So, You Want Gun Control ....

[EC]

Been reading twitter, which is always painful after a mass shooting. One of the statistics that keeps getting thrown around is "39 people per day are killed by guns." Of course, it's obvious to anyone who has even a passing memory of the crime figures (14 shootings in 15 hours in Chicago yesterday .... ) that virtually all of those deaths are from illegal guns, or suicides.

Not a whole lot one can do about suicide, really. Yes, there should be better mental health care, and yes there should be a lot less stigma about looking for that help, but that is a long term measure. The other aspect though, can be fixed very simply.

If you commit any felony while carrying a gun, or if you are found in possession of an unlicensed gun, you get ten years. Make the sentence automatic, to run consecutively with any other sentencing and with no right of appeal or parole. Within a year, illegal guns will be as rare as fiscally responsible Liberals.

As far as the supply side goes, criminals get many guns as stolen guns. Make it mandatory (unlike now) to report a stolen gun, and, should someone have two guns stolen in separate incidents in the period of a year, it gets noted on their file and they can not buy a new weapon for a period of time. That would reduce the supply of "stolen" guns.

Thoughts?

[EdinVA]

Not a whole lot one can do about suicide, really. Yes, there should be better mental health care, and yes there should be a lot less stigma about looking for that help, but that is a long term measure.

Individuals have rights, including the right to be nuts.  Unless we are willing to declare have of the world nuts, this is just not workable regardless of the "stigma".  As Trump rightly pointed out, this stuff is going to happen no matter the tool, gun/car/truck/sword/machete/etc.  It is how we respond that is important.  Is it nuts for a hundred adults to scatter in an out of control panic and relinquish our right to life to some maniac that starts acting up?  Since when did we loose the right to defend ourselves?

Eliminating gun free zones would be the best place to start.  The bad guys don't go to police stations and start this crap, I wonder why?
Why are schools the favorite target?

[ABX]

The erosion of individual rights along with identity as an individual versus being part of a collective dehumanizes those we come in contact with. People are seen as cogs in a group, they are not seen as human beings. The level of individual social interaction is also declining. Now, most people we all interact with are words on a screen. They aren't another human who we see going through the same troubles, challenges, laughs, and loves. They are bits and bytes.  Depending on your world view, this could be stemmed from pushing religion out (we are all God's children who should be loved) or from pushing out liberty (everyone has the inherent right to their own existence) to some combination of those.

All of this is resulting in less respect and empathy for the individual and his or her right to exist. For most of society, this generally just means poorer person to person social interaction. For those with mental problems, it may mean that last possible snap of reason or empathy that would stop them from carrying out their dark fantasies is gone.

Mental problems have always been there. Violence has always been there. The tools to act out have always been there. What is changing is the lack of empathy towards the individual you are facing.