After the news came out regarding the murders at Newtown, my Facebook news feed has been bombarded with a multitude of posts against gun control. You've seen them--"guns don't kill people, bad people do." Or "we don't ban cars because drunk drivers kill people." "If guns were outlawed, only outlaws would have guns." Or, my personal worst, "if we banned guns, people would kill each other with knives, stones or sticks."
Can any rational person condone the availability to the general public of semi-automatic assault rifles with 100 round magazines?? High capacity magazines for handguns?? It is my understanding that all of the guns used by criminals now were purchased legally by others and were either resold or stolen. This isn't the 1950's. Teenage thugs aren't making zip guns in shop class; they're buying them from thieves, straw purchasers or gun shows.
Sorry, but guns do kill people. Its a lot harder to kill someone with a knife or a rock than an assault rifle capable of firing 100 rounds a minute. As far as I know, no victim at Columbine, or Denver or Newtown was killed by a knife or a rock. When we catch drunk drivers, we take their licenses away and put them in jail for vehicular homicide. Keep in mind, cars have other uses than killing people, assault rifles don't. Also, we register cars, require insurance to operate them and require testing and licenses to use them. And, last I heard, if all guns were banned, cops would STILL have guns to go after the bad guys.
I wouldn't advocate banning firearms. The Supreme Court has ruled (wrongly in my opinion) that the 2nd Amendment gives individuals personal rights to bear arms, notwithstanding the language that the purpose of this right is to maintain a militia. Constitutional rights, however, are not absolute. Freedom of Speech is not freedom to slander or incite a riot. Freedom of the Press doesn't include freedom to libel. Freedom of Religion doesn't include the right to animal sacrifice, distribution of illegal drugs or polygamy. There is no earthly reason for a civilian to own an assault rifle. If you do, where do you draw the line? RPG's, AK-47's, tanks, cannons, grenades? If the right is absolute, why can't I own an RPG?
So, what's the solution? I don't exactly know, but here are a few suggestions. Register guns like vehicles. Every vehicle has a VIN number and registration has to be transferred by the state when the vehicle is sold. Maybe we can keep track of who owns what. License gun owners. Make sure they have training and don't have criminal or mental health records that would make them a danger to themselves or others. Limit the types of weapons individuals can own. We do that now. Individuals can't own fully-automatic machine guns in most states. No RPG's, armor piercing bullets or grenades are allowed now, as far as I am aware.
Will any of this stop gun violence? Probably not. But there is no reason to make it so effing easy.
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