Boy, 12, Shot in Face by 11-Year-Old; Neither Aware of Reduction in Gun Crime (updated!)

[GiaGiovanni]

49. That is not what my post said at all.

On the surface, the three cases are similar in that they involve guns. But when you scratch the surface, the causes are not the same, and that means that the three cases do not have the same soiution.

One of child shootings could have been well handled by applying gun control laws like we have in California, which dictate the storage of guns and ammunition and require gun safety locks--all the prevent children from having such accidents. That has to be followed up by education about the law so that all parents can take the same precautions.

But if you're discussing criminals, not even a total gun ban could stop a criminal from getting a gun. Knowing how the black market in drugs works in this country, I imagine it would be rather easy for an ill-intentioned person to get a black market weapon. They do it now.

I am not, in theory, opposed to gun control. I do not own a gun--never have--and I am not particularly happy when and if I find out that my neighbors have guns. But I also know that we can't control everything by passing a law. My suggestion is to find the things that can be controlled fairly easily and control them. This means passing laws that affect people with something to lose--good people, like parents. This also means challenging extremely foolish recent laws like "Stand Your Ground," which just seems like giving people permission to shoot if they had a bad hair day.

I know this makes me a moderate, and moderates are always hated by extremists. But I think it's far wiser to look at specific things we CAN control than to give in to emotion.