Should gun laws be easier?

Question

Pull a gun on someone in public then all of a sudden every man, woman and child is pointing theirs at you.

It will put an end to shootings like this. :) He woulda been shot before he got out of the Dorm after the first shooting.

Those people who think Gun Laws should be harder.........

How hard do you think it is to get an illegal gun?

How hard do you think it is to actually MAKE a gun? There are Iraqi gunsmiths who can make M-4s from scratch using 12yr old boys as workers.

Answer 1

Here is a simple, but seemingly unpopular truth. Gun laws are plenty rigid and restrictive enough. In fact, there is no historical link between increased gun legislation and crime prevention. In fact, despite 30 years of increasingly strict gun legislation, the crime rate has at best remained stable, at worst it has gone up. Law-abiding gun owners are not the ones commiting these acts, and I guarantee the first time someone actually prosecutes a gun owner whose weapon comes into posession of someone (as a result of neglect or failure to secure it) who commits a crime (or worse, a murder) with it, the crime laws on the books will take on a different theme. You see. the legislation is there. If a child steals a parent's handgun because it was not secured appropriately and proceeds to kill someone with it, the parent can be charged as an accessory to murder. Unfortunately, those charges are rare.

Criminals can purchase untraceable illegal firearms in a matter of minutes, while legal purchases of firearms take weeks and months. Which weapon do you think will be used to commit a crime? What is the penalty for posession of an illegally purchased firearm? Nobody knows, because the charge is never carried out. DAs usually bargain those charges down. In fact, a lot of the time, charges are reduced or dismissed because of the simple fact there is not enough room in our current prison system to incarcerate these individuals.

I don't think that arming everyone is the answer. Some individuals can be trusted with the ownership and concealed carrying of handguns. I think most folks, however, are probably not in that group. Look to former military personnel, off duty cops, firemen, and other federal or civil service personnel (and former members of those groups) to take on the burden, if they choose. Establish a proper volunteer police force in cities, where concerned (and responsible) citizens can volunteer to act in this capacity with legal authorization and proper training in weapons handling and police tactics. We don't want people resorting to firing a weapon because they are afraid if the situation doesn't call for it. The truth is, concealed carry laws actually have been shown to coincide with a slight drop in gun violence in major metropolitan areas. However, that doesn't mean everyone can be trusted with the responsibility.

I don't think arming people is the answer to what happened at Virginia Tech today. Sick people are going to be sick people. The problem today was, the first incident happened so fast that by the time they started to figure out what happened (and they thought the gunman had left the campus) a second and more deadly round of shootings started. I still haven't heard if they have confirmed that there was only one gunman. What I would fear in that situation, is that a concerned citizen with a handgun would injure more innocents by causing a shootout with the gunman. I don't think there are any easy answers to this kind of problem. Most likely, it will require a more comprehensive response than gun legislation and arming citizens. I think your concern is appropriate, and you're not the first to suggest this, but I don't see returning to the Wild West as a viable solution.

Answer 2

I am a proud liberal but you have to face reality......The only way to prevent a shooting like the one at VA TECH is if everyone has a gun or no one has a gun. I wish it could be the latter, but the fact is, anyone who wants a gun can get one...legal or not, and since we can't get rid of all the guns in the world, the only alternative is for everyone to have one and be trained how to use it. I truly wish there was another way, but gun control laws only take away guns from law abiding citizens, leaving them vunerable to attack. And the cops can't do a damn thing till after you've been shot.

Answer 3

Tougher gun laws don't make it impossible to get a weapon ,
yes the crooks will always find a way.. most are stolen , who did they steal them from , how many innocent kids were shot with guns in their own homes.. ??
The constitution gives you the right to bear arms but does that supersede Thou Shalt Not Kill ??
if everyone who was buying a weapon had to take a safe gun course and maybe a mental aptitude test, have certain regulations to the storage of guns and ammo I would feel safer .
Toughen up laws dealing with crimes committed with weapons ..
yes maybe in Iraq they can duplicate any weapon .. and if it keep on the way it is .. the US won't be far behind ...
I have no problem with a hunter , or a responsible person owning a gun .. let the police deal with the criminals .. but I sure don't want to be hit by a good Samaritan . pulling out his 44 magnum to assist in a traffic accident ..

Answer 4

No, Gun laws are easy enough. I just bought a 9mm semi automatic and it took a total of about 30 mins. It was the first gun I ever purchased and I walked out with a gun and several boxes of ammo (in seperate cases/bag, because it is illegal to have a loaded gun, or your weapon in the same container as ammo, in my state without the permit to carry a concealed weapon). So I would say getting a handgun is fairly easy, maybe a little to easy, but I do have a clean record so maybe thats why it was very fast & easy.

Answer 5

I think they should be. I do not support what the British have done by even taking guns away from police. Although we will always have people who have a gun illegally, it is my opinion that there are way to many children and people who shouldn't have guns that do. There should be a limit to the number of guns a family can have, like one; and an increase in the minimum age limit needed to purchase a gun needs to happen soon. I will never support taking guns away from on the job police men, but after they retire they need to take the guns back. Their system of registering the guns needs to improve, although i have not come up with any ideas on that someone better soon. A no-tolerance law, like in Maryland, for minors carying guns needs to happen here to, along with life sentences for anyone pr oven guilty of murdering anyone with a gun.

I support guns because as a woman who has seen first hand some of the freaks that walk the streets i know that it can be very hard to tell who is dangerous to you and who is not. People will always find a way to kill each other, and with guns on the street i no that # will increase, but guns also save the lives of people who use them for what there meant to be used for.

hope this helps you choose a side.

Answer 6

absolutely not. not everyone would want to carry a gun so it would never work. there should be psychological testing and background checks on every person applying for a gun. I dont care how easy it is to get an illegal gun. first off i dont want children to have guns for obvious reasons. secondly i guarrentee there would be more shootings there are tons of situations in which people lose control and if they had a gun they would murder someone and then be murdered themself. If people have guns they will use them. The right to bear arms was originally meant for hunters and state militias, not for random people to be "packing heat". I think the biggest problem is the amazing availability of guns, why would anyone need a high powered rifle? a semi-automatic hand gun? a hand gun in general? armor piercing bullets? why are these weapons availible to anyone but the police. american society is screwed up, it's sick, and it's obsessed with pride and violence and arrogance. this is why we have situations like this. with that being said my heart goes out to all those affected by the virginia tech massacre and my god bless the victims.
just for the sake of it im a republican

Answer 7

The outcome MAY have been different if instructors were trained in the proper use of firearms and the proper use of deadly physical force.

Not long ago there was a case that have VERY little press coverage. A criminal went into a gun shop to rob the store. In the store were armed costumers, armed shop owner and a uniformed police officer. The criminal fired at the cop, missed and the armed citizens reacted. 26 bullets were found in the now dead criminal.

For me, I'd rather have a gun and not need it, then to need a gun and not have it.

Let us not make this tragedy a political platform for the left wing agenda.

Answer 8

According to the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution, which states "The right of the people to keep and bear arms SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED", gun laws should be non-existent. As the Constitution was a document meant to delineate and set forth the limits of government (not, as it's sometimes misrepresented, a document to define the rights of citizens) and as the phrase "the people" is interpreted everywhere else in that and other documents as describing individual rights (sensible, as no collective can possess, collectively, rights not possessed by any individual member) then it is clear that "The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed" means, plainly, that no government entity has a legitimate right, under the Constitution, to pass laws that in any way limit an individuals right to own, possess or carry on or about their person any arms they wish to carry. Further the writings of our own founding fathers make it plain that they intended this right as sacrosanct not only because they recognized that no man (or woman) can protect another as well he can himself (or herself) but also as the ultimate protection against tyrants, foreign OR domestic. Thomas Jefferson, among others, makes it plain that what was on his mind with this amendment was, specifically, the possibility of a tryannical and despotic American government. Such a well armed populace would make such a tyranny short lived at the very least.

And I agree with you. If every student and teacher at that facility were armed and competent shooters the current headlines would not read, "32 dead, 20 wounded". They'd be something more like "Crazed gunman opens fire in dorm, wounding 2, then dies in a hail of gunfire". Or how about "Terrorists attempt to hijack plane, die at the hands of passengers". For those feeling skeptical ask yourself this. Suppose that dorm had been filled with off duty police officers (who, in most parts of the country, usually go armed)? What would you think the outcome would be? What is it you think is unique about police officers? The training (easily available to any citizen)? The experience (the vast majority of police officers go thru their entire careers without ever firing a shot)? There is nothing so unique in the makeup of the average police officer that would allow them to be trusted with a sidearm in public where other's aren't. As a former police officer myself I have been thru police training and, now, have worked with several different private organizations that train ordinary citizens to keep and bear arms and the training is as good or better.

Ask yourself, if you had access to a gun would you kill someone just because they annoyed you? Would you rob a grocery store? Shoot the mother of three kids because she cut you off in traffic? If you wouldn't... what makes you fear most others would?

Robert Heinlein once wrote, "A well armed society is a polite society" and the REAL history of the old West (as opposed to the dime novel "history" of that era and the TV and movie horse opera "history" of later generations) proves it.

Answer 9

considering how lenient the US government is about guns, I dont believe it can be any easier, unless the government begins to hand out guns like they do condoms....everyone who wants one has one, and all the others dont see the use in having on for their own personal reasons...there are certain laws that still need to be in place for peoples security...living in a dorm and possessing a gun is absurd, accidents can happen, and it is not safe for the students, if you are saying that everyone should have had a gun to kill the suspect in VA. Guns and those that own them can't be controlled in the US, what do you think will happen if the laws are made more lenient....I believe that the US has had enough problems with guns as it is over the years, its time to tighten the belt.

Answer 10

There are NO " background checks " or " waiting period " when you buy illegal guns out of the trunk of Jamal or Bubba's Cars As a matter of fact , they would prefer that the " cash only " transaction take no more than 5 minutes and be on a " no name " basis Actually Bubba or Jamal would be less likely to sell you a gun if you told them you had a " carry permit " because they would rather sell to criminals than to law abiding people with firearms permits It is easier to but an Illegal Gun on the street than it is to buy Illegal Fireworks on the street If Guns are outlawed......ONLY Outlaws will have Guns