Point Click, Fire: An Undercover Investigation of Illegal Online Gun Sales

[pipoman]

72. Except actual statistics show

US violent crime has been falling for 20+ years, corresponding with a 20+ year liberalization of firearms laws specifically directed at law abiding, mentally stable individuals. It is far easier and more logical to make the statement that; 'liberalized concealed carry laws increase the chances for a criminal's causality, thus reducing the desirability of committing violence/crime' (based on the overall violent crime statistics for the last few decades), than to state; 'proliferation of firearms results in higher violent crime', given that the violent crime rate is falling and there are exponentially more firearms in private hands each day, month, and year...and more people carrying those guns for defense against those who, because of non-firearms socioeconomic/health care conditions, are inclined to do violence/crime.

The US Constitution and Bill of Rights are very specifically enumerated freedoms and restrictions on government, not limiting individual freedom. Therefore, before a limitation of an enumerated right can occur, some sort of justification must be presented to justify the limitation. This is why the "assault weapons ban" was not reauthorized, it had no quantifiable statistical impact on anything, including societal safety...zero

I think we all agree that the current system isn't perfect, and needs work. The disagreement is which current system needs the attention. In my opinion, regulating firearms is the least likely to impact violence in the US (I believe the term "gun violence" is buzz term for those who simply don't like this enumerated freedom). I believe that any argument put forth for control must be prefaced by action on these far more likely causes for violence in the US: 1. Wealth disparity 2. easy availability to obtain mental health services (this would impact the effectiveness of the NICS system by identifying more effectively those with mental illness) 3. unemployment 4. availability of health care 5. availability of social services for the poor 6. availability of higher education regardless of monetary resources. Until these actual causes of crime are addressed, violence/crime will not free fall..the desire to do violence/crime are simply not effected by the availability of the tools, be they guns, knives, clubs, or rocks.