What if (gun control question)?

Question

everyone who owned a gun had to attend a training course before they could purchase one at the age of 18 (for safety) and they just added it as another category to put on your drivers license.. with a refresher course every 5 years or so... just to make sure people who have the guns have at least been trained in safety.. I'm not sure if it would be effective or not.. just an idea.

I don't think anyone has ever talked someone to death.. so a little difference in the safety issue. and those that have had professional training such as the military or police shouldn't have to attend such a course.. they have obviously fulfilled any such requirements.. this idea could be tweaked.. but in no way does it say someone can't own a gun.. just says they should have a little training.. it would be low impact... and again.. it's just an idea :)

a few people got confused.. my focus was on safety.. not on crime.. you don't solve crime by taking guns away.. if someone is going to steal they are still going to steal (just my opinion) so that's a problem for society.. not regulations.. my point is about safety.

Answer 1

I would have no trouble with that. The Constitution says "well regulated" I think your idea falls in that catasgory.

Answer 2

What would be the end result of your proposal? More regulation? More responsibility? More safety?

Mandatory training in both handgun and rifle before attaining a permit that allows you to purchase a weapon is in itself effective. NRA sponsored classes as well as State, Federal and other private sector classes are centered around 'gun safety' more so than the basic operational guidelines (since each weapon has their own). With that said, no amount of training can equal common sense.

Take Lotus36 for example. If you look at her profile, you'll see she holds herself as an 'elite intellictual' . These people are more often involved in gun accidents due to their self-deluded intelligence. They think they are in control and know every action or outcome of a situation without ever first experiencing or studing. These people forget to treat a gun with respect; they are the first to let their guard down and not check a weapon to see if it is loaded (whihc you handle every gun as if it WERE loaded no matter) which then results in someone getting hurt. I've seen it more times than not ithappen this way. People need a little humility when handling weapons...and life for that matter...and realize, they don't have all the answers, though they think they do.

If safety is the item you are pursuing, then I would suggest a refresher course and/or new training when a person ventures into another class of gun (higher caliber, handgun versus rifle, etc.) or even better, environmental training. Owning a gun in a rural area is much different than in a metropolis; different variables, different environment, different dangers.

Answer 3

Sounds like a great idea! I'm sure that all of the ENEMIES OF THE UNITED STATES support the same thing in their country.

This would be a pretty good idea in a PERFECT WORLD, but this ain't a perfect world and if you step in my house without permission, you better get ready for something lead hot!!

Any other time I am a safe responsible American who keeps guns put away. Oh yeah, I also hunt with shot guns and large caliber riffles. However; in the state that I live it is mandatory to take a "Hunters Education Course" which was informative.

Answer 4

Are you going to help round up the gang-bangers and their homies and escort them to class? They're the ones perpetrating the vast majority of gun violence. Making law abiding citizens jump through hoops just to keep a right specified in the Bill of Rights doesn't seem like a logical step to take.

In response to the secondary comment about safety:

I oppose anything that smells of a registration/licensing scheme. As evidenced several times over the last few decades, any type of registration or licensing ends up in confiscation or banning of at least one type of firearm. New York City did it. Washington D.C. did it. Chicago did it. California did it. There is a pattern.

If you want to require gun safety to be taught as part of the normal education process, go for it. The NRA already endorses that with their Eddie the Eagle program. Tying a safety requirement to the purchase of a firearm is where the conflict begins. It is just another way to register or license firearms and would ultimately be used against legal owners as it has in the past. That is provable, demostrable fact.

Answer 5

This deserves a two part response.

The first is, the cardinal rule of gun safety which every PARENT should teach is - All guns are always loaded.
The second is, if these safety courses are as effective as
driver education is, we should probably all wear body armor.

Answer 6

Of course it's reasonable.
The comparison with car-driving is apt. Granting freedom to drive those without some evidence of competence would cause outrage.

The constitutional amendment is a point to consider though. But I'm no longer sure about these "well-ordered militias" all these firearm owners appear to be intended to be a part of.

The counter-argument is comparison other unlicensed freedoms, like speech, and voting...
(ooh, the temptation to ask people to get a certificate of thought and knowledge before they are allowed to vote!
Winston Churchill: "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." )

Answer 7

It does sound like a good idea and some more regulation is obviously needed, but you see people who love their guns would never go for it because they are not about compromise. I think every gun owner should have a license and (sorry)also a psychological evaluation. And after looking at a couple of responses you got I am reminded of why I took a hiatus from Y/A. How can anyone say if freedom of religion and freedom of speech does not require a license why should a hand gun...come on people!?
EDIT: actually since I posted some more reasonable answers appeared...whew

Answer 8

We make people take a training course before they drive cars, so why not? Sounds like a good idea to me.

As for the poster who said "10,000" people who supposedly die each year from gun incidents, care to cite a legitimate, credible source for that number, skippy? Or can you? I think not, because it's nothing but a LIE.

And for the poster who said this type of training would be unconstitutional, just how is that? Requiring a safety course is not a violation of the Constitution, and it's not saying that you can't own a gun. After all, reporters go to college to learn how to be a reporter, right? And they're protected by the 1st Amendment, so what's the difference? I think you're stretching it a bit, here, to be honest.

And now for my favorite, the uninformed poster who said to get rid of guns altogether so we could be more like Britain....no, thanks, I'd rather not have the crime rate for murder, armed robbery, assault, and housebreaking RISE like they did in both England AND Australia after those two countries banned private weapon ownership.

I'd rather live in a place where the bad guy will think twice before trying to rob me because he's not sure if I'm gonna blow a hole in his a.s.s. or not.

And I'm an NRA member, too.....

Answer 9

I'll answer your question with a question.

What if everyone that wanted to speak attended a training course on how to do so safely?

1st ammendment right

2nd ammendment right

Should they be treated differently?

If you want to change the rights of an Amendment to the Constitution you must have the Congress and the States repeal it.

It does not matter how you "feel"

ADD: To author of question. You missed my point. It does not matter what you feel it is a matter of law and strict interpretation of the Constitution is where I come from and believe. Once we start putting conditions on our rights where do we stop? Who has the next great "feel" good idea to put conditions on our rights. Like I said, if you want to change the 2nd Ammendment you need 2/3 of Congress and 3/4 of the state congresses to "get er done".

Answer 10

In California you have to pass a written test that has a lot of safety questions on it before you can buy a gun.

Answer 11

I think it is a rather interesting gesture. Perhaps we can start with the military and all law enforcement agencies. As for the illegal weapons owner, they may be held captive with restricted movement in a unit with legal weapons owner without the proper training.