I attended my son Tyler’s Fifth Grade Graduation ceremony this morning. It was a beautiful ceremony, and I am so proud of him. But during the ceremony, all I could think of was that the parents of those 19 child victims of the Robb Elementary School Shooting won’t get to attend their kids’ 5th grade graduation next year. We need sensible gun control solutions.
I also vividly remember Sandy Hook ten years ago. What is truly disgusting is that between Sandy Hook and yesterday, there are been over NINE HUNDRED school shootings, and thousands of mass-shootings outside of schools, including churches and grocery stores. Today is the 145th day of 2022, and we have had MORE than 145 mass shootings this year alone.
THIS HAS GOT TO STOP, and STOP NOW!
I am sick of our politician cowering before the NRA and other lobbyists. I am sick of hearing Fox News and Trumpers whining about their Second Amendment Rights. What about rights of the 20,000 people who were MURDERED with a firearm in JUST THE LAST YEAR? They were denied the most fundamental of our basic rights: “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”.
20,000 people dead last year alone, and people are complaining that their rights are being violated because they have to pass a background check or wait a few days before buying a gun? JUST SHUT THE HELL UP. We are sick of hearing it.
NO RIGHT IS ABSOLUTE. We have freedom of Religion, but we can’t perform human sacrifices. We have freedom of speech, but we can’t yell “Fire” in a movie theater. All of our rights come with limits and responsibilities. Your right to own a gun is NOT absolute, and it certainly does not come before my right to LIFE.
Yes, we all know mental illness is a significant factor in almost every gun death. Rational people don’t randomly kill themselves or others. But the simple fact that these mentally ill people can get a gun makes it a GUN PROBLEM.
We need sensible gun control laws NOW:
Universal Background Checks: NO EXCEPTIONS. As long as there are any exceptions, those that would fail the background check will buy their guns using the exception. crime. Of course, we know that criminals won’t obey the laws, but that’s just part of the problem. Right now, I can buy as many guns as I want legally. I can them sell them to anyone I want no questions asked. I can sell a gun to a convicted felon and I have not committed a crime if I did not know they were a felon. BUT, if we make backgrounds checks mandatory for ALL gun sales and transfers, then I could no longer accidentally sell a gun to a felon. Law abiding gun owners would know they sold their guns responsibly, and crooked gun owners who knowing sold to felons will now be sent to jail themselves. This won’t completely stop felons from getting guns, but it will make it much harder.
30-day Waiting Period: Most gun deaths are either suicides or from someone not thinking rationally; waiting periods will allow for a cooling off period, or maybe will give others time to recognize the danger and head it off.
Ban Assault Weapons: They were already banned during a ten-year period back in the 1990’s. Our country did not fall to tyranny, and the number of these mass shooting incidents went down. When these assault weapon bans expired, mass shootings incidents rose again. The average person does NOT need an assault weapon. They are not used for hunting. They are not needed for simple home protection.
Red Flag Laws: Red Flag laws allow law enforcement to TEMPORARILY seize guns from individuals who pose a danger to themselves or others, after they get a court order. Anybody whose gun was seized is entitled to a hearing within a few days where the State must prove the danger, or where the individual must prove the danger has been addressed. These laws DO NOT violate the Second Amendment or due process.
Gun Security: People who own guns MUST be required to secure them when not in use in a gun safe or something just as secure. This will prevent kids and others from accidentally gaining access, and will prevent the run-of-the-mill burglar from being able to steal it. Those who fail to secure their firearms should be criminally charged.
In order to have any real effect, these laws must be implemented NATIONWIDE. Otherwise, criminals will just go to states that don’t have or enforce these laws, and that defeats the entire purpose of the laws.
These sensible gun control laws won’t stop every criminal from getting a gun, but they sure will make it a lot harder for them to get them. The waiting period and red flag laws will give friends and family time to notice potentially dangerous behavior and head it off before it becomes violent.
A couple of months ago, I posted a possible solution to the problem, which you can read here: https://seriouslyscott.com/issues/gun-control/