Americans, Do You Want Guns Banned?

YES

If I were Supreme Ruler, I'd outlaw every kind of gun. MAYBE keep hunting rifles, but highly restricted. I'd emulate Europe in that only certain divisions of police would carry guns, not every fat schlub mall cop on the beat.

I always remember the story about a woman who lived in some trailer park in a flyover state. Two men were breaking into her home, and she called 911 to report the crime. She had a baby, and she asked the 911 operator if she could shoot the men breaking into her home. The 911 operator told her to do whatever she needed to do to protect the baby. I forget the cops response time, but by the time they got out there, it was all over. The woman had pushed a couch in front of the door to her home, and the cops found the dead guys' bodies draped over the couch. Without a gun, the woman and her baby would have been unprotected.

So, I'm not in favor banning all guns. I feel like this is not a one-size-fits-all issue. With that said, nobody needs military grade weapons outside of law enforcement. I agree with Beto on that.

Kamal says something MUST be done about it all.

But she didn't say what should be done.

It will never happen -- "banning guns" -- however, I sure as hell think they should be better regulated, and it should be a lot harder to obtain one.

Yes, except hunting rifles and small handguns. Completely banned. No one needs an automatic weapon or an assault rifle. Repeal the 2nd amendment, it was written by slave owners 3 centuries ago.

R3 aka the tedious Kamala Harris hater is back, I see ... zzz ...

"Banning guns" is as real an option as "open borders." There are lots of common sense ways to regulate guns in a bill that has already passed the House. Universal background checks, banning of semi-automatic weapons, etc.

Obviously no one wants gun control or something would've been done about it years ago.

If this country didn't do anything after Sandy Hook, they never will

I want OP to cease/desist being a grammar moron! DLers (no apostrophe)

[quote] Obviously no one wants gun control or something would've been done about it years ago.

There is no logic to this statement.

What r7 said. This is how the NRA tries to frame it, common sense gun reform is "banning guns"

The only thing people want to ban are military style guns, these semi-automatic assault weapons that allow you to mow down countless people in seconds.

No one is coming for pistols and hunting rifles. The idea that you can just walk into a door and buy something like an AR15 is madness, no one needs that type of weapon!

People should at least be required to buy insurance like they do their car and go through training. Assault weapons should definitely be banned again.

Ok R11 ETA r8 ...obviously not enough people want gun control...

Trump undid a lot of those background checks, didn't he? I'm seeing that floating around on twitter. The obama era ones specifically

Trump Signs Bill Revoking Obama-Era Gun Checks for People With Mental Illnesses

Isn’t there an issue with mental illness checks? Isn’t that personal/private information and wasn’t able to stand up in court? I remember both sides turned against that.

Banning almost all guns would be shockingly easy. This whole 2nd Amendment bullshit is brand new. Of course, the Republican have to be removed from government. Heller allows for a ban on most, but not all, guns. And Heller could be overturned.

assault rifles have NO place anywhere - ban them

I always tell people to check out the weapons that were used in the Revolutionary War - those were the "arms" the founders were referring to. So particularly if a justice is an "originalist," weapons from that era should be the only ones allowed.

Good luck shooting 20 people with your black powder musket! Problem solved.

OP/R13 This is a great idea. Buy a gun and you need to carry liability insurance for its misuse. Handguns at a lower rate, assault rifles at a much higher rate. As the repubs say, "Let market forces do their work" As a health professional (therapist) I pay over $500 a year to protect myself from client lawsuits. It's mandatory. It's that high due to the rampant shenanigans of other trained professionals. We can price gun ownership out of reach of many.

Yes.

I fact, I want the Second Amendment repealed entirely.

Americans and gun nuts in particular have proven they're not responsible enough to keep this right. It should be revoked.

Sorry. But Republicans, right-wingers, and gun nuts have radicalized me, and proven to me that my past support for the 2nd Amendment was mistaken. I now believe that we SHOULD criminalize gun ownership and SHOULD confiscate all guns.

R2 I got the same advice when I lived in a holler in Appalachia. If they break into your house you can shoot them. If you shoot them on your porch make sure you drag them into the house --and then it's all good. I chose to keep a sharp machete instead.

The Second Amendment has failed America

Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens was right: Repeal the Second Amendment

R22 Which will trigger the full scale white/right wing revolution. Do you think the cops and military are on your side with this?

Yeah, they probably are. They are the targets of a lot of these guns that America is awash in.

it’s about the trump party receiving NRA and Russian money. These people don’t care about innocent Americans dying in bloodbaths, they care about money and power. Truly soulless monsters.

Would the GOP lawmakers be as dodgy and ineffective on the issue if their own children were slaughtered at school?

Last night in Toronto a gunman shot 5 people at a nightclub. No one killed. Suspected gang related. Why none dead? Maybe because Canadians are bad shots. Maybe because semi-automatic guns are banned in Canada.

We have disturbed, violent people here like the USA but we try to limit their ability to kill.

Yes. Only rifles and small handguns. I'd be very happy if everything else was banned. No one needs an automatic weapon. Why are politicians so scared to say that.

Super strict law regarding the possession of firearms during the commission of any felony or misdemeanor. LONG mandatory sentences even if you only have the gun in your pocket and never fire it. Death penalty if you fire the gun during commission of the crime, even if your bullets don't hit anyone. It doesn't take a psychotherapist to understand that if someone fires a gun at you, you're harmed whether or not you got hit by the bullet.

If we can't ban guns altogether because of the 2nd Amendment, we can certainly borrow a GOP ploy and be goddamned tough on crime.

Yes, all of them, everywhere. Then people will become expert at poisoning each other.

We're aggressive and vicious and that will not change. Maybe in a few hundred thousands years if we live that long. Goodall knows.

I wish the left would stop with the scewed headlines. We don't need to stop to those levels. Its messes with tjier credibility for those whom are undecided .

Yes, and right now. It's long past due.

YES. All guns should be banned. I hate hunting so ban those fucking shotguns too.

[quote]Super strict law regarding the possession of firearms during the commission of any felony or misdemeanor. LONG mandatory sentences even if you only have the gun in your pocket and never fire it. Death penalty if you fire the gun during commission of the crime, even if your bullets don't hit anyone.

Yes, this is the approach I favor. I'd go further -- commit a felony or misdemeanor while owning a gun, even if your gun is locked away at home during the commission of the crime, and you forfeit your right to ever own a gun again. Commit a crime with a gun in your possession, no matter if it's in your pocket or in your getaway car, and you get 10 years added to your sentence. If you get probation, you're still going to jail for 10 years.

Automatic and assault weapon ban. No exceptions.

I am ok with hunting -- and in fact it is needed for health purposes in the USA to cull sick/old elements of animal populations.

Handguns are ok if we beef up background checks and licensing. Also must pass safety and operation course.

No, I don't want all guns banned. That would be disastrous. If every law abiding person in the country turned in their guns the only people who would have guns would be the crooks.

IMO what we need are bans on any type of assault weapon. The only people who need weapons like that are law enforcement.

R38, no hunter goes looking for old and sick animals to cull. They shoot whatever crosses their line of sight.

The mess we're in with the second amendment has a lot to do with a misplaced comma. Remember this the next time you're annoyed by a DL grammar troll.

So, R39?

When has having a gun ever SAVED anyone? Almost never. Guns in the home are used almost exclusively to kill family members, or the owners themselves.

Ban guns and the suicide rate drops dramatically, along with the number of murdered spouses.

I am in favor of banning everything but handguns and rifles. I don't think anyone but military and law enforcement ought to be able to procure body armor and current purchase of it ought to be tracked and mandated.

I own a firearm, for protection. I went to safety classes and practice at the range, regularly. I have it in a biometric lockbox. I wish I didn't have to have it, but a scummy ex boyfriend of one of my sisters has threatened her, her child, my parents, my partner and myself. Because of him, everyone in my family now have handguns (firearms are always stored safely). If he attacks any of us, we at least have a way to protect ourselves until law enforcement arrives.

I would never be in favor of a total gun ban because if I turn mine in, as a honest and hopeful person, I know my sister's ex would not. He's lying, vengeful trash with no future who hates everyone. However, if he were to die tomorrow, I would properly dispose of it.

Even hunting rifles should be registered. Shotguns, etc. all of them registered. Ban the assault shit entirely, recall all of it, issue the EO to stop their sales immediately on pain of arrest and huge fines. Enough of this crap.

Worse than that, R40, hunters shoot the prime animals, the top alpha males, etc. for their racks and trophy kills. Hunters do not 'cull' anything. I grew up in the culture and know.

Every kind of gun banned except shotguns.

How do you collect them once a ban is in place? Crooks won’t turn them over.

r2, hardly anyone is shot in self-defense.

r39, funny, banning handguns wasn't "disastrous" in other countries.

Stop repeating NRA talking points, you dumb fucks.

"I own a firearm, for protection. I went to safety classes and practice at the range, regularly. I have it in a biometric lockbox. I wish I didn't have to have it, but a scummy ex boyfriend of one of my sisters has threatened her, her child, my parents, my partner and myself. Because of him, everyone in my family now have handguns (firearms are always stored safely). If he attacks any of us, we at least have a way to protect ourselves until law enforcement arrives."

Gun nuts like you and your family are more of a threat that your sister's boyfriend.

R47, that's the reason for the proposal to hit gun owners hard when they commit crime. The criminal gun owners will be off the streets for decades. The non-criminal owners aren't causing any trouble.

I would rather get rid of all the guns, but there are legal problems with that, not to mention practical problems. But we are highly skilled at being tough on criminals. We can unquestionably use legislation to start locking these fuckers up. We just have to elect a Democratic Congress and President.

I am not anti gun. I believe if you want a .38 or one of those lady pistols for protection, have at it. If you are a sportsmen/hunter, you should have every right to own a rifle. The issue for me is those who stockpile weapons, the automatic weapons, and regular citizens having access to military type weapons. You don't need an entire arsenal of weapons to run an errand to the Target in the sketchy neighborhood. You don't need an AK-47 to hunt. If you need a machine gun for protection, then maybe you need to rethink some of your life choices.

'life choices'

Like being a paramilitary terrorist, R51?

I can't agree with you, R51, and want ALL firearms to be registered with a required background check. You can use a high-powered hunting rifle to great effect to terrorize and kill. So no, all of it, every damned one sold from now on should require a background check and registration.

It's a right, but there's nothing in there that says it's unlimited.

DON'T YOU ALL UNDERSTAND SAYS THE GUN OWNER! I'M NORMAL, I WOULD NEVER EVER USE MY GUNS TO HARM SOMEONE ELSE! IT'S ALL THOSE OTHER CRAZY PEOPLE"! so says the husband who shoots the wife and vice versa, the boyfriend who shoots the girlfriend and vice versa, the parents who kill the kids and vice versa and on and on and on... EVERYONE thinks they are quote "normal' when in reality so so many are NOT! how does one regulate this though? psych evaluations like they do in japan would at least be a basic beginning start though right?....

and i'm sorry but if your "enjoyment and thrill" and hobby in life is to go to some woods and with these various assault rifles shoot 100 rounds (pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, etc) in a few seconds at a target, then something is wrong with you! end of story!...

This is a Russian/Deplorable troll thread designed to trick you into saying all guns should be banned. No one wants all guns banned. Sane people want more restrictions placed on Assault rifles and other things that the founders did NOT have in mind when it comes to the right to bear arms. Better background checks so these mental patients all you Republicans are SOOOOO concerned about don't get access to AK-47s so easily.

Blocking the OP.

[quote] Guns in the home are used almost exclusively to kill family members, or the owners themselves.

Kindly show me where that bit of utter nonsense has been proven. I'll stand by. No? That's right because there is no such proof. Only some ignorant childish statement you pulled out of your ass.

I think handguns are okay. A a rifle for sport.

But I would like no gun to have more that a 6 round clip or just be a six shooter revolver. A hunting rifle should not have more than 5 rounds in it. If you cannot shot an animal that is not firing back in 5 rounds then you need to practice on targets again before going out there again.

With the hand gun, if your life is in danger you have six shots to give you time to run for safety or stop your attacker. More is not necessary.

People who have them need to be licensed and insured. In order to drive you need to pass a test showing you know how to operate a vehicle I'm for the same. Also your registered gun needs to be insured because any damage caused by the gun you own should be liable for civil claims if not criminal. Having to pay monthly insurance will guarantee that you know where that gun is at all times. No after the fact my gun was stolen or my 2nd cousin once removed went hunting and never returned it. Your dollars are paying for it you know where that is and that it is locked up.

The government should offer $10,000 for each assault rifle turned in.

I say just ban all white males from handling guns for the next 20 years.

Automatic death sentence for any white man found with a gun in his possession.

Boom, problem solved.

There's that little thing called the Second Amendment which was interpreted by the right wing extremists of the Supreme Court as providing a so called fundamental right to bear arms. Assault rifles and magazines that hold larger quantities of shells could be outlawed and regulated. And I hope they will. But the smaller weapons, the ones that actually do kill the largest number of people in suicides and domestic violence , would be extraordinarily difficult to ban unless there is a radical change in our Republican controlled Federal Courts, Supreme Court, Senate and our toxic culture.

It's another form of corruption of civic society, just more deadly, peculiarly American. It's systematized like the two-party system, lack of universal healthcare, or racism. It is what it is. Some people don't like these features of the US but they are here to stay.

R59 You say 'just ban all white males from handling guns for the next 20 years' and I say just ban all white females from handling guns for the next two years. OK, you right with that?

'We can do something about this'

r59 if you ban all white males from having guns, you have to ban all black and hispanic males too.

Nope, R64. They're not the problem.

I also think we should ban all white men from voting for 20 years. That will help us fix this country.

I don't see any black men here:

assault weapons should be banned. all guns should not be banned because if they were people like Trump would take over the country and we would have no way to protect ourselves

People used to line up across a field, charge at each other, and then slaughter each other with blunt blades, giant hammers, and axes. It was routine, if you lived in any era prior to this one, odds are you would have seen a war like that in your lifetime, probably more than one. Banning guns won't stop humans killing each other.

Having a gun isn’t going to protect you from a government that has tanks, planes, nukes, etc.

R66 posts for us, The Grotesque Face(s) of Incel Murderers. Also known as: Obvious Unfuckables

Just such a damn shame, those creepy murderous wastes didn't have it within themselves to suicide, instead. Even discounting the innocent lives they took, they would at least have had sincere mourners and their families wouldn't be buried in shame. What utter garbage.

[quote]Nope, [R64]. They're not the problem

????

I would say men, period, are the problem when it comes to gun violence. Or maybe I'm just imagining all the inner-city shootings.

r69 True, but it would make the body count less. It would be hard to stab 46 people without someone tackling you first.

Assault weapons never should've been made available to the general public to be bought and sold. The very idea is ludicrous. Of course, what is just plain common sense vs. what actually happens in real life are very often two different things.

And then we have the 2nd amendment being wildly misinterpreted from what it actually is supposed to mean.

Well, R49, you're entitled to think that, but we're following the advice of law enforcement, the local domestic violence center who advised my sister and our family lawyer. All of whom suggested firearm purchase, accredited training courses and safe storage.

After all, as my sister's p.o.s. ex-BF said (among many other disgusting and violent things directed towards us), "A restraining order is only a fucking piece of paper!".

But, to most, I'm pretty sure the only "nut" in the equation is my sister's loser ex boyfriend.

The right to bear arms does not mean the right to own automatic or assault style weapons any more than it means the right to own personal rocket launchers or personal nuclear weapons. There needs to be a definition of what, in modern society, is in line with the original spirit of the 2nd Amendment.

My BF and I talked a bit this evening. I told him I've never even touched a gun (and I'm old). When I was a little kid, my brother's best friend lived on the next street down. His father and uncle were playing cards one Sunday, drinking, and got into an argument, and his father shot and killed his uncle. We heard the shot at our house. The whole family moved away in shame after the father was sent to prison. They eventually returned. And they were a very nice family. We went to the same schools, and belonged to the same parish.

If you live out in the country, you probably need a gun. But that would be a rifle or a shotgun. You don't (or shouldn't) need an AK47 to hunt deer, or put down rabid animals. I worked with a woman who lived out in the country. She was late for work one day, and in tears when she arrived. She had hit a deer with her car on the commute in to work, and had to unlock her rifle to put the deer down. I liked the point that Mayor Pete made about them: they're tools, not idols. They're a tool I don't plan to use, and I think they need to be strictly regulated.

Exactly r76.

"You say 'just ban all white males from handling guns for the next 20 years' and I say just ban all white females from handling guns for the next two years. OK, you right with that?"

I guess this is where the MRA/incel brigade chooses to pretend that women are just as likely to commit murder as men.

"If you live out in the country, you probably need a gun. But that would be a rifle or a shotgun."

I grew up a rural area. I never needed a gun for anything.

"Well, R49, you're entitled to think that, but we're following the advice of law enforcement, the local domestic violence center who advised my sister and our family lawyer. All of whom suggested firearm purchase, accredited training courses and safe storage."

That "safe storage" won't help you if he breaks into your house and shoots you before you have a chance to get your gun.

"Banning guns won't stop humans killing each other."

Evidence shows otherwise - countries that ban handguns don't have a disproportionately large number of homicides committed with other weapons.

That is why the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants and kindergartners and newlyweds and grandpas and high-schoolers and dads and teachers and moms and worshippers and workers and occasionally infants.

We vow to never again find ourselves caught in the ruthless grip of the British Empire or a group of lifelong friends reuniting at a country music festival.

I hope that this point will be sufficiently clarified in our Constitution, so that our descendants may understand fully the need for an armed and well-regulated group of citizens that can put down any despotic government, ninth-grade class, synagogue congregation, The Dark Knight Rises audience, or group of shoppers at a Walmart that rises up against them.

It is the price we must pay, for what signifies a few lives lost in a century or two on the battlefield, or at a Little League game, or in a high-school library? We do not take our task to safeguard our liberty lightly, and we must never hesitate when our existence as a free state is put at risk by the sinister whims of autocrats and nightclub attendees and older sisters and high-school principals and great-grandmothers and pharmacy technicians and parents of young kids and accountants and dancers and 7-year-olds and well-liked colleagues and leaders of Bible study groups and immigrants and aunts and aspiring photographers and paramedics and the first people in their family to attend college. Likewise, we must accept that defending our liberty will sometimes necessitate the loss of life of brave and loyal patriots, as well as nurses and sons and retirees and dedicated union members and daughters and aspiring firefighters and bartenders and veterans and teaching assistants and rabbis and fast-food employees and animal lovers and postal workers, and, if necessary, people described by everyone who knew them as loving, creative, and kind.

The insanity continues in this thread. The gun-lover needs to be taken down in the comments please..

Honestly, we need to round up all these gun loving freaks and ship them all to their own island. And confiscate all AR-15s and similar weapons and ship them to the same island. Along with all the ammo.

Get them the fuck out of this country, and let them prove how 'safe' their island is to the world, where everyone has dozens of guns at all times, and all the ammo they could ever want.

Nobody else would be allowed on or off the island.

It'd solve a whole bunch of problems at once.

Yes, especially these assault rifles and military grade guns. There's no reason for them to be on the streets outside of police and military.

I'm at the point now where I think all of these assault rifles should just be seized by the government, and completely banned. Yeah, the gun lovers will cry and scream and threaten, but fuck 'em. Everybody is so sick and tired of this gun insanity.

With guns, we are citizens.

Without them, we'll be subjects.

That's the line of bullshit you've been fed, R85.

It's just kinda sad that you bought it hook, line, and sinker.

We got along just fine in this country without these fucking insane assault weapons, that can kill 30 people in ten seconds. If these weapons are banned, it won't be the end of America, as these gun nuts keep freaking out about.

All guns banned. You need to hunt for food? Let the government give you a crossbow and some lessons.

Forgot to add: with no guns, police departments have no reason to become militarized to the extent that they are. Less tax dollars being spent to enrich the military industrial complex. Maybe spend the money on education, healthcare and infrastructure.

Repeal the second amendment. Stat.

Bad guys will always be able to obtain guns. Ask Australia how their gun ban is going.

R6, aka the tedious Kamala Harris apologist, is back, I see ... zzz ...

YES YES YES

Folks better make sure they have plenty of ammo in additia to the guns! The satanists who control the US government will try to restrict that also. And remember people, there are more of us than there are of them.

"Ask Australia how their gun ban is going."

They have far less gun violence than the US. Bad example.

R92 Well Kamala still hasn't told us what she will do.

I love the feel-good stories when a homeowner or bystander with a gun permanently takes care of a home invader or robber. There are very few things more evil than a thief.

Yes, but I’d control guns another way. I’d outlaw ammunition. The constitution says nothing about the right to bear bullets...

It wouldn’t be difficult for the SC to rule that bullets are an inherent and necessary part of “arms”. Might as well try banning the trigger or barrel too.

R98 Dems may need to get creative. Repugs come up with heartbeat bills and religious freedom bills to work around Roe v Wade and marriage equality, so why not?

"I love the feel-good stories when a homeowner or bystander with a gun permanently takes care of a home invader or robber"

Hardly ever happens. It is way more common for gun owners to shoot themselves with their own guns. And you think thieves are more evil than murderers or rapists? That's AmeriKKKa for you.

The whole point of the gun crazy is to make democracy impossible. Guns teach people that they don't have to persuade others they are right: they don't have to compromise, they can "draw a line in the sand" and not deal with others. Every gun owner is a would be murderer, and don't think they don't fantasize about it constantly because they do. Our democracy will never "work" until we take away the guns.

Keep your handguns and hunting rifles, if they make you feel that much more secure in your masculinity, which I guess they must.

Everything else gets melted down, and is never manufactured again for mass-consumption.

God Almighty, how hard is that?

Ban AR-15s and all the rest of those types of weapons. Let the gun nuts go bonkers and scream and threaten, tough shit. This country is essentially being held hostage by these fanatics who worships guns. Fuck 'em all. They're not the majority by any means, most Americans do not own these types of weapons and have no interest in acquiring them.

IT'S BASICALLY self absorbed, selfish, narcissism stance/argument!.. 'I WANT WHAT I WANT AND I WANT IT NOW! IT'S MY RIGHT! IT'S THE 2ND AMENDMENT, SO THERE!" mentality!

i've yet to hear one person, ONE PERSON EVER explain to me WHY we or they NEED ar-15 and other weapons! hunting? nope! protection? what the robber has a similar weapon too? or is it that 10, 25, 50 people are trying to break into your home at the same time so you need a weapon that can shoot 50 rounds in 10 seconds? does the robber even KNOW if and what kind of gun you have? ah, must be the "they don't know, that's my edge! idea huh?...

and yes, i'm sorry, but if your thrill and hobby and enjoyment in life is to go somewhere in the middle of nowhere and put a target up and go "pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow" shooting 50, 100 rounds in a few seconds? something is WRONG WITH YOU!..

so far the main seemingly arguments are 1) the government wants to take ALL guns away (like they could even if they wanted to logistically!)

2) the government wants to make all citizens defenseless so they can rule over us like martial law so we need our guns! (uh, so if this was the evil plan why hasn't the government done it already? what they have been "biding their time" for the past 200 plus years? and newsflash: all the guns in the world aren't going to help if the "government" has tanks and rocket launchers and so on and so on!

3) I"m normal and okay, it's all those OTHER people who are nuts! so says the husband who kills the wife and vice versa, the boyfriend who kills the girlfriend and vice versa, the parents who kill the kids and vice versa and so on and so on! yeah, EVERYONE thinks they are "normal"'

4) we should focus on the opiate crisis! it kills 70 thousand people a year, way more then guns do! actually if you take in gun deaths and gun violence and injuries it totals to 130 thousand a year in this country... the idolatry of guns crowd think it's ONLY mass shootings that are the issue, when it's way more then that and that a mass shooting doesn't have to be deaths and technically a mass shooting is considered 3 or more people!.. ALSO, yes, the opiate issue is a crisis, however, how long has it been going on? it's a recent phenomena, unlike the gun crisis that has been going on for over 20 years! and uh, can't the government tackle both issues at the same time?

5) "we don't need more laws, we ALREADY have plenty of gun laws and gun safety laws! the authorities need to just enforce them!" i've heard this over and over again, and yet, i've also never heard anyone explain to me in detail, exactly what laws are already on the books and not being enforced?...

I agree with R5. We should repeal the second amendment. This doesn’t mean banning guns. It just means that common sense gun control can not be ruled unconstitutional by Scalia-like reasoning.

No just severely restricted. Banning outright would cause a civil war, probably, with the demented minority of people who own most of the guns going completely and utterly apeshit.

By the way by saying we need to repeal the second amendment, we are playing right into the gun nuts’ hands — as if the 2nd A is a constitutional right to own guns in the first place.

It establishes the right of keeping arms in order for the states to maintain militias.

[quote] nobody needs military grade weapons outside of law enforcement

"Military grade weapon" is such a nebulous term, For generations the muzzle loaded musket was "military grade". Like "common sense gun control" such ambiguities are never decided in favor of the citizen.

But addressing what you meant, almost nobody has such gear to begin with, not since 1934. An ACTUAL 20th century military grade automatic weapon will cost you no less than $25,000 and requires a special federal license. Such legal weapons have been used in no more than three or four crimes since FDR was president.

r109 it's obviously meant to be the AR-15-type weapons. Stop taking things so literally.

They've been making the same arguments since the 70s!!! This episode of All in the Family about gun control still mirrors the same arguments going on today!

"Guns don't kill people!"

[quote] it's obviously meant to be the AR-15-type weapons.

Of course it is, but the hyperbole calling them "military grade weapons" illustrates my point.

[quote] Stop taking things so literally.

When vague and demagogic language is being being used to overrule the Bill of Rights, demanding literal language doesn't seem a bad thing.

OK. Here's my prescription:

I would allow a limited number of guns per household, for hunting and personal protection. All gun owners would have to take classes and training on the proper use and storing of their weapons and then a test similar to what you do when you apply for a drivers license. Once the gun owner has successfully completed training and testing, they'd get a license that they would have to renew ever few years. Just like a drivers license.

I would ban all assault rifles except those used by the military. I would also ban the use of bump stocks or large magazines, and I would totally ban modifications to existing firearms.. So if you have a shot gun, or a hunting rifle of any kind, you tried to "fix it" and turn it into something more lethal, you lose your gun license and face severe fines. I would ban all armor piercing bullets.

If you are a gun collector, you would have to go through training, get your license, and also get a special collectors license to own more than the allowed guns per household. I would ban all kitchen table gun sellers. There are too many people out here who claim they are gun sellers who work out of the trunk of their car or on the internet. There will be no more direct sales of guns from the internet. You can go on the internet and pick out a gun, and purchase it. But it would be delivered to a licensed gun seller's shop and you'd have to go through all the training testing, etc. before you could take it home.

No one who is convicted of a violent crime, or who has a history of mental illness or a history of violent would be allowed to own a gun or to have guns around them. All personal protection guns, and rifles and shot guns must have locks and safety settings to keep them away from children. There would also be an age limit imposed on children owning guns. No one under 16, and even then they'd have to have permission of a parent or legal guardian.

That's it.I'll think of more stuff.

r112, the real moron is you. Just reciting NRA talking points. You need to read the Bill of Rights again.

If the founding fathers had been able to anticipate modern weapons, I wonder how the 2nd amendment would've turned out.

They would have made more of a thoughtful arrangement regarding the militia.

Probably be surprised that about the political inaction to fix the issue.

All. Guns. Now!!

Here's what Republican appointed, Conservative Chief Justice, Warren Burger of the U.S.Supreme Court wrote about the 2nd Amendment.

At this point, I want the entire Republican Party banned, and all straight white men banned from voting or running for office for a minimum of 10 years.

[quote]all straight white men banned from voting or running for office for a minimum of 10 years.

Because countries where straight white men are not in charge of things are utopian paradises!

Congrats on completely missing the point, R120

What if someone said "all black women banned from voting or running for office for a minimum of 10 years?" Bigotry is bigotry, it's hypocritical of you to single out one group and then object when other mention another group. And it doesn't help the conversation at all, and won't help solve anything.

R122, are you fucking stupid?

Women were already banned for a century or two. Black people banned for a century or so.

Jesus Christ, you're fucking stupid and completely missing the point. There is no systemic racism and systemic sexism oppressing and persecuting white men. AND IT FUCKING SHOWS.

Chris Rock -- 20 years ago.

After the shooting at the NZ mosque we were bombarded online with USA gun fanatics calling us stupid and the immediate decision to ban assault rifles as an idiotic, kneejerk gesture to such an extent that I can't see any kind of gun control gaining any traction in the USA. Never going to happen. The NRA types just don't care about other people's safety and welfare and will never let it happen.

r123 it's the double standard.

Black Guns Matter movement: "My black gun will defend my black life"

[quote] It establishes the right of keeping arms in order for the states to maintain militias.

R108, that statement is incomplete until you include the history of the militias in existence at the time of the 2nd Amendment. They were not reasonably required to protect citizens of Ohio from marauding Hoosiers. Nothing like that. They have magically turned into the National Guard. They were the posses that could be quickly raised to track down and capture escaped slaves.

Ask yourself this. If you were a slave living in the American south in the 1800's, why would you stay on the plantation after night fall? The obvious reason is that the slave owners would track you down and kill you. MUCH more easily done if they all have firearms and you do not. At that time, southern states required men to own firearms and this is why; so that a posse could be raised on a moment's notice and an escaped black person could be hunted down and recaptured. The guns kept the white men safe and the black man enslaved.

The 2nd Amendment was exclusively designed to ensure the fire power needed to keep white Southerners in charge and to subjugate black Southerners and kill the ones who dared challenge the white power structure. It was racist to its core from its very inception, straight through until the present day.

It was designed to be an anti-democratic method to consolidate power. It was designed to kill people and intended to be used to kill. It functions that way still. It - and its history - should be removed from the Constitution before it kills us all. It was not written for a good use and it has never had one.

People in this thread seem to think that the Constitution *grants* rights. It's does not. What it did was memorialize the individual rights of man, that one is inherently due when born and further, to specifically limit the power of government to mess with them. It's spelled out right in the preamble that so few people read:

"The Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution expressed a desire in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added:"

Secondly, people mistake the second amendment's use of the word "State" as referring to the State/Government/Country, but when read in conjunction with the preamble, which is clearly talking about individual rights which the government has no ability to restrict, it means a State of Being. The State of Freedom of the individual. These people had just fought their way free of a tyrannical government, they weren't looking to build the next one, they were looking to be sure that the generations to come had a safety net.

And lastly, you know what kicked off the civil war? It wasn't a tea party or taxation or anything else. It was the Battle of Lexington and Concord and shots were fired at the British soldiers who were there specifically to try and collect the guns of the people to disarm them.

#113! great post, i would also had mandatory psych evaluations AS WELL as a war on the black market of gun manufacturing, selling in this country and coming into this country from elsewhere...

All men under the age of 45 are forbidden to own any firearm

[quote]And lastly, you know what kicked off the civil war? It wasn't a tea party or taxation or anything else. It was the Battle of Lexington and Concord and shots were fired at the British soldiers who were there specifically to try and collect the guns of the people to disarm them.

Uh, oh, dear. . ,

Assault rifles and automatic weapons have no place in anyone's hands except the police and military. They should be gone

We banned a lot of guns in Australia after a series of nutcase massacres, and kept close tabs on all gun ownership since then. No regrets, we haven't had a massacre since and been saved a lot of grief with the rise of terrorism. Just last week a man with a history of mental illness went nuts with a KNIFE shouting Allah u Akbar in central Sydney. One person died before bystanders disarmed him. If he'd been armed with a semi-automatic it could easily have been dozens.

R130 I forgot to mention the mandatory background checks, and a waiting period.

When the British started barging into the homes of private citizens, etc. men who were armed, confiscating weapons, arresting and often executing that was the basis for the 2nd Amendment. Go look at the Bill of Rights and place it in the context of the Revolutionary War. Provisions for a "well regulated militia" and the right to keep and bear arms was a direct result of the abuses that they colonists experienced from the British.

Some of you need to really read and study history instead of pulling things out of the air piecemeal. The Perspective of the Founders was informed by both the great thinkers of the Enlightenment, by Rousseau and the Ancient Greek philosophers, and also by the abuses they were experiencing from the British military that was bivouacked in their cities and towns.

There were also a lot of loyalists to the crown that spied on their neighbors, and facilitated uniformed, armed British soldiers simply barging into private homes, often in the middle of the night, etc. What amazes me as I've studied the Revolutionary War and the events leading up to it, is how we ever won. So many times we were on the brink of disaster.

Australia now has more guns per capita than prior to the ban. The number of guns in law abiding citizen's hands does not affect crime rates.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-28/australia-has-more-guns-than-before-port-arthur-massacre/7366360

Americans need good anti-aircraft weaponry to shoot down the drones that will be shooting at them, between surveillance missias!

r136, you must have missed this part of the article:

However, the greater number of firearms has been outpaced by Australia's growth in population, so per capita firearm ownership remains 23 per cent lower than it was before the Port Arthur massacre.

"The proportion of households with a firearm fell by 75 per cent since 1988. Those who already possess several guns have bought more," Associate Professor Alpers said.

I did - I shouldn't have stated per capita. Fact: There are now more guns in private hands than there were before the massacre. And it does not equate to more massacres.

Australia is a dangerous place. I didn’t feel safe there, and there have been a lot of attacks in Sydney and Melbourne in the news since I was there.

"Australia is a dangerous place. "

Yet it's safer than America. Go figure.

"There are now more guns in private hands than there were before the massacre."

Some people who already had them are buying more. The % of people with guns did not increase.

I hate to reference Michael Moore, but Bowling for Columbine was probably his finest hour. And as he summed up his conclusions, pointing out other countries and their guns, etc. he asked, "What makes us different?" then concluded it was Fear. And after watching things unravel the past ten years I have to agree. The mass media hypes fear. Movies hyoe fear. Fear of"Others." And it is relentless. Politicians stoke our fears and divide us. WE have a culture of hate in this country that is really unique.

r142 wold like Michael Moore to sit on her face!

ban them

BAN THEM