OUR CHILDREN

[snagged in outlet 3]

I didn’t say I didn’t like it. 

[ColdWaterFshr]

Man I like brassieres and the vexing mysteries of their contents.

 

 

[fishinwrench]

6 minutes ago, ColdWaterFshr said:

Man I like brassieres and the vexing mysteries of their contents.

 

 

Without them there'd be no school shootings.    

[Al Agnew]

Well, most of us have ideas of what to do about these horrific happenings, but the reality is that there is no solution.  There are lots of measures that could be taken, and many of them might actually work to stop a particular mass shooter, while not affecting the next dozen of them.  And most of them involve doing things as a country that would make this country a very different, and not necessarily better, place.  Want to outlaw particular kinds of guns?  Yeah, we could do that.  But to make it effective, we'd have to confiscate every one of those guns we possibly could.  How many people are going to like the police or the "gun squads" crashing into their houses to check to see if they have illicit weapons?  Want to keep every person who has ever been judged mentally off in some manner on a database and make sure they never get a weapon?  A lot of people wouldn't like that.  Want to make it illegal to have a gun in the home of any kid who is taking those behavioral drugs?  Horrors!  Want to make a mental test mandatory if you want to keep a gun (not buy one, keep one you already have)?  I didn't think so.  Want your doctor, by law, to have to report anything that appears to be wrong with you that would make you having a gun dangerous?

Point is, everything we could do to identify those who potentially could cause these things involves a lot of draconian measures that not many of us would be happy with.  And everything we could do to reduce the number of guns in America to the point that it would keep a lot of these people from obtaining one would require even more draconian measures.  It's really easy to say that a certain kind of gun, or all guns, should be outlawed...when you don't own a gun and don't know or care anything about guns, and don't live or work in a place where there is a good chance of there being armed bad guys and no cops around.

Or we could go the other way and arm a lot more "sane" people in all kinds of different venues.  Sorry, I don't have enough faith in "sane" people to believe that some of them won't go nuts, or won't panic in a tight situation and shoot a bunch of innocents, or do something otherwise stupid with their weapon.  When I walk into the local Burger King (I'd use McDonalds but I hate McDonalds), should I be more worried about a mass shooter, or Cletus in the next booth with a concealed weapon that he hasn't been trained to "bear"?  Do you really think that a teacher with a little bit of training is going to be able to shoot a bad guy, who doesn't care who gets hit because everybody is a target, when said teacher is surrounded by screaming panicked kids and has to worry first about not shooting one of them?

We have created a society in which this stuff is happening, and it will never change until society changes.  Forget about going back to the way things were in 1960.  It ain't happening.  But maybe, just maybe, the next couple of generations will start moving the other way, being a little less self-centered, a little less enamored with solving all problems with force, a little more empathetic and understanding of others.  The last few generations haven't performed very well.

[Deadstream]

What Al said .      What a mess.

[Old plug]

 Actually Al limiting all Rifles to a 3 shot capacity like a shot gun would be a good start. But I have to agree this is a real mess, and it is not going to get better unless there is a national change in attitude. As far as arming teachers goes. I hate to say it. All the killers will do is adapt. They can stand on the side of the road and just rake a school bus.                      

[Al Agnew]

11 hours ago, Old plug said:

 Actually Al limiting all Rifles to a 3 shot capacity like a shot gun would be a good start. But I have to agree this is a real mess, and it is not going to get better unless there is a national change in attitude. As far as arming teachers goes. I hate to say it. All the killers will do is adapt. They can stand on the side of the road and just rake a school bus.                      

Well...I would agree that high capacity magazines make any semi-auto more effective at shooting people in bunches.  I'd have no problem, personally, in banning them.  But there are a huge number of them already out there, and it would take a long time to reduce the numbers to the point that somebody who is not going to obey any gun law anyway can't get hold of some.

Here's a big question, or maybe a group of questions...would it work to do all this banning in the hopes that EVENTUALLY the numbers of whatever we're banning are reduced to the point where it would make a big difference?  The related question is, is that POSSIBILITY (not a sure thing) worth the fact that any law like that would only affect the law abiding owner for a long time?

[Terrierman]

Let perfect no longer be the enemy of better.  Any progress is still better, any small step.  I pray we as a nation can do better.

[Old plug]

Well if you looked at my first post on this subject back on page one Al you would see that I am a strong avocate of gun registration. I am all aware we got people around here with R15 that re fully auto or have bump stocks and what have you that are not registered. I would make it felloney with a steep fine of a few thousand dollars not to. 

[ColdWaterFshr]

41 minutes ago, Al Agnew said:

Here's a big question, or maybe a group of questions...would it work to do all this banning in the hopes that EVENTUALLY the numbers of whatever we're banning are reduced to the point where it would make a big difference?  The related question is, is that POSSIBILITY (not a sure thing) worth the fact that any law like that would only affect the law abiding owner for a long time?

Yes and Yes.