Gun Control

Some members of congress, and the president, want new gun laws put in place. They want to ban magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, thereby making most existing pistols illegal, automatically. I'm still trying to understand how these people think implementing new laws will, somehow, convince criminals to stop doing criminal shit.

All this is going to do is increase the number of underground gun sales and turn law abiding citizens into criminals if they don't allow currently owned firearms to be grandfathered in.

Perhaps if they'd get rid of "GUN FREE" zones, where criminals know they can commit their crimes with little resistance, things would be different.

Perhaps if we secured our schools and protected our children as well as we do members of congress, things would be different.

Perhaps if we raised our children to know right from wrong and to not believe they are victims that are entitled to "justice" when they get offended, things would be different. 

Mass shootings weren't even a thing until the last several decades, yet guns were around and easily accessible all this time. Many families owned guns and taught their children to use and respect firearms. We need to get back to the ways of the early 1900's and teach our children real values and morality. The recent push for acceptance and wokeness has turned our society into mentally unstable cowards that can't handle real world situations.

HR 127 - Sabika Sheikh Firearm Licensing and Registration Act

HR 127 was introduced by Jackson Lee from Texas on January 4th, 2021. Here are some highlights and a link to the document so you can read all 19 pages for yourself, if you'd like.

Registration: A federal system of tracking possession and licensing of firearms will be maintained by the ATF. Not all states require registration of firearms at this time.

Location: Gun owners must provide all firearm info to the ATF as well as where the firearm will be stored. Am I supposed to call them every time I move it? Like, during the day it's on my person, at night it's by the bed? If I get up to go to the kitchen in the middle of the night and take it with me, do I have to call and report that too? 

Access to Data: This information will be housed in a database "accessible to all members of the public" as well as law enforcement, the government, etc. This I have a serious issue with. If this passes, you can bet your sweet ass that I will NEVER follow these guidelines. Not a chance in hell am I going to allow my personal information to be in a public database along with all the guns that I own and where I keep them. That's just asking for criminals to break in or attack you.

Insurance: Owners will be required to carry firearm insurance at the cost of around $800 a year. No mention of what this insurance has to cover but that's more than car insurance, in some cases. That better cover me getting sued if I have to shoot someone.

Overall, another poor attempt to curb gun violence that is way off the mark. All this will do is turn law abiding gun owners into criminals and open up way more personal gun sales that are off the record to avoid being tracked.

4 gun control measures shot down

I'm so sick of hearing about how the NRA is to blame for gun safety measures not getting passed. Republicans proposed 2 bills, 1 that was sponsored by the NRA and they still got shot down.

Democrats proposed laws nearly identical to what is already in place but not being fully enforced...they were shot down.

Republicans proposed allowing police more power to block gun sales and communicate about suspicious purchases....and they were shot down.

Democrats can't think of anything new so they reword the current laws and expect that to make a difference. Republicans offer common sense legislation and get shot down because they aren't being harsh enough.

I doubt the Democrats have any desire to actually solve the gun problem. If they did, they'd stop bringing up the same arguments that have been debunked for years.

Stricter guns laws have done nothing to curb crime in Chicago. In fact, it's gotten worse so let's just stop that argument...it won't work.

They want to ban "assault rifles" but that wouldn't stop a criminal from buying multiple hand guns and doing the same damage.

It's clear that mass shooting don't become mass shootings if there are armed citizens around to stop the attacker early on. It takes too long for Police to respond and it costs lives.

The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. Whether that be a police officer or an armed citizen.

I can't say this enough

Why don't strict gun laws reduce crime? Simple answer? Because criminals don't obey the laws. They know there will be less resistance in areas with stricter laws and gun free zones so they choose those areas as their targets. Gives them more time to commit their crime before anyone can stop them.

California already has some of the strictest gun laws in place but that didn't stop the mass murder in San Bernardino. Why? Because criminals do not obey laws. They will obtain their weapons by any means necessary.

Until the database used for background checks is inclusive of all police stations across the US, we can never be fully sure that someone that passes a check is "legit". I'm sure there's a backlog of reports that would disqualify people from purchasing a gun but that information isn't in the database used for background checks.

Until the databases that the president wants to use for background checks (terror watch list) are cleaned up and have legitimate criteria for additions, we can't be sure that people won't be failed or passed when they shouldn't be. The terror watch list has all sorts of folks in it that make no sense. And it takes an act of God to get removed.

We need to do a better job of addressing mental health issues and fully vetting any refugees that want to come here. Have better programs in place to help people with mental health issues so they don't become domestic terrorists.

Just as important, we need to stop allowing these immigrants to change how the US works. They are forcing their lifestyle on our communities and overtaking our world. If they thought America was so great, why are they trying to change it? If you don't like the way America is and works, go back to where you came from. We must stop catering to these people. Stop pandering to these extremists that care nothing for our way of life.

It's not about gun control

I may sound like that insensitive prick that has no compassion after a tragic event. That's simply not true but I'm sick and tired of gun grabbers immediately turning these events into a call for more gun control.

I have no problem with background checks and such to ensure that's guns don't wind up in the hands of unstable folks. However, I'm not on board with some of the suggestions of these folks that are so afraid of guns that they think nobody should have them.

Criminals break laws. No amount of restrictions are going to stop bad guys from getting guns and creating havoc. All you'll do by outlawing guns is prevent law abiding citizens from protecting themselves when confronted with these lunatics.

You'll notice that nearly every mass shooting occurs in a "Gun Free Zone". Why do you suppose that is? Because criminals know there's nobody there to stop them before they cause a large amount of devastation. Putting up these signs is nothing more than an advertisement for the nut cases to attack.

What we need to fix is the people problem that has become apparent during the last 10-15 years. People have no respect for others or themselves. They believe life is disposable & care nothing for the feelings or needs of others.

Until we fix the people, the violence will continue.

Arguing gun control

What concerns me about stories like this is that they are almost an argument FOR more tracking and gun control. Think about it. The author repeatedly mentions how the current system doesn't have access to enough information to detect that the applicant is lying. What would be the obvious solution to this problem? More tracking & databases of health/mental issues and gun owners in general.

So, the Louisiana theater shooter lied on his handgun purchase application. Should we be surprised? I can honestly say that it's almost too easy to buy a gun these days (in some states).

I can go into a store and walk out with any gun (that I can afford) within 30 minutes with no hassle or suspicion at all. No waiting period in my home state and a very short form to complete. What if I lie on the form about my history? Would they catch it? How could they detect a lie about mental health when that information is protected as confidential?

While I don't want my personal health history made public, I don't have a problem with a database that includes items like this to check when someone wants to buy a gun.

I know that makes me a traitor to many 2A supporters but I cannot agree with blindly allowing anyone to buy a gun as their "right". Unfortunately, times have changed and we have to adapt to keep ourselves safe...from each other.

When faced with open carry activists...RUN!

@thegunwire has decided the best way to deal with people that open carry in public is to immediately leave the business. Nevermind that you have unpaid goods and services on your person and could be charged with theft. It makes much more sense to break the law than be a mature adult and calmly respond to the situation.

I'm sure the stores won't mind at all and you won't be remembered for being the nitwit that caused a scene that involved the police because you ran out on the bill. If your desire is to leave the establishment fast, you'd be better off calmly paying the bill first because you'll be detained gar longer if the police are called.

This is yet another example of how idiotic people have become. It is NOT ok to break the law just because you don't like what someone else is doing. If you don't agree and want to leave...Fine! Do it the right way and don't be an ass about it.

If you really think about it, you can tell a good guy with a gun from a bad guy with a gun pretty easily.

Good guys will openly carry so you know who they are.

Bad guys are going to hide their weapons until it's too late and then you're screwed.

Don't be too quick to assume but be aware of your surroundings.

Focus shifts to mental health as opposed to gun control

Congress has decided to focus on mental health issues to curb gun violence instead of gun control because it's not being fought by folks like the NRA.

I'd say that is what they should focus on because that IS the problem. Stop trying to blame your change of focus on the NRA.

Can you honestly tell me that you think any of these folks committing mass murders are in their right mind? Maybe if we were using the resources we have to their fullest the criminals wouldn't be able to get guns through legal channels.

Granted, that won't stop them from getting them illegally if they really want one but it might make it a little more difficult.

NRA to blame for death by vehicles & knives now?

First, let me remind you that the victims of this horrific crime spree were not all killed by gun shots. 3 were stabbed to death, 3 were shot and 13 more were injured in other ways, 4 by being run over by the criminals BMW. That means, 19 people were hurt or killed...only 3 with a firearm, yet the headline of this article says "Calif. student goes on shooting rampage". Even if you only count the fatalities...the percentage of deaths by knife and gun are the same! Why was this turned into an anti-gun rant? Talk about a biased reporter and publication. How is that a fair headline when the majority of the damages were not even carried out with a gun?

Now, on to the story at hand. The father of one of the victims is understandably upset but his misdirected grief & blame are way off base in the article posted by the Washington Post. Not surprisingly, these articles always fail to point out that this happened in California, where stricter gun laws are already in place. We can all see how well those worked.

This father says he doesn't blame the parents of the gunman, or the police, or the mental health system. He blames the NRA and has no qualms saying so. Apparently his experience as a criminal defense attorney has blinded him to the true ways of the criminal mind. On that note, I wonder how many similarly charged criminals he's represented in his career!

'Martinez reserved his anger for the NRA, saying he has no understanding for the group’s position on automatic and semiautomatic weapons after a series of mass murders involving such weapons.

“I’m angry with the leadership of the NRA who always want to characterize this as if it’s a lone madman. That it’s an act of nature we have to tolerate,” he said. “I am angered by how they have worked to normalize this.”'

Nobody accepts these lunatics and their shooting sprees as normal and if they do, they are clearly the folks that we need to start looking more closely at...as they probably shouldn't have access to guns either.

Yes, there are some extreme members of the NRA that feel all gun laws are too harsh but they do not speak for the majority of us. There are equally extreme characters on the anti-gun side as well and I've seen many hateful, almost threatening, posts from many of them. Don't try to act like the NRA members are the bad guys here!

Most NRA members will tell you that we need better methods of keeping guns out of the hands of those that could be dangerous; however, you won't stop criminals from getting guns by also stopping legitimate citizens from buying them! I don't know why this is such a difficult concept to grasp for these extremists on the anti-gun team!

Stop the extremists!

In the debate over gun control there are far too many irrational extremists on both sides. The "gun grabbers" want to block all gun sales and stop people from buying & owning any gun for any reason. The pro-gun folks think you should be able to open carry any firearm, anywhere, any time.

Luckily, the majority of folks involved in this debate are somewhere in the middle...at least I hope that's the case. Unfortunately, those of us with rational arguments regarding the problem of gun violence are frequently pushed aside for the extremists and their psychotic ramblings that offer no solutions and reflect their lack of common sense.

Here are the most important points (at least in my opinion)

1. Tighter gun laws will NOT stop criminals from getting guns. They don't follow the current laws, why would they follow new ones?

2. In the absence of guns, criminals will find other weapons that are equally lethal and legal to obtain

3. If you restrict guns sales to legit owners, then only criminals will have guns and more people will be unable to defend themselves and more will die.

4. Better background checks would be beneficial as long as we can be assured that the government isn't going to try something stupid down the road and want to confiscate guns because they can't control things.

As I've always said... It's not a gun problem. It's a people problem.

We have to deal with the problem of mentally ill people in this country. Far too many people can't get help and those are the folks we should be watching for. They need help and we need better programs to identify these folks and get them the help they need.

Another issue is the sense of entitlement that many of the younger generation have. We've spent so much time telling them that they are all winners that they don't know how to deal with disappointment and failure when they get into the real world.

We have to stop worrying about our kids being upset because they don't win at everything. They need to experience competition, failure & let downs so they are prepared for life.

Life sucks, it's not fair and everyone can't always be the best. That is no reason to go postal and start killing people. You can't always get what you want and you need to learn to respect other people and their things.