The thing about “common sense” gun laws (or any type of laws, for that matter) is that you have to use common sense when formulating them. (MY LORD! THIS MAN’S A GENIUS!)
Furthermore, laws have to make sense for the country in which they're written.
An all encompassing gun ban in the U.S. would do nothing more than take guns out of the hands of responsible private citizens... while leaving them in the hands of criminals who never gave a damn about the law in the first place.
Why does an all encompassing gun ban work for our good ol' pal England?
Well... in a way, it does, in that there are less guns... sort of... slightly... maybe…?
"How is this possible? "
"Why can't the U.S. do this? "
Well, if you know your geography, England... IS AN ISLAND.
It's surrounded on all sides by water... not to mention it’s significantly smaller than the U.S.
"Well, but we could try, it works for them...."
No, in practice, it really kinda doesn’t…..
London, a city with all encompassing gun control, in a country with all encompassing gun control, is as, or more dangerous than....
New York, a city with all encompassing gun control, in a state with strict gun control laws, is as, or more dangerous than....
L.A., a city with moderate gun laws, in a state with moderate gun laws, is as, or more dangerous than...
Houston, a city with relaxed gun laws (By comparison that is, retailers still comply with ATF form 4473 and FBI criminal background checks as mandated by the federal government), in a state where you're basically handed a gun when you come out of the womb....
And so on….
Is this overwhelming, undeniable proof of what I'm saying? Absolutely Not. This is my personal opinion, which I am fully entitled to.
Am I advocating more relaxed gun laws?
NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! NEVER!
I like the laws that are on the books, and I think they DO require investigation and expansion.
"Such as?"
Stiffer penalties for crimes committed with a gun, rather than more, ineffective gun bans... for one... and I'm sure there are plenty of other viable options that go unsung because of political pandering, to bolster shaky campaigns, on the basis of fear. This is the despicable nature of our politics.
I ALWAYS COMPLY WITH FEDERAL GUN LAWS.
I AM A RESPONSIBLE PRIVATE CITIZEN.
CHILDREN NEVER HAVE ACCESS TO MY GUNS, etc...
Should I be made a criminal because we can't pull our heads out of the sand long enough to combat the real issues?
The war on drugs is a complete failure, as would be the war on guns...
So it remains, and I've repeated this many times... it's a QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUE.
If we didn't pay roughly $40 dollars a year out of our pockets for needy family assistance, and mental health resources, as compared to the (roughly) a grand we pay for corporate tax breaks and subsidies, I'm fairly certain people wouldn't be killing one another as readily...
When Clinton was in office, things got a lot better. Why? Because of his vague gun ban that limited the capacity of magazines manufactured only after the ban was initiated? ....not bloody likely.
Because the quality of life for everyone was markedly better? YES! HOLY JESUS, YES!
MY GOD, IT'S LIKE YOU PEOPLE CAN BE TAUGHT AFTER ALL!!!
You can fact check me into the ground all you want, I'm not a professional politician, and by no means do I have all the current statistics memorized. But this does not make my point any less valid...
The unwillingness of both (really all) sides to open a dialogue on this, or that, or anything, is the real core problem.
Wake. Up.
It's not communism to uplift your neighbor. If you want to call this a "Christian" nation... how about a bit of good old-fashioned Christian Charity, for God's sake? (Pun intended)
Not everyone who is living in poverty is there because they made "poor life choices," and if I hear one more person use this to classify those living with less than adequate means as AT FAULT for all of their own misfortunes… or as less worthwhile than those doing better, I might just scream.
And yet.... there they are, these supposed "Men of God" using their religions (not just one in particular) to shame and exclude others... and to conceal their own narrow-minded bigotry.
And of course, bigotry is not limited to religious/spiritual people, don't even try to put words in my mouth. (Or at my fingertips, my carpal tunnel is annoying enough on its own...)
This is a stream of consciousness rant, and entirely my own opinion.
Don't agree with me? WONDERFUL! FANTASTIC! AMAZING! STUPENDOUS! And I mean that with all sincerity. Get out there and vote on it, dummy.
Keep on disagreeing with me, your Mom, your Dad, the postman, ANYONE WHO WILL LISTEN! Because as long as we maintain our right to disagree with one another and be heard, Our Country Will Remain FREE; and if someone disagrees with you, at least they're hearing you.
That's the first step after all, isn't it?
-KDA 9/16/14
Furthermore, laws have to make sense for the country in which they're written.
An all encompassing gun ban in the U.S. would do nothing more than take guns out of the hands of responsible private citizens... while leaving them in the hands of criminals who never gave a damn about the law in the first place.
Why does an all encompassing gun ban work for our good ol' pal England?
Well... in a way, it does, in that there are less guns... sort of... slightly... maybe…?
"How is this possible? "
"Why can't the U.S. do this? "
Well, if you know your geography, England... IS AN ISLAND.
It's surrounded on all sides by water... not to mention it’s significantly smaller than the U.S.
"Well, but we could try, it works for them...."
No, in practice, it really kinda doesn’t…..
London, a city with all encompassing gun control, in a country with all encompassing gun control, is as, or more dangerous than....
New York, a city with all encompassing gun control, in a state with strict gun control laws, is as, or more dangerous than....
L.A., a city with moderate gun laws, in a state with moderate gun laws, is as, or more dangerous than...
Houston, a city with relaxed gun laws (By comparison that is, retailers still comply with ATF form 4473 and FBI criminal background checks as mandated by the federal government), in a state where you're basically handed a gun when you come out of the womb....
And so on….
Is this overwhelming, undeniable proof of what I'm saying? Absolutely Not. This is my personal opinion, which I am fully entitled to.
Am I advocating more relaxed gun laws?
NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! NEVER!
I like the laws that are on the books, and I think they DO require investigation and expansion.
"Such as?"
Stiffer penalties for crimes committed with a gun, rather than more, ineffective gun bans... for one... and I'm sure there are plenty of other viable options that go unsung because of political pandering, to bolster shaky campaigns, on the basis of fear. This is the despicable nature of our politics.
I ALWAYS COMPLY WITH FEDERAL GUN LAWS.
I AM A RESPONSIBLE PRIVATE CITIZEN.
CHILDREN NEVER HAVE ACCESS TO MY GUNS, etc...
Should I be made a criminal because we can't pull our heads out of the sand long enough to combat the real issues?
The war on drugs is a complete failure, as would be the war on guns...
So it remains, and I've repeated this many times... it's a QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUE.
If we didn't pay roughly $40 dollars a year out of our pockets for needy family assistance, and mental health resources, as compared to the (roughly) a grand we pay for corporate tax breaks and subsidies, I'm fairly certain people wouldn't be killing one another as readily...
When Clinton was in office, things got a lot better. Why? Because of his vague gun ban that limited the capacity of magazines manufactured only after the ban was initiated? ....not bloody likely.
Because the quality of life for everyone was markedly better? YES! HOLY JESUS, YES!
MY GOD, IT'S LIKE YOU PEOPLE CAN BE TAUGHT AFTER ALL!!!
You can fact check me into the ground all you want, I'm not a professional politician, and by no means do I have all the current statistics memorized. But this does not make my point any less valid...
The unwillingness of both (really all) sides to open a dialogue on this, or that, or anything, is the real core problem.
Wake. Up.
It's not communism to uplift your neighbor. If you want to call this a "Christian" nation... how about a bit of good old-fashioned Christian Charity, for God's sake? (Pun intended)
Not everyone who is living in poverty is there because they made "poor life choices," and if I hear one more person use this to classify those living with less than adequate means as AT FAULT for all of their own misfortunes… or as less worthwhile than those doing better, I might just scream.
And yet.... there they are, these supposed "Men of God" using their religions (not just one in particular) to shame and exclude others... and to conceal their own narrow-minded bigotry.
And of course, bigotry is not limited to religious/spiritual people, don't even try to put words in my mouth. (Or at my fingertips, my carpal tunnel is annoying enough on its own...)
This is a stream of consciousness rant, and entirely my own opinion.
Don't agree with me? WONDERFUL! FANTASTIC! AMAZING! STUPENDOUS! And I mean that with all sincerity. Get out there and vote on it, dummy.
Keep on disagreeing with me, your Mom, your Dad, the postman, ANYONE WHO WILL LISTEN! Because as long as we maintain our right to disagree with one another and be heard, Our Country Will Remain FREE; and if someone disagrees with you, at least they're hearing you.
That's the first step after all, isn't it?
-KDA 9/16/14