thing is, Dougly, a safety test, will not stop the extremely rare mass shooting, or the more common "drive by".Ugly Dougly wrote:What about those cars? You know how many deaths they cause every year?
Oughta regulate them, make everyone pass safety tests before they can drive.
Oh, sorry, that would rob you of your freedom, forget it.
Regulation, already exists. Accidental shootings and death, are in the single digits as relates to firearms injury and death.
IIRC, suicide is the leading cause of firearms related death.(pointing at mental health system).
Most gun homicide is perpetrated with handguns, yet the big deal is banning "assault weapons" as in rifles.
people keep pointing "gun laws" at the problem. Not considering, the perpetrators care not for laws.
you encumber the law abiding even further, knowing the laws in place are sufficient, if only applied.
Background checks? sure, nothing wrong with that.
but making sure I know how to handle my weapon, has no bearing on the crazy that goes "postal", at work. One might argue, if the crazy didn't know how to use the gun, they might not be as effective!
All the laws, will not take guns "off the street"........criminals care not if it's illegal (most are ex felons and are barred from ownership, anyway) to carry a gun, when they are heading to commit a crime with it.
It's the foogin HUMANS. Yeah, with all the privacy and such, surrounding HIPAA, we dare not inconvenience a potential nut job, by telling folks dealing with them.
Most every perp in mass shootings are or were under psychiatric care, and the provider had suspicions of them. But, can't call authorities, without a direct threat. and heaven forbid, they be forced to have therapy, when they don't want it.
it seems, the point is missed, so often in the hysteria to "do something". Laws only work on the law abiding citizen.
There are too many guns, in private hands, unregistered, to ever remove them from society here.
if "banning" things worked, we'd ban "meth" and "crack", so people couldn't get or use, or kill someone related to the use...........err, never mind.
It's not that nothing should be done, it's that what should be done, should be something that will work, and not punish "the many" for the deeds of "the few". Rushing for stupid, ill thought "fixes" that go nowhere, helps nothing. Considered, balanced approach is the only long term remedy.
all this, while realizing you can't legislate or promise complete safety in life, and that no matter what, you can't defend from a determined, intelligent person, who is willing to die to carry out their actions.