How many gun tragedies will it take before the gun lovers relent?

[PufPuf23]

79. Gun "lovers" won't ever relent nor see their own denial as part of the problem.

There is a fetish about guns and the disasters are self-replicating.

We have become the nation where people shoot each other out of hopelessness, revenge, attention, or plain meanness.

Ugly.

I grew up in a gun culture and many people in the rural area where I live consider guns as a fact of life but have not had a hunting license since age 17 in 1970 not shot a gun since 1984 (and that was to sample twigs and cones from conifers for insect studies).

Earlier today I asked a life long friend if he ever felt like he needed a gun for safety. He said he had a gun when he grew pot illegally and commercially in the 70s and 80s but not really. Neither of us hunt and are sort of old hippies but he is American Indian and I am not.

I recreated and worked in the woods for years where there were lions, bears, rattlesnakes, and gnarly humans distant from any feasible LE and never felt any need to carry a weapon. People hunt. The American Indians do not have the same restrictions on hunting in the surrounding National Forest and Reservation lands as the general public (that needs a restricted state-issued hunting license rather than a Tribal Card). I like venison and salmon and people seem to be willing to gift me treats.

My Dad was less than thrilled about my dis-interest in guns for 40 years.

I seldom post about guns but did mention on the two places where I post on the internet the idea about regulating ammunition rather than guns in the USA. The idea was ignored.

However, Gavin Newsom has a similar idea and has worked out the concept and proposed legislation which IMO is smart and creative.

My idea went a step father in that all ammunition should be able to be traced from production to consumer.

I heartily approve of the proposed legislation.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-lt-gov-gavin-newsom-proposing-gun-control-ballot-initiative-in-wake-of-shootings/

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing a 2016 ballot initiative that would ask voters to strengthen the state's gun laws by restricting ammunition sales, requiring owners to turn in assault-style magazines that have a large capacity and requiring gun owners to report lost or stolen guns to law enforcement.

If adopted, the proposal Newsom planned to release Thursday would make California the first state in the nation to require background checks at the point of sale for ammunition, although other states require purchasers to obtain licenses and go through background checks ahead of time.

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The ballot initiative would ask voters to make five changes to state law:

- Eliminate the stockpile of now-banned large-capacity magazines with 11 rounds or more: Owners would be required to sell them to a licensed firearms dealer, take them out of state or turn them in to law enforcement to be destroyed. State law already bans manufacturing or selling magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.

- Background checks for ammunition purchases: Ammunition dealers would need to conduct a background check at the point-of-sale for all ammunition, and dealers would need a license similar to those required to sell firearms. Stores also would be required to report to law enforcement if ammunition has been lost or stolen.

- Reporting lost and stolen guns: California would join 11 other states in requiring that lost or stolen firearms be reported to law enforcement.

- Felons must relinquish weapons: California courts would set up a clear process to relinquish weapons. The authors say that more than 17,000 Californians who are prohibited from owning firearms currently have guns.

- Firearms database: The California Department of Justice would have to notify the federal instant criminal background check system when someone is added to the database of those prohibited from purchasing or possessing a firearm. California currently reports to the federal system voluntarily.

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