and access restricted manner.
I suppose discussions around a complete weapons ban could be discussed, but then I am inclined to agree with Mr. Boston in regard to his comments that this current administration seems entirely comfortable with crafting laws for the populace, but are not applied to the law makers and politicians attempting to pass those laws.
My point is quite simple. We're not going to address the debate about gun control and provide an appropriate solution until we can begin to ask and answer the correct and appropriate questions. The first question is, how do we prevent weapons and firearms from getting into the hands of the wrong people? People who are known criminals, the mentally ill. When is this country going to take a stand within its own borders to crack down on arms smuggling, gang violence, and other crime? When is this country going to take seriously the threat to our borders and the hoards of individuals from all foriegn countries who enter it illegally for other purposes than to "achieve a better life"?
Arguably more important when are we as a society going to begin to instill in our children a sense of right and wrong? Where are America's traditional ethical values? I don't mean religious values. While I do believe in God and find that religion is useful for me and my family, whether or not someone understands the difference between right and wrong has nothing to do with religion. It has everything to do with whether or not we as parents are actively participating in our childrens lives, whether we care enough to show and demonstrate both compassion and discipline when needed. We talk of education in this country, yet I still see parents care more about going out on a Friday night, instead of staying home and doing family time. I see parents failing to attend parent teacher conferences, even parents who aren't willing to help a child complete their homework. So putting aside religion, where are our family values Americans used to have?
What happened in Newtown was a disgrace, a shame and utterly deplorable. I still weep for those children, the educators and families impacted by that horrible act. Aside from being sadenned by those events, I am outraged and angered. Yet, I am still left with the reality of the situation that there was, and will not ever be any amount of legislation that could have prevented the events of that day from occurring. If we enact an all out ban on weapon ownership, bad people will still figure out a way to obtain their weapons of destruction and there will still be mass shootings. If we enact more laws and regulations, that's only going to hinder law abiding citizens from purchasing and owning firearms.
Instead let's discuss placing more security at schools such measures could consist of replacing windows with bullet proof glass, increasing the ballistic capacity of classroom doors, engaging parents and our veterans in security services for the school (unarmed). Let's discuss more automated methods to place a school in immediate lock down. But let's not immediately and irrationally run out and remove this country's 2nd Amendment right to bear arms. Please do not allow this government to remove the single barrier that helps to ensure the people of this country have a capability to remove a tyrannical leader and government from office. This country was founded and born out of a recognition that governments if not properly checked and balanced could become dangerous, our constitution was developed with measures in place to ever prevent a tyrannical form or leadership. If history and recent events has taught us anything, we have not advanced enough as an entire society to allow our respective neighbors to live in peace, regardless of religious and political belief, ethnicity, lifestyle, or sexual make up. To believe we have is not only arrogant, but is outright ignorance and patently false.
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