It's Time For A Conversation...

12/25/2012

Obviously, in the wake of the school shooting in Connecticut, gun control issue has been brought to the forefront of people’s minds.  Some are clamoring to discuss how best to protect kids, while others are more fearful about protecting their guns.  These people have their priorities a bit mixed up.

The issue isn’t guns themselves but the people that use them and shouldn’t.  In the wake of the shooting, there have been a lot of pro gun folks posting pictures and quotes about how it’s people, not guns.  This is partly right.  Gun control is more about people than guns anyway.  The entire idea is not to force people to turn in their weapons in some sort of totalitarian move by the government but to keep better track of who has what and yes, in some cases, limit who can have weapons.  I don’t think there are many people who argue that the mentally ill should be allowed to keep weapons.  I have talked to many hunters who share the belief that assault weapons and 30 round clips are unnecessary for hunting.  Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia recently came out saying exactly that.  Sen. Manchin has received the top grade awarded to elected officials by the NRA, so him saying this is no small thing.  We need common sense regulation that can ensure that each weapon can be traced as well.  These regulations need to ensure that the wrong people cannot acquire firearms.  I have some ideas of what these should entail, but that can come later.  This post is just an introduction and I would like to go into more detail on specifics at a later time.

Anyone that freaks out about Obama coming to take their guns away is either stupid or not paying attention.  The current proposal by Senator Feinstein (D-CA) is based on the 1994 Assault Weapon Ban, which she and then Senator Joe Biden shepherded through Congress.  The 1994 law, and the bill that Sen. Feinstein is proposing will have a grandfather clause.  This clause says that if you are in legal possession of a firearm when the law comes into effect, then it will be legal for you to own said firearm despite the law that will make it illegal to possess.  It is important to note that it is the gun itself that would be grandfathered in and not the owner’s right to own an assault weapon.  

In addition to the actual gun control laws and conversation, a separate but related conversation needs to be had about mental illness in this country.  Too many of the mass shootings in recent years have been people that have had some sort of mental illness and nothing was done about it.  The shooting at Von Maur in Omaha, NE was committed by someone, who was described by officials in the wake of the shooting, that “fell through the cracks” of the mental health system of Nebraska.  There are too many cases like this.  This is a serious problem and needs thoughtful study and discussion to get right.

There have been congressmen, pundits, and posts on Facebook that seem to think having more guns in each school is the answer.  I have seen posts that say almost every public shooting has taken place in places where people are not supposed to carry weapons.  More guns in more places is not an acceptable solution.  We are living in the 21^st century, not the old west.  I am part of the crowd that wants to treat the roots of the problem, while these people seem to want to turn our modern society into a Mad Max movie. 

The time to discuss this is now, not later.  Gun advocates and pundits are quick to jump on anyone that wants to have a conversation on these topics in the wake of a tragedy.  They say it is too soon.  They appeal to the feelings of the grieving.  Well, it is never too soon.  This is something that should have been addressed a long time ago and we have a lot of catching up to do.