Another morning. Another tragic shooting. And this time it gets the label for HIGHEST BODYCOUNT OF ANY MASS SHOOTING IN AMERICAN HISTORY! Mazel tov America! You have so much to be proud of. This is in fact one of the few areas the USA is ALWAYS number 1 at. Never the important ones like healthcare, education, quality of life, or life expectancy. But I digress.
Today's news will bring out all sorts of responses that change absolutely nothing: this can range from emojis, to prayers, to shock, to outrage, to tears. From the top, we can expect finger pointing (always in the wrong direction): towards Muslims (the shooter, even though the vast majority of shootings in America are by armed white conservative males self-identifying as christian), towards gays (for bringing on god's wrath), towards gun control (laughably). But at the end of the day, there are in fact things that will reduce and prevent gun violence in America: (wrote some of this after yesterday's post but hadn't planned on posting it for a while... until this morning).
I get tired of people saying there's nothing we can do to combat gun violence in the United States of America. While I would support an all-out ban like the one that exists in Australia and the UK, short of a ban, here are 10 commonsense changes to our CURRENT laws that could save TENS OF THOUSANDS of lives every single year.
1. Annual licensing and testing to get and keep those licenses. Just like registering a car, this would be mandatory once a year. If you don't have a license and you are found to have a gun, you go to prison. If you are convicted of a violent crime during the year and do not turn in your gun, you go to prison.
2. Mandatory gun buyback for anyone that does not require a license. Give some incentive to those people willingly following the law.
3. The licenses and laws regarding firearms will be identical for all 50 states. This change will be on the FEDERAL level. They cannot change from state to state, and all law enforcement agencies will work together under the same legal guidelines
4. Limit on bullets. If gun ranges want to have more, that is fine. But from now on, gun ranges are regulated by state government like those state liquor stores. Not owned by private citizens/business owners. And also gun/ammunition stores.
5. Along with the annual skills testing, safety test, and criminal background check there will be a psychological profiling and temperament tests. If someone does not want to take this test, they don't get a license nor access to guns. If they are found to have a gun in violation of this policy, they go to prison.
6. Limit on the number of weapons allowed. No one may build an arsenal.
7. Gun owners are forever responsible for any crimes committed with their weapon, even if they are lost or stolen. Especially in cases where the loss is not reported.
8. Purchasing guns for someone else or lending a gun to someone else is a crime punishable by license revocation and prison time.
9. Anyone convicted of any type of violent crime loses guns forever. Whether the crime is actually committed or terroristic threats are made, that person forfeits their right to own a weapon for the rest of their life as a citizen of the United States.
10. Anyone using their weapons to intimidate others people in public or private, loses their license and has to give up their guns. If they do not, they're in violation of federal law and will face prosecution and jail time.
11. Metal detectors and wands in all public places that we can put them. Especially in our hospitals, schools, colleges, malls, movie theaters, nightclubs, restaurants. Build them into door frames. We have the technology. This is no different than when we go to an airport. People will get used to it. And as a result, our children and frankly all of our citizens since will be safer
12. A national database of ALL GUNS and ALL GUN OWNERS must be maintained at all times. This must be cross checked in real time with crime databases of local law enforcement all the way up to the FBI, CIA, and NSA. To get on the database, no one is 'grandfathered'. Anyone already owning a gun MUST register. If they are found not to register with their guns, they lose the right to have them, must surrender them, or face possible prison time.
Alternately: 13. Implement gun technology whereby guns can only be fired with fingerprint of owner. 14. Ban them altogether. It works. Do the research and travel the world. It works.
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