Guns And Control

The Democrats have fired the first volley across the bow...in a manner of speaking. Since Obama can't run for a third term, Democratic governor of New York Andrew Cuomo came out swinging with the first state to enact sweeping gun law changes. Presumably positioning himself for a possible run at the Democratic nomination in 2016. In essence:

{All quotes in italics credited to the Christian Science Monitor}

"In his annual State of the State address last week, Governor Cuomo promised to "enact the toughest assault-weapon ban in the nation, period."

"In New York, Cuomo was able to push the legislation through without hearings or public comment. The NRA said the legislation helped “fuel” Cuomo’s political aspirations."


The NRA as you might guess has come out against the legislation calling it "draconian" in nature.

ASSAULT RIFLES

         To classify a weapon as an assault rifle, where there had been a two point test there is now one - either muzzle flash suppressor OR a removable magazine. Supposedly any gun meeting these criteria will be banned.

AMMUNITION

         This is purported to be the "toughest" part of the new legislation...the regulating of the number of rounds a magazine can hold (for any gun) " New York will define a large capacity magazine as any that holds more than seven rounds, down from 10. Anyone owning a magazine that holds more than 10 rounds will be required to sell it out-of-state within a year". Is that last line really enforceable? The Magazine Division of the NYPD in the near future perhaps??

     
         "In addition, gun sellers will be required to do a background check before selling ammunition, and residents will be required to buy ammunition through a licensed dealer. If a buyer makes a large purchase of ammo, the dealer is required to alert law enforcement officials."

GUN SALES

         Guns sales will require background checks even sales between individuals (except for between family members). The law will also attempt to keep the mentally ill from buying weapons. All of this ought to be very interesting.


As you might imagine, the NRA will be at the forefront of the legal challenges to surely be coming.

Down the freeway Gov. Jack Markell (D) of Delaware is on a parallel course of action to ban all assault rifles, magazines holding more than 10 rounds and background checks on all sales.

Virgina and Jersey want mental health screening and home invasions inspections before a gun sale takes place. That last doesn't sound good at all. Are they buying a gun or adopting it?

More than half the states have some stirrings of the above. Traditional definition of a "dog pile" in action.

I am sure this will have some effect but just exactly what, I don't know.
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{All text in italics credited to the NBC.com site}

On the other side of town the Obama Proposal is being touted as "sweeping gun control". Here is the meat and potatoes of the Obama-Biden offering:

Some of the main legislative proposals backed by Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are:

• requiring criminal background checks on all gun sales, including private sales    
• banning "military-style" assault weapons    
• limiting ammunition magazines to 10 rounds      
• strengthening penalties for gun trafficking 

The clarification of the ObamaCare Act not prohibiting doctors from asking their patients about guns in the house and that there is no federal law that prohibits doctors from turning in their patients who make threats of violence. So that old tongue-in-cheek comment of wanting to "kill" someone even in jest could now get Big Brother knocking on your door. When are the drab uniforms of Orwell's 1984 going to be issued??

There are also 23 "executive actions not subject to congressional scrutiny that include the CDC doing research on gun crime. And stronger prosecution if you fail a background check. What exactly does it take to fail a background check and what will you be prosecuted for?? This could be the scariest of all...and it doesn't have to go through Congress?? No wonder the shelves in many gun stores are almost empty now.

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My friends if you thought some of the recent posts floating around were too doom and gloom. I invite you to click on the links to both these news articles. Read them carefully...out loud if necessary. Then think about what we really need to do and what they are trying to do. Getting any freedom limiting legislation through the channels is always easier when raw emotion is running high. I pray for common sense to grip the majority.

 

New York is already a done deal. Cuomo's goose-stepping was swift and sure.

 

The one silver lining of semi-rational thought (at least on the federal level) is many in the House see little chance of much of this coming to fruition...yet it plays well at the political gatherings. I guess that is win/win?

 

What are your thoughts on this early attempt at eliminating another Sandy Hook? Does the speed of New York's passage of law alarm you? Did you watch the video above? Thoughts?

A Blog Post Instead Of A Comment

I just finished reading Arlee Bird's post regarding the current hot topic of guns...control, bans, limits, etc. And I thought I would rather weigh in via a full blog post rather than take up all of Lee's comment space. :)

The subject of some form of gun control always seems to come up after a tragedy like Newtown. Remember the Aurora theatre, Gabby Giffords, Columbine and others? Each one brought some measure of heightened awareness regarding guns and the lunatics who possessed them.

Newtown was an awful tragedy, made worse and more shocking by the fact that it was so. many. children. The faces of the innocent youth cut down by this deranged kid with an arsenal, were plastered all over the internet, news, and newspapers. By any definition it was a real-life horror story.

The first reaction, beyond the horrific, was the groundswell movement to do something, anything about access to weapons. "If only we could control the guns better." The parents and relatives of those who died that day surely want every gun buried at the bottom of the sea. So this will "never happen again". The President and VP jumped right out in the lead of this speeding train. Obama is declaring that some kind crusade against gun violence must take place. Biden, I don't know what he exactly wants to do. But damn it, SOMETHING must be done right NOW!!!

The NRA will be up in arms (figuratively) as they always are when the whispers turn to shouts for gun control. They will wave the second amendment like a flag and defend our right to bear arms. How ever you interpret the Amendment II (and I like and agree with Lee's assessment) guns are not going away.

And they are not the problem. The old worn adage of, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people" is for better or worse, pretty damn accurate.

Whatever the President and his political brethren are spouting is only for the benefit of the politicos and the outraged citizenry (psychologically). It will have little to no effect in stopping the next neo-Nazi or bullied teenager, or even a teacher pushed too far, from taking up weapons and descending on the once safe haven of the School. Elementary...High...or College. It is after all the easiest and least protected place where a vast group of ordinary and young people gather. Maybe that is where we should start?

Sadly what happened in Newtown only raised the bar in the minds of the twisted, for this type of tragedy. The next one (and there will be an next one, I'm sorry) will go for a larger more spectacular body count. Or maybe it won't be guns this time. Maybe it will be homemade bombs. How do you stop that? Anyone who has watched Fight Club now knows by mixing equal parts gasoline and orange juice concentrate you can make a passable napalm concoction. How will we legislate against that type of threat?

The problem is deeper than guns or weapons of any kind. The fundamental problem is the youth of the nation. And has been for some time now. Violent video games? Maybe. Choose a side on that debate. Bullying in school? Certainly a problem that has resulted in suicides and ah...school shootings. And this fundamental problem would require a whole other post or maybe even a series of posts. It is a many layered onion.

So to those in power I say, get real. Stop pandering to the emotions of people who are in a highly agitated state of mind. Willing to grasp a straw of a solution no matter how absurd. Limiting the number of rounds in a magazine, really? How stupid do you think we are? That is an idiotic idea if that is what is being proposed to "stop this type of thing from happening". Banning assault rifle sales. If this had been in effect 10 years ago do you really believe none of these tragedies would have occurred?  If so, you already drank the Kool-Aid or took the blue pill. It would not have changed a damn thing. It was the mind not the method, that caused these acts. Just like a river that seeks the path of least resistance, these would have been easily navigable obstacles.

Banning weapons seems like an easy rallying cry but in the end when cooler heads prevail, it is not the problem solver we would like. And what does "banning" really mean anyway?? Somebody in Congress or the Senate please define that to my satisfaction. Just as a side note...you do know in China about the same time as the Newtown tragedy that a wacko attacked school kids using knives, right?

Now I am no weapons expert but if someone with only a knife could stab/slash 23 victims AND get away...how would any measure of gun control have prevented this from happening?

I own 2 handguns, a hunting rifle (never hunted with it) and a shotgun. I have ammo for all of them. With no children in the house, they are stored easily accessible but not in the open. My wife could only find the handguns if she needed to in a hurry. We are adult, responsible, and realistic. I feel better with my gun in the nightstand. I have shot it at the range many times. I have no doubt if my life or my wife's life were threatened that I could use it.

oh, and none of my guns have gotten up in the middle of the night and gone on a killing spree.

Your thoughts?