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In reply to the discussion: New movie will make NRA ‘wish they weren’t alive,’ says Obama backer Weinstein [View all]spin
(17,493 posts)The absolute overwhemling number store their weapons properly and do not run around committing mass murders. If my statement was incorrect we would have far more children dying every year from firearm accidents and many more mass murders.
In the last several decades the number of children killed in tragic firearm accidents has dropped significantly. This is undoubtedly due to the public attention this issue has caused. Still we can do better.
A top quality gun safe is quite expensive but a good locking gun cabinet or a locking gun box can easily be afforded by almost all of our citizens.
For less than $30 a gun owner can buy a electronic lock box from Amazon.com that will secure handguns from access by young children yet the owner can quickly open it in an emergency. It makes far more sense than hiding a handgun under your mattress or in a dresser drawer.
http://www.amazon.com/SentrySafe-ESB-3-Electronic-Security-Cubic/dp/B003ELKOOO/ref=sr_1_13?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1390242509&sr=1-13&keywords=gun+lock+boxes
Amazon.com also offers a locking gun cabinet that will hold 8 rifles for shotguns for $109.99.
http://www.amazon.com/Stack-On®-gun-Security-Cabinet/dp/B000W1QKUG/ref=sr_1_24?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1390242777&sr=1-24&keywords=gun+cabinet+for+rifles
It might save the lives of some children if public service announcements were run on TV to show how inexpensive and easy it is the store firearms in order to prevent access by children.
Unfortunately, many gun control advocates feel the solution is to ban and confiscate all civilian owned firearms. This is one reason why gun owners largely ignore anything gun control advocates suggest.
Any close examination of those individuals who committed a mass murder will show that the majority ran around waving numerous red flags prior to running amok. Some were totally ignored by their families and the authorities but many did try to get help for their severe mental problems. It should be fairly obvious that our mental healthcare system needs significant improvement. (Perhaps it will under the ACA.)
Sadly our NICS background check for the purchase of firearms often does not flag those who have been legally adjudged as having serious mental problems and consequently they can buy very lethal firearms at a local gun store. Fortunately President Obama may be taking measures to correct this problem.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 3, 2014
Contact: HHS Press Office
202-690-6343
Obama administration takes additional steps to strengthen the federal background check system
Today, as part of President Obamas continuing efforts to reduce gun violence, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to remove unnecessary legal barriers under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule that may prevent states from reporting certain information to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
The NICS helps to ensure that guns are not sold to those prohibited by law from having them, including felons, those convicted of domestic violence, and individuals involuntarily committed to a mental institution. To date, background checks have prevented over two million guns from falling into the wrong hands.
However, the background check system is only as effective as the information that is available to it. According to a 2012 Government Accountability Office report, 17 states had submitted fewer than 10 records of individuals prohibited for mental health reasons. Additional records have been submitted over the past year as a result of federal and state actions, but there is more work to be done.
There is a strong public safety need for this information to be accessible to the NICS, and some states are currently under-reporting or not reporting certain information to the NICS at all, said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. This proposed rulemaking is carefully balanced to protect and preserve individuals privacy interests, the patient-provider relationship, and the publics health and safety.
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2014pres/01/20140103a.html