Saturday, July 27, 2013

Gun control is out of control


Now to be the gun-slinging second amendment gun rights advocate; assault weapons don’t need to be banned!  I’m going to (again) quote Bill Whittle in his speech on gun control:

“In 2011, the total number of firearm murders came to about 8,583 according the FBI.  Now during that time, the total number of murders by rifles, ALL rifles not just semi-automatic rifles, were 324.  Now that is only 3% of all murders, hammers and clubs kill half as many as rifles, hands and feet kill twice as many, and knives kill five times as many people than all rifles combined.  Preventative medical errors kill about 98,000 people a year, medical malpractice kills twelve times as many people that are murdered each year and three hundred times more than all rifles combined; and yet, no one talks about limits on hammers or knives or doctors.  And no one does that because the good we perceive from hammers or knives or doctors far outweigh their harm.  Studies show that firearms prevent anywhere from 800,000 to 2 million violent crimes each year.  The lowest estimate means that 100 times more violent crimes were prevented with firearms than the total number of crimes committed with firearms.”

This again brings up back to the statement that we don’t want to ban guns, we want to ban violence.

Another loophole in banning assault weapons is simple; if semi-automatic rifles should be out of the hands of citizens because “they are dangerous” or “they serve no purpose to civilians” then why is it legal to buy silencers and fully automatic weapons?  I’ll tell you why- because the government slapped a $200 tax on silencers and fully automatic weapons!  It’s all about profit, no one higher up benefits from semi-automatics, and these rare statistics we plaster all over the news gives them a way to ban something that doesn’t them.  I would not be surprised if they “compromised” with us and slapped a $200 tax and 6 months of paperwork on these rifles.

                Now, is there anywhere that lack of gun control does work?  Yes!  In the Youtube video I showed in my post for banning assault weapons John Oliver speaks with the Prime Minister or Australia who reformed their gun control after a massacre in Port Arthur.  This clip also brings up a very good point against gun control; Australia has no gun control since a huge massacre in a place called Port Arthur 17 years ago and there has not been one massacre since(a massacre being killing more than 4 people)!  As opposed to the 18 years before that, there had been 13 massacres.  Now while the gun rights advocate in my clip is saying that “back here in the real world that wouldn’t work.”  Is Australia some fairy tale land with unicorns and leprechauns?  No- it is a real place and who is to say that our crime wouldn’t change if we took out our gun control?  But of course no one in congress thinks of that in “real people land”.

Assault weapons are not the problem and we all know that, whether or not it serves a specific purpose is not the point.  “Recreational” is what we do with our time(as long as it’s legal).  If I want to go to Brown’s Camp and shoot at a dirt wall with my AR-15 for 5 hours then I should be able to!

Assault weapons aren't necessary




The second category in President Obama’s plan is banning assault weapons and high capacity magazines.  Now while there are both sides to the argument (many people might not think there is), I will be covering the positives.

Let’s first remember back to the period when there was previously an assault weapons ban; 1994-2004 assault weapons and high capacity magazines were illegal for civilian use.  Did it work?  In the previous ban, crimes by assault weapons decreased by 66% nationwide.  In 1993(the year before the ban was passed), crimes by assault weapons was 3.67%, which dropped in 2001 to a measly 1.1%.  this doesn’t seem like much, but if you think about it, if three people were 3% of victims of crimes, you’re saving 2 of those people with this ban.

In Massachusetts, an assault weapons ban is already put in place. Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney said, "they have no place in Massachusetts. These guns are not made for recreation or self-defense. They are instruments of destruction with the sole purpose of hunting down and killing people."  Which is correct!  Assault weapons were made to be military combat weapons, made for killing a lot of people faster.

Who gains from these weapons being legal?  Criminals mostly, they are not suitable for self-defense, and since they fire so many shots so fast, it is more likely you will accidentally shoot an innocent bystander if you are not a perfect shot.  The argument “criminals will get it some way or another” is not a valid argument; that is not what laws control.  It controls law-abiding citizens, and they have no need for these weapons.  If we based every law off of the criminal statement I made above, no laws would be passed!  But even if it makes it just a little harder for criminals to acquire these guns, isn’t it worth it?  I recently watched the Daily show with John Stewart, and they had a very funny clip where they were talking to a gun rights advocate, I encourage you to watch it.

                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pOiOhxujsE

The last argument for banning these weapons is they are not suitable for recreational use.  You don’t use them to go hunting, or trap shooting, or other recreational activities.
Now let's reflect on the positives I have stated while we click on my next blog talking about the negatives.
 

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Thinking it Through


Sadly, now it is time for the bad news; the flaws to this section of President Obama’s action plan.  Forgive me if I am a little harsh, but I was pretty nice in my last post so I have to keep some form of balance.

One of the more spotty areas of closing the gaps on background checks is “Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system” including any personal information that disqualifies you from purchasing a firearm.  Only a few things will cause you to be rejected from purchasing a firearm; these include:

·         Felons

·         Fugitives from justice

·         Anyone who unlawfully uses any illegal drug, including marijuana

·         The mentally ill (as determined by a court) or someone who has been committed to a mental institution

·         Illegal aliens

·         Those dishonorably discharged

·         Anyone who renounced U.S. citizenship

·         Those under a restraining order for harassment, stalking or threatening a partner

·         Those convicted of domestic violence, including misdemeanor

According to William La Jeunesse from Fox News, the two largest gaps in the NICS record-keeping database is drug use and mental illness, even AFTER the Virginia Tech shooting, where the student passed a background check for a firearm after a judge had legally deemed him mentally ill.  How was this gap in records not a focus 6 years ago?  Just how many massacres need to happen before we think, “Hey, this is a serious loophole.”? 

                As far as “giving incentives” to states for providing this crucial information implies choice to me.  Why would a state do something that takes time and money and is a lot of work if they have the choice not to?  It needs to be non-negotiable. 

A 55-page report went on to blast the states and federal government for failing to meet congressional expectations.

It found, out of 1.1 million mental health records submitted from 2004 to 2011:  

  • 23 states and the District of Columbia had submitted fewer than 100 mental health records to the federal database.
  • 17 states had submitted fewer than 10 mental health records.
  • Four states had not submitted any.

These statistics are more than pathetic.  Like mental health records, the Government Accountability Office found drug violations are also under-reported. The agency said most states are not informing the FBI (which is where the NICS gets their information) of failed drug tests, as the federal background check law requires. It found:

  • 44 states had submitted fewer than 10 records to the NICS controlled-substance file.
  • 33 states had not submitted any records even though the law bars anyone with multiple arrests for drug use or possession within the past five years, or those convicted for use or possession within the last year, including marijuana. Yet the report found states with lengthy registries of medical pot smokers did not provide that information to the NICS system.

In the spirit of “giving incentives” you would think there are negative outcomes if a state doesn’t comply, right?  The Department of Justice has the power to give and take away funding for states compliance and non-compliance.  The GAO audit found the DOJ forked out more than $25 million in grants, but did not penalize one state for non-compliance.  This isn’t very surprising to me though, it is consistent with how our President handles situations, I’m not sure he knows what “taking away funding” actually means.

        The last portion of this category will be a brief stab at an obvious(and a little humorous) flaw.  In President Obama’s action plan, under background checks, his last paragraph talks about, “Make sure dangerous people are prohibited from having guns:  DUH!!  Does this even need to be stated?  Maybe he put that paragraph in in case we forgot what we were reading about a quarter of the way through.

        In the category “Closing the Loopholes in Background Checks” there are some great ideas on closing the gaps that a lot of criminals can normally slip through, but there are some serious inconsistencies that need a lot more though put into them.






 

 

               

 



http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/01/29/gun-debate-lawmakers-eye-troubled-background-check-system/

Closing the Gaps


In President Obama’s action plan, there are four general categories that will be focused on to lower gun violence in America; closing loopholes in background checks, banning assault weapons and high capacity magazines, making schools safer, and making mental health more readily available.  Since we are discussing the strengths and weaknesses of his plan, I feel that a “good news – bad news” style is appropriate.  This week we will cover the strengths and weaknesses of their efforts to close the loopholes in background checks.  Let’s start gentle; we’ll discuss the strengths first.

                One of the first things stated in Obama’s action plan is to require background checks for all gun sales.  Sounds pretty straight forward right?  As of right now, it is legal for people to sell their personal collection themselves, it is called ‘private party sale’, and no paperwork or background checks are required.  As much as 40% of all gun sales are done through private party sales and are completely legal.  How do we fix this you ask?  Some states have already made progress on this issue, going past the federal regulations on background checks for firearms, as shown in this chart below:




In states on this chart like California, there are regulations on all gun sales, so if a private party wishes to sell their firearm, they must do so through a licensed vendor.  They can go in, drop it off and at some point a buyer will acquire it though the licensed dealer with proper paperwork.  There is no requirement that the buyer and seller have to be there at the same time, it just has to be done through a licensed dealer.  Some vendors even have a separate wall for guns being sold from a private party.  Most retail stores that are selling guns for private parties charge a fee for selling the gun, which is understandable.  It may be a small inconvenience to private parties, but if all 50 states enact these laws, it –in theory- can lower the opportunities for unfit people to acquire firearms.

 In the 33 states with just federal background check regulations, both private parties and licensed retailers can rent table space at a gun show, but only the retailers run background checks.  Between 25% and 50% of table space is for private party sales, and most of the time they hold signs out that say, ‘private sales’.   This implies no identification or paperwork is necessary, which is incentive to buy from a private party if you are a criminal or cannot legally acquire one with a proper background check; thus, you have a ‘Gun Show Loophole’.  In these 17 states with extra regulation, there is no gun-show loophole.  Private parties can still rent table space at gun shows, but designated licensed retailers act as transfer agents during sales so background checks can still be ran.  If all of the states pick up on extra background check regulations, there will be less opportunities for criminals to acquire firearms legally.

                If we put the proper laws in place to make sure they work properly, excluding ‘common sense’  exchanges through family, I think this will be a very successful part of President Obama’s action plan.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/01/29/gun-debate-lawmakers-eye-troubled-background-check-system/

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Now is the time?


 

I have never really taken an interest in the topics of guns or gun control until about a year ago for of a few reasons; one being my boyfriend loves everything gun-oriented and owns 6 himself, and the other being all the nationwide shootings and talks about gun violence and gun control.  I started at a place I thought was pretty specific, should assault rifles be banned?  I ended up on a completely different gun subject, jumping from history of gun laws to background checks to conspiracy theories that President Obama wants to ban all guns.  I am pretty excited to look into such a current and interesting topic that I stumbled upon which is the strengths and weaknesses of President Obama’s Now is the Time Action Plan.

In the small amount of research I have done so far on the flaws and loopholes of gun control laws and regulations we currently have in place, I’ve mostly found flaws. I haven’t read a law and thought, “Wow! That’s a good law.”  Most of the flaws I have seen revolve around background checks for firearms.  There are a TON of loopholes and only 40% of gun sales use background checks, which is frightening, making it seem very easy to get guns into the wrong hands.  Frankly, I have no idea how this hasn’t been an issue yet.

A man named Bill Whittle gave a speech in the State of the Union Address on gun control, and his speech alone is why I chose the topic of guns.  When starting his speech he said,

“…. Now some people, many of you in this room, want to place the blame for this horror on 30-round magazines and semi-automatic rifles.  You want to blame something, ANYTHING that we can control; but, what we really want to ban is violence, and murder, and insanity.  And we don’t talk about that though, because deep in our hearts, each of us know that violence, and murder, and insanity are built into the human condition, and likely always will be.( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2jc1TzlqLo)”

My prediction of my views at the end of analyzing Obama’s action plan is I think it is a short term fix to ease peoples’ minds that are scared because of all the horrific gun violence in the past year.   Hopefully this action plan has more strengths than weaknesses to plug up the holes in the gun control laws already put in place.

 

 

 

Mock, Geffory. "Has the Brady Act Been Successful? | Duke Today." Duke Today. Duke University, 1 Sept. 2000. Web. 13 Aug. 2013.

 Thompson, Mike. "Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Recommendations." Scribd. U.S. House of Representatives, 7 Feb. 2013. Web. 13 Aug. 2013.

White House. "The White House - President Barack Obama." Now Is the Time. The White House, 17 Jan. 2013. Web. 13 Aug. 2013.
 
Gura, David. "The Gun-show Loophole: Not about Gun Shows, and Not a Loophole." Marketplace.org. Marketplace Morning Report, 13 Feb. 2013. Web. 13 Aug. 2013.


 


 

MacBradaigh, Matt. "PolicyMic." PolicyMic. Policymic, Feb. 2013. Web. 13 Aug.

Anderson, Jim. "East Metro." Tran Case Exposes Flaws in Gun Background Checks. Star Tribune, 24 Apr. 2013. Web. 13 Aug. 2013.
 
Cooper, Michael, Michael S. Schmidt, and Michael Lou. "Loopholes in Gun Laws Allow Buyers to Skirt Checks." New York Times, 10 Apr. 2013. Web.
State of the Union. The Best 7 Minutes of Gun Control Speech! YouTube. YouTube, 31 Mar. 2013. Web. 13 Aug. 2013.