A (DU) minority view on guns.

[derby378]

118. Problem is, "sensible gun reform" has become a code phrase for an extreme wish list

If the recent cases of Aaron Alexis and Seung-hui Cho teach us anything, it is that our background check system, while it has been effective in the past, is showing signs of wear and tear. We need an improved background check system that keeps guns out of the hands of the violent and the mentally ill while still respecting the rights of legitimate gun owners.

Under a revamped system, Alexis wouldn't have access to a shotgun that allowed him to cut down someone else and take their weaponry so he could unload on the Navy Yard. Honestly, I don't see how our current system allowed Alexis to slip through, but it did.

Problem is, if those two state senators from Colorado had been content to agitate for improved background checks in their state, they could have survived any NRA recall effort. But they decided to push their luck with the magazine ban, and this proved to be a mistake. And the last thing we need right now is less Democrats in state legislatures across the nation, especially with all these teabaggers running around.

Something tells me that Wendy Davis will avoid a lot of gun talk in Texas for exactly that same reason, because even though she's a hero to us all and our best chance in years of unseating Rick Perry, she can't afford to have an Achilles heel.