Morganni Wrote:What do you call "something that can spray an area with 30+ rounds" though?* After all, fully automatic weapons are still illegal. (Aside from some grandfathered-in older ones, which have not been shown to be an issue as far as criminal activity goes.) And I've seen some convincing arguments lately that larger-capacity magazines help the legitimate user far more than the mass shooter.Well, a big part of it is that, for hunting, well, do you really need to fire more than two or three shots to bag your kill? And with self defense against people, the ability to spray the area actually becomes a bigger threat to bystanders than any hypothetical assailant with a weapon.
*Also, under many circumstances, a shooter doing this is less likely to successfully hit anyone, but that's a different issue.
Quote:"Easily available" is, unfortunately, pretty vague in the context of this argument. There are a lot of variables involved. My personal preference is shall-issue with proof of -good- training to non-felons, with permit fees that normal people can afford to pay.** Restrictions on what weapons are available to be based on what those things actually mean in use.*** (30 round magazines? Just fine. Explosives? That's a problem. Anti-material rifle? Not only no, but hell no.) Because there's actually statistics giving me reason to believe that laws like this would give the results I want to see.One of the "modifiers" I've read about regarding the accessibility of guns is effectively eliminating the "one time cost" aspect of acquiring a firearm, the requirement that you also hold effectively liability insurance on each piece of whatever arsenal you want to have. The rate is modified according to use, such as "hunting" (which would probably require some justification unless it's a specific hunting-type rifle), "hobbyist shooting" (which might require the weapon to be stored at the gun range you use to qualify), and "self defense" (with a REALLY high rate accounting for the fact that you're buying it for defense, it's not meant to be a last ditch sort of thing).
**You may note the lack of mental health clause in there. I've seen some concerns about the abusability of these, and it's not clear that they do a great deal to keep guns out of the hands of the people one wants the guns away from anyway. Since I don't know of one that would do what I want it to, I'm not suggesting one. Anything else that is lacking I might just not be thinking of right now.
***It was rather stunning to read about some of California's gun laws. Bans on cosmetic or minor-convenience items that don't affect the lethality of the weapon. And then they ban one specific type of .50 caliber round, which would actually be sensible if they also banned the other types of .50 caliber rounds, all of which are pretty much lacking in having a reasonable civilian use.)
-Morgan.
I do agree licensing of gun owners, with at least a "test of competency", should be required, even with the lower-relative injury rates compared to driving of autos. Not coupling mental health reforms to that in terms of requiring one to be "problem free", is probably a good idea, if only because we need signficant reforms in the health system relating to mental health, and cultural shifts away from stigmatizing people who are "atypical" mentally but otherwise functional in society.
Of course, ease of availability as it stands allows someone, with no criminal record, to basically acquire a small armory fairly rapidly, given sufficient amounts of cash. A waiting period is a good start. A limit on the number of firearms one can purchase would be a good move as well, like say one piece every six to twelve months. Licensing itself would take care of the need for background checks. I would also advocate a limit on the amount of ammo one can purchase all at once. No one can burn through 300-400 rounds on a weekend hunting trip unless it's an ambitiously large group. I could also see having one exception to that limit: buying for your hobbyist shooting at the licensed gun range, where you keep a storage locker space for your range firearm.
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"You know how parents tell you everything's going to fine, but you know they're lying to make you feel better? Everything's going to be fine." - The Doctor