What would I change?
1: Improving the background check system, and removal of individual state regulations. Firearms are Federal. Get used to it or start another nation. We've been trying to have a proper national standard for decades, but guess what? We can't, because people won't leave us alone for five minutes.
One thing of which I'm almost certain: Firearm owners are the ones that can fix that, and we fucking want to! By the gods, people; let us do it or shut your trap about the affair.
2: Bringing back voluntary civilian firearm training as well as activities for kids, and involuntary training for those who wish to purchase a firearm at some point and those others who may officially reside in their households. It was considered very strongly when the Constitution was being developed anyway; for all citizens.
3: Banning bump stocks and any other similarly functioning device from sale. They complicate otherwise clear regulation, encourage poor practice, and they're only about five minutes of fun anyway. If they're to be legal, it should require addressing the laws that regulate automatic firearms; whether I think those laws should exist or not.
The one product on the market that's certain to make a firearm owner cringe is a damned bump stock. They're a loose end, and we don't like loose ends. Same goes for those dumb-ass pistol "braces". Get rid of them, or require medical certification to purchase one. Right now, they're just another loose end.
4: A proper study that results in a series of safe certifications, and mandatory proof that an approved safe is owned. Most safes suck, and the industry needs an anti-bullshit shakedown, in that regard. People are buying $10,000 safes that even I could get into in half an hour or less, because they're told by damned near everyone that those things are the best option.
5: Mandatory suppressor ownership for any firearm that, in factory form, produces a sound above a certain level; to be determined via study. Indeed, we wouldn't be the only first-world nation in that camp. They don't make things near as quiet as people think; but they do take the edge off. You can still hear many of them a mile off, but it's less annoying to others and less likely to damage hearing over time.
6: Mandatory civilian "book knowledge". You're living in a nation that is known for firearm ownership. Part of your job as a citizen is to be familiar with certain aspects of the nation you call home. If everyone had an elementary understanding of firearms, progress on both fronts could be made; and the nation would be better for it.
There's more, but I can't be bothered to dig it up at the moment. Most firearm owners have a list of things they would change, and many of those things are the same crap the anti-gun crowd is screaming about; but we don't often get a chance to explain them without being torn to shreds after the second sentence; before we even get to the benefits and drawbacks. So, we circle the wagons and stick to the script because it works.
That's on the opposition. They're the ones making this discussion impossible. Period. End of story. The fat lady is singing. Shut the fuck up. Discount that and you may as well leave the room, because you cannot be salvaged.
Notice there's no mention of mental health, though. That is to be solved in another way, and it's not complicated. It just requires people to be more responsible; and I'm not talking about firearm owners, here. I'm talking about everyone. Get used to the truth. Blanket regulation, in that regard, is a very dangerous business.
I don't want to end up in a funny farm just because someone doesn't like me, and neither does anyone else.
That's not a possibility, it's a certainty. Right now, people are losing their families and jobs because others want to damage them simply as a result of political and personal beliefs. That ain't cool, and it's why I tell the NRA to suck it. Bad idea all around, and I don't like misdirection regardless of where it comes from.
Just because it's an effective way to jam the noise doesn't mean it's the right move.
One more point: A lot of people forget that many of the weapons we don't worry about owning are simply impractical to run or even maintain. Even if you could buy a tank at Walmart, they'd only end up stuck in mud or stored in a collection; but it's not limited to things that big. Even certain firearms are just too much trouble and/or expense.
That's why you don't see us marching in the streets over machine guns. They're available, but extremely expensive. If you can't afford one as a result of the regulation, odds are you couldn't afford to feed it more than once a year, anyway. Indeed, that's what people do with the things. The have nice little periodic events and make a day of it sharing expense.
They don't serve the purpose the anti-gun crowd seem to believe they do, anyway.
Cheers,
Kennith
1: Improving the background check system, and removal of individual state regulations. Firearms are Federal. Get used to it or start another nation. We've been trying to have a proper national standard for decades, but guess what? We can't, because people won't leave us alone for five minutes.
One thing of which I'm almost certain: Firearm owners are the ones that can fix that, and we fucking want to! By the gods, people; let us do it or shut your trap about the affair.
2: Bringing back voluntary civilian firearm training as well as activities for kids, and involuntary training for those who wish to purchase a firearm at some point and those others who may officially reside in their households. It was considered very strongly when the Constitution was being developed anyway; for all citizens.
3: Banning bump stocks and any other similarly functioning device from sale. They complicate otherwise clear regulation, encourage poor practice, and they're only about five minutes of fun anyway. If they're to be legal, it should require addressing the laws that regulate automatic firearms; whether I think those laws should exist or not.
The one product on the market that's certain to make a firearm owner cringe is a damned bump stock. They're a loose end, and we don't like loose ends. Same goes for those dumb-ass pistol "braces". Get rid of them, or require medical certification to purchase one. Right now, they're just another loose end.
4: A proper study that results in a series of safe certifications, and mandatory proof that an approved safe is owned. Most safes suck, and the industry needs an anti-bullshit shakedown, in that regard. People are buying $10,000 safes that even I could get into in half an hour or less, because they're told by damned near everyone that those things are the best option.
5: Mandatory suppressor ownership for any firearm that, in factory form, produces a sound above a certain level; to be determined via study. Indeed, we wouldn't be the only first-world nation in that camp. They don't make things near as quiet as people think; but they do take the edge off. You can still hear many of them a mile off, but it's less annoying to others and less likely to damage hearing over time.
6: Mandatory civilian "book knowledge". You're living in a nation that is known for firearm ownership. Part of your job as a citizen is to be familiar with certain aspects of the nation you call home. If everyone had an elementary understanding of firearms, progress on both fronts could be made; and the nation would be better for it.
There's more, but I can't be bothered to dig it up at the moment. Most firearm owners have a list of things they would change, and many of those things are the same crap the anti-gun crowd is screaming about; but we don't often get a chance to explain them without being torn to shreds after the second sentence; before we even get to the benefits and drawbacks. So, we circle the wagons and stick to the script because it works.
That's on the opposition. They're the ones making this discussion impossible. Period. End of story. The fat lady is singing. Shut the fuck up. Discount that and you may as well leave the room, because you cannot be salvaged.
Notice there's no mention of mental health, though. That is to be solved in another way, and it's not complicated. It just requires people to be more responsible; and I'm not talking about firearm owners, here. I'm talking about everyone. Get used to the truth. Blanket regulation, in that regard, is a very dangerous business.
I don't want to end up in a funny farm just because someone doesn't like me, and neither does anyone else.
That's not a possibility, it's a certainty. Right now, people are losing their families and jobs because others want to damage them simply as a result of political and personal beliefs. That ain't cool, and it's why I tell the NRA to suck it. Bad idea all around, and I don't like misdirection regardless of where it comes from.
Just because it's an effective way to jam the noise doesn't mean it's the right move.
One more point: A lot of people forget that many of the weapons we don't worry about owning are simply impractical to run or even maintain. Even if you could buy a tank at Walmart, they'd only end up stuck in mud or stored in a collection; but it's not limited to things that big. Even certain firearms are just too much trouble and/or expense.
That's why you don't see us marching in the streets over machine guns. They're available, but extremely expensive. If you can't afford one as a result of the regulation, odds are you couldn't afford to feed it more than once a year, anyway. Indeed, that's what people do with the things. The have nice little periodic events and make a day of it sharing expense.
They don't serve the purpose the anti-gun crowd seem to believe they do, anyway.
Cheers,
Kennith
