Our society is at a major crossroads. We have become so stuck on extremes that I almost think that we have lost touch with what normal is. Our country lives for drama these days. You hear it in the kids, in the adults. It never fails to amaze me when I go to a store and see parents dragging their kids around like baggage yacking on their cell phone oblivious to what their children are doing or worse yet observing. I am not talking about censoring, but I am talking about being mentally available to speak with your children if something pops up they do not understand or they witness a behavior that is unacceptable.
Our children really are blueprints of our society. They are the litmus test by which we are judged. We have children kill other children now, our very future is at stake and yet half the country we live in is more concerned with being able to get an AR15 and enough ammo to take out a small neighborhood. They will toss the words rights around as justification. Well let me toss one back at them then. What about the right for children to grow up in a safe environment without the fear of being killed to get an education, without feeling like they are in police state. We have just ventured beyond the scope of sanity here. There is not a single weapon in the world worth more then a child out there.
Now I can feel the gun nuts loading their rifles and pointing at me. I have no problems with guns, I have problems with overzealous, irresponsible gun owners, and the general lack of knowledge as a whole in the gun industry. How would I change things? Well lets see here.
1) All gun owners regardless of the weapon must submit to a psychological well being check.
2) If a gun is in the house and it is anything other then a single shot rifle IT MUST be stored in a gun safe.
3) A special permit must be issued to those owning assault weaponry and they MUST have previous military experience prior to being allowed to purchase said weapons. No more college kids buying guns they saw on black ops shooting up movie theaters. They need to have at least been in a setting where proper use, care and responsibility is taught for each and every weapon.
4) On a NATIONAL level if you commit a felony of a violent nature in any fashion you can never get your gun rights restored. You have already proven you are not psychological capable of being able to exist within society without bringing harm to others. No gun for you!
5) Gun collectors may keep 1 clip round, etc for each weapon that is not listed as a primary. Sure they will want to go to shooting ranges etc to try out their pieces it only makes sense and while at the shooting range they may use as much ammo as they want but when they leave they can only have 1 clip worth, 6 shots etc etc depending on the weapon. Their primary declared and registered weapon may maintain ammunition as deemed viable under law.
6) Every school should eventually offer some sort of basic gun safety course. Let's demystify them a bit. Perhaps if we take some of the glamour away from them it will reduce the number of accidental shootings that happen.
I personally own no guns. I feel like with my decreased vision and lowered motor skills it would be pretty much redundant and more harmful for me to have a weapon in the house that could possibly be used against me rather then protect me. Someone breaks in my home they are gonna get meowed at and beat senseless with a bat, my lightsaber (laugh if you want) or my steel crutch if I catch them off guard.
I think gun law reform should be something we do focus on. I don't want to see anyone lose their rights to protect themselves, however, there is a fine line between protection and creating a danger for yourself as well. Lets apply some common sense to this and work together.
Chris
