Biden called on Congress to “require safe storage of firearms, require background checks for all gun sales, eliminate gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability, and ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.”
I think more robust background checks, gun licensing and liability insurance (including for things like improper storage leading to easy thefts) are good points to address. Note that we do not know who the shooters are nor how they acquired their weapons, so none of these might have been effective in this case.
I disagree about liability for manufacturers. We do not get to sue Ford if somebody commits a crime with an Explorer, so why should we get to sue Smith & Wesson if somebody commits a crime with an M&P Shield?
If anything, "strict liability" should be abolished for all goods, as well as the perverse idea of "punitive damages". It puts way too much power in random juries. If a company is not breaking any laws, I do not see why they should pay (especially pay in excess of damages) just because some jury feels they should.
And so-called "assault weapons" are not even involved here. Just like in vast majority of homicides. So I think this Dem obsession needs to go. It merely distracts from more fruitful avenues of reform.
Goodman said guns and violence are not a frequent presence in Dadeville. He said trying to control guns would prove as futile as trying to control illegal drugs.
Or legal drugs for that matter. It is the same impulse that gave us Prohibition. Some people do bad things, so let's ban it for everyone.
southernhybrid said:
So, why the fuck are we trying to control illegal drugs, if guns and drugs are both impossible to control?
Aren't many libs in favor of legalizing all drugs, not just weed? I think full legalization goes too far, but I also think the punitive approach to possession/addiction is counterproductive even for crack, meth, fentanyl etc.
I agree that drugs should at the very least be decriminalized. I just found it ironic that a sheriff in a hick town compared how difficult it is to control illegal drugs to how difficult it would be to control guns if we had stronger gun control laws. We lock up an enormous number of people for using drugs that usually only harm the user, if that, but people like the sheriff in the article, don't see any point in trying to do a better job at keeping guns out of the hands of those who are not emotionally stable.
Over 70% of Americans want better gun control laws, yet those in the minority have no problem with most anyone, other than felons, owning guns legally. Is it a good idea for an 85 or 90 year old to own a gun? I wondered if the racist who shot the young teen was a bit senile. I say that because there is an old woman on my street who once asked my husband, who was helping get a petition signed to limit some development in a forested area nearby, if the petition was to get rid of the Black neighbors on our street. She was obviously racist but it sounded to me like she was a bit senile as well. Would we want someone like her to own a gun? My nutty anxiety prone neighbor, who worries about crazy things and is almost delusional at times, has told me a few times she would like a gun. I've always been able to talk her out of it. But, the fact is that she could walk into a gun store and legally purchase a gun. I also have a Trump supporter friend, age 71, who has multiple serious health problems, can barely walk, etc. who owns a gun. I hope she never shoots someone who knocks at her door or drives into her driveway. Her 18 year old grandson lives with her too. Hope he doesn't have access to her gun. I'm just giving personal examples of people who own guns, who in my opinion, aren't emotionally and/or physically capable of using them safely.
And, don't even get me to mention the gun show loophole. If you're a licensed gun dealer, you need to do a quick background check before you sell a gun, but if you're just some guy, there is no need for any background check or paperwork for that matter. We register cars! Can't we at least try to register something that has one dangerous, primary purpose!
I once saw a man who looked to be in his 80s, wearing a side arm. He was on 02, and in a wheelchair. Since he had some family members with him, my hope was that they made sure the gun wasn't loaded. But, what if it was? Is it a good idea to have someone like that in possession of a gun? Or why is it legal in many states for an 18 year old to be in possession of a gun, even when the age he can legally buy it is 21? Our fucking brains aren't even mature until our mid-20s. People from 18 to 25 often do all kinds of crazy risky things. I know because while I never hurt anyone, I took plenty of risks myself when I was in that age range. I know nothing will change as long as the GOP has so much power and the courts are controlled by power hungry, frequently corrupt justices. This country is going down in so many ways, but I honestly never thought the time would come when people killed each other because they were so hateful or emotionally unstable.
It never used to be like this when I was growing up. How did we get to this place where people settle arguments by shooting each other, or where people are so paranoid that if they see a stranger at their front door or in their driveway, they shoot them. Btw, the young woman who was murdered was white, just like her killer. Race doesn't always have a thing to do with this mindless killings.
This isn't all directed at you Derec. I just kept thinking of things regarding guns that really piss me off and were worth a rant!
