Open Season on Lunatics?

[Boost Assendahm]

Gun control can certainly be improved regarding qualification for purchase, ownership and use along with training requirements on proper/safe operation, cleaning and storage.

However, concessions made in those areas already adhered to by psychologically stable and conscientious gun owners must be made to step up enforcement of laws on illegal sale, purchase and possession or ownership of "undocumented" guns.

What needs much more attention is the monitoring, treatment and/or elimination of the real threats, who walk among us. "Bless their hearts, they're doing the best they can" will not get it done. Waiting for these ticking time bombs to cause damage to their families, neighborhoods and communities before acting (then blaming the gun) is NOT an effective plan. Never will be.

With all the easily accessible information supposedly being monitored and stockpiled by the Federal government on everything each of us posts or says via any form of electronic communication device, thinning the heard of these murderers to be should be functionally easy. Weed the bastards out, before they act on their threats.

 

[REMESSIS]

I get where you're coming from man but here's the rub: we live in an open and free, liberal (little L) democratic (little D) society. One of the downsides of having an open and, for the most part, free society is that you will always have to deal with unstable individuals within that society. The government could most definitely scrutinize and track individuals better, and it would be effective in keeping people from having firearms ... its worked before ask any old Soviet.

Then there is the problem of whom do you identify as those who need to be weeded out? Should every single person in the country be given psychological testing to insure they are stable enough for firearm ownership? What if I'm having a bad day, I'm pissed off and I tell some dude I'm gonna kill him? Am I disqualified for gun ownership then? What about the shit I post on Facebook or twitter or Instagram? Is that stuff gonna disqualify me?

The types of crazy person gun rampages you're talking about are an infinitesimally small percentage of the actual gun crimes in our society. They make the news and they are juicy topics because they are horrific, but the vast majority of gun crimes in America are committed by mentally competent and sane (in a matter of speaking) individuals whose CRIMINAL past has already precluded them from legal firearms ownership.

Should completely and obviously insane people be forbidden from firearms probably. But people like the dude from VA was seen as a pissed off asshole by others ... not necessarily one flew over the cuckoos nest. You'll never, ever be able to plan for, and stop the person who just ****ing snaps and decides to start picking people off. So if you'll never be able to keep those people from owning guns, why then should the 99% of people who will never commit a crime with their weapons have to be burdened any more by asinine rules?