Gun owners push back: a former Marine's letter to Dianne Feinstein

[Teddy B 17,251]

Whatever it takes needs to be done. As I've said many times here, neither party has all the answers and they both put the Party ahead of the people. We need compromise and moderation. And we need to attack the problems at their source. It didn't happen overnight and it's not going to go away anytime soon. But you have to start somewhere. It took decades to reduce auto pollution and increase gas mileage but for the most part it has worked. If we had put our minds to becoming energy independent back in 1973, we would probably be there today instead of increasing our dependence. Rome wasn't built in a day, but it went down in a relatively short period of time.

Spooky, while what you speak of is a grand idea, I believe it's unrealistic. Even if the wheels were put in motion, we would still have a gun problem for a very long time to come. The guns need to be adressed as well.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Spooky, while what you speak of is a grand idea, I believe it's unrealistic. Even if the wheels were put in motion, we would still have a gun problem for a very long time to come. The guns need to be adressed as well.

There are two issues at hand. First you have the general murder rate which has been in decline except for a few major urban areas like chicago. Clearly things are heading in the right direction there.

Then you have the suburban, young white mentally ill male shootings. They started in the 80s and continue to today (look what Reagan did in the 80s FYI)

If we take mental health more seriously in this country the majority of these can be avoided. There was staff negligence in 3 major shootings - Virginia Tech, Aurora, & CT.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

Spooky, while what you speak of is a grand idea, I believe it's unrealistic. Even if the wheels were put in motion, we would still have a gun problem for a very long time to come. The guns need to be adressed as well.

Just about anything that takes years or decades to accomplish seems unrealistic at the beginning. Look at auto pollution back in the 60's. Now see how far we've come, even with more cars on the roads. It took a decade or so to get most of the heavy polluters off the road. Ditto for industrial pollution. It took a long time and lots of money and complaining, but look at the results. And the same for gas mileage in autos. Look at the increases made, and some cars are even more powerful. A 630+ HP Corvette ZL1 gets better mileage than the old 350's. There were lots of growing pains, but it worked.

Why can't we do the same with crime and homicide? Focus on the root causes of it. Work on mental health issues, etc. If you want to get rid of guns, the Constitution needs to be amended and there is next to zero chance of that happening. And if it did, I'd venture to guess that it would take decades. And then how do you get the guns out of circulation? Ditto for an assault weapon ban. There are millions out there now. If you stop selling them tomorrow there is a few hundred year supply out there. And the reality is that most murder/deaths are caused by handguns. IMO, banning assault weapons isn't the answer. Many here support an assault weapon ban yet I haven't seen one person say ban handguns, the murder weapon of choice. Why?

The social/economic causes are the real root of the problem, IMO.

There are two issues at hand. First you have the general murder rate which has been in decline except for a few major urban areas like chicago. Clearly things are heading in the right direction there.

Then you have the suburban, young white mentally ill male shootings. They started in the 80s and continue to today (look what Reagan did in the 80s FYI)

If we take mental health more seriously in this country the majority of these can be avoided. There was staff negligence in 3 major shootings - Virginia Tech, Aurora, & CT.

The murder rate has declined in the US even though the population and number of firearms has increased. I don't feel like searching now, but when I argued this point with Booyah! two years ago, the statistics showed that the murder rate in the US declined by thousands annually while the population increased about 50 million over the same time.

Is the glass half full or half empty?

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Kentucky - that explains a lot. Not a lot of bright lights in that state. I mean, look at the bozos they send to the US Senate.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

There are two issues at hand. First you have the general murder rate which has been in decline except for a few major urban areas like chicago. Clearly things are heading in the right direction there.

Then you have the suburban, young white mentally ill male shootings. They started in the 80s and continue to today (look what Reagan did in the 80s FYI)

If we take mental health more seriously in this country the majority of these can be avoided. There was staff negligence in 3 major shootings - Virginia Tech, Aurora, & CT.

Not quite. Gun deaths are on track to surpass motor vehicle deaths in the next couple of years. Clearly, we're on the right track addressing motor vehicle deaths and on the wrong track addressing firearm deaths. You are not going to have more guns in this country and fewer gun related deaths. Not going to happen. If you had fewer guns in this country, then gun related deaths would certainly decrease. Why don't the mentally ill use motor vehicles to kill? Surely you can take out a large number of people with a motor vehicle in the right places. But that doesn't happen. It's guns that they use to knock them down. Specific kinds of guns, for that matter.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Not quite. Gun deaths are on track to surpass motor vehicle deaths in the next couple of years.

Tell you what, get this government to legalize Euthanasia and provide all Americans with the right to end their life and you'll like cut those firearm deaths in half.

Edited January 7, 2013 by Usui Takumi

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Tell you what, get this government to legalize Euthanasia and provide all Americans with the right to end their life and you'll like cut those firearm deaths in half.

Make it mandatory for hippies and NRA members, you got yourself a deal.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Make it mandatory for hippies and NRA members, you got yourself a deal.

Making it mandatory is called 'murder'.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

Tell you what, get this government to legalize Euthanasia and provide all Americans with the right to end their life and you'll like cut those firearm deaths in half.

Even more. According to the same article, 58 of the 85 deaths per day by firearms are suicide. Proof positive that mental health is a huge part of the problem. And overall, violent crime and murder rates have fallen. Mental health is key.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Making it mandatory is called 'murder'.

It is only murder if it is done with malice.

[BatmanUSA 105]

Making it mandatory is called 'murder'.

make it mandatory for Huffington post bloggers and its a blessing.

[lostinblue 1,989]

There are two issues at hand. First you have the general murder rate which has been in decline except for a few major urban areas like chicago. Clearly things are heading in the right direction there.

Then you have the suburban, young white mentally ill male shootings. They started in the 80s and continue to today (look what Reagan did in the 80s FYI)

If we take mental health more seriously in this country the majority of these can be avoided. There was staff negligence in 3 major shootings - Virginia Tech, Aurora, & CT.

A 2007 special report released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, reveals that approximately 8,000 — and, in certain years, as many as 9,000 African Americans are murdered annually in the United States. This chilling figure is accompanied by another equally sobering fact, that 93% of these murders are in fact perpetrated by other blacks. The analysis, supported by FBI records, finds that in 2005 alone, for example, African Americans accounted for 49% of all homicide victims in the US — again, almost exclusively at the hands of other African Americans.

How do you handle this? Looks like it is a race issue.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

[Teddy B 17,251]

Just about anything that takes years or decades to accomplish seems unrealistic at the beginning. Look at auto pollution back in the 60's. Now see how far we've come, even with more cars on the roads. It took a decade or so to get most of the heavy polluters off the road. Ditto for industrial pollution. It took a long time and lots of money and complaining, but look at the results. And the same for gas mileage in autos. Look at the increases made, and some cars are even more powerful. A 630+ HP Corvette ZL1 gets better mileage than the old 350's. There were lots of growing pains, but it worked.

Why can't we do the same with crime and homicide? Focus on the root causes of it. Work on mental health issues, etc. If you want to get rid of guns, the Constitution needs to be amended and there is next to zero chance of that happening. And if it did, I'd venture to guess that it would take decades. And then how do you get the guns out of circulation? Ditto for an assault weapon ban. There are millions out there now. If you stop selling them tomorrow there is a few hundred year supply out there. And the reality is that most murder/deaths are caused by handguns. IMO, banning assault weapons isn't the answer. Many here support an assault weapon ban yet I haven't seen one person say ban handguns, the murder weapon of choice. Why?

The social/economic causes are the real root of the problem, IMO.

Spooky, the problem I see in your comparison of undertaking these huge changes is that the examples you use as proof of success are of inanimate objects, not people. In the examples you use of pollution and gas mileage, there is an absolute and the variables are finite and definitive. With people, it's the complete opposite. There are no absolutes, the variables are infinite and very unclear. You are suggesting that we attempt to change the economy, culture and mindset of the lower and middle class population, that's more than half the entire US population, and to also take in to consideration their mental health. There are simply too many unknowns that need to be adressed, and I don't believe the chances for success are all that high. The amount of money needed to attempt such a task would make the stimulus bill look like a weekly paycheck. The amount of time is unknown, maybe 50 years or so, maybe never? It's not realistic in my mind.

I have not called for an all out handgun ban because I do believe in the 2nd amendment, I do believe a person has the right to protect and defend themself. Stricter gun control is the way to go. It's proven to work in relatively short periods of time. Canada is a perfect example of this. They have stricter gun control laws and average about 140 murders by gun per year compared to 9,000 in the US.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

A 2007 special report released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, reveals that approximately 8,000 — and, in certain years, as many as 9,000 African Americans are murdered annually in the United States. This chilling figure is accompanied by another equally sobering fact, that 93% of these murders are in fact perpetrated by other blacks. The analysis, supported by FBI records, finds that in 2005 alone, for example, African Americans accounted for 49% of all homicide victims in the US — again, almost exclusively at the hands of other African Americans.

How do you handle this? Looks like it is a race issue.

By cleaning up the neighborhoods, by putting education at the forefront. By re-instilling morals and values within the young black male and female. By policing the neighborhoods(rode through ESL Saturday, not a single cop car for miles, and by Bad Daddy's chart, it's the most dangerous city in the US). Get the drugs out and put the work back in.