Would tougher gun laws prevent criminals from getting and using firearms in the United States

[wolfman24]

42. Good Question

Hello

First I would like to say something about myself. I am not a liberal but a moderate. I have been hunting since I was 8 years old and have been around guns my whole life. The only guns I have ever owned were legitimate hunting guns like shotguns and 22 rifles. I believe that there are people in this country who should have the right to own guns. Hunters who are willing to use only shotguns and certain types of single action rifles are one. The next group would be people who live in remote areas and need to hunt to live. The next group would be people who live in states which have very large counties with few law enforcement (ex. theres a county in Montana the size of Conneticut that only has 4 county sheriffs.) Those people who live in these types of counties who want to have guns for protection should be evaluated given basic police training and then allowed to have specific types of guns. Police officers and law enforcement agents would be another. There might be others but I can't think of any.

The idea of "if we outlaw guns only outlaws would have guns" seems on the surface a ridiculous idea. But if all we do is outlaw guns (specifically hand guns and semi or automatics) we will not keep outlaws from having guns. If you have ever watched "Lord of War" you know what I am talking about. But if we stop producing weapons like the ones I have mentioned and inflict severe penalties on the importation of such weapons and perhaps on the countries that do it that would help. This would include making it a capital offense to import or aide in the import of such weapons that would help. However there would still be a large black market out there. So in reality there will always be a way to get guns if you really want. But my point is the less available we can make guns the fewer (ever if its just a little) there would be.

The other reality is that this is all really academic The NRA and its brainwashed mobs will never change their minds and the conservative religious and political types will never abandon a large portion of their base. The only way anything like this would happen is if the Supreme Court got some backbone and ruled in favor of gun control in a high profile case. That could be a crack in the dam especially if this case included testimony from a high ranking member of the NRA like in the tobacco case. Then the gun control lawyers could go to work chipping at the brick wall we are all now facing. But I do not expect that in my lifetime.

The whole idea of gun ownership using the 2nd Amendment as a guide is based on the collectivism (if there is such a word) aspect of citizenship. Kennedy said "ask not what your country can do for you ask what you can do for your country". That is the essence of collectivism. We are all citizens. We have a vested interest in what happens in this country and how. The 2nd Amendment gives citizens collectively the chance to do something for their country by being part of a citizen militia. Switzerland has such a militia today. The NRA would have us believe we are still in the wild west and it is the duty of every citizen to take the law into their own hands (individualistic approach to the 2nd Amendment).

I realize that I am unlikely to get seriously flamed in this website as I have on others but if your going to for God's sake use facts and not hyperboly

Thanks

Wolfman24