Due to a recent shooting in Minnesota, the StarTribune is uneasy about guns in the hands of Minnesotans. In a daring expose, the paper's crack research uncovered that one can go to an outdoor retailer and buy as much ammunition as you want! 10,000 rounds, plus!
For those familiar with guns, this finding is a yawn. Well known. Been that way for decades. For those not familiar with guns, this finding is a shock. A scare tactic. Something to be feared. And abject demagoguery.
If the mentally ill are intent on death and mayhem, they will deliver it. Regardless of how easy it is to buy guns, or ammunition, or gasoline and matches, or knives, or trucks, or poision, or whatever.
So what exactly is the point? What is the end game?
Rolling over on our freedoms, especially those specifically called out in the Constitution, is not the answer.
As much as the StarTribune would like it to be...
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And, while I do not normally side with the gun control whacks at the Stib on gun control, I also do not necessarily support the gun nuts side either.
ReplyDeleteThe gun control debate is fought at the extremes, while the solution obviously lies in the middle.
WE NEED GUN CONTROL LEGISLATION THAT IS EFFECTIVE.
THe most obvious course is to increase the real sentences to insane levels for anyone convicted of using a gun in a crime, possessing an illegal firearm, and/or breaking a parole or restraining order.
But I think several other proposals can be effective. I support longer waiting periods to obtain firearms, even as long as 30 days; increasing the age to 21 to purchase a firearm; compatible background checks for all gun sales, including private ones; prohibiting the sale of "hollow point" ammunition and extended clips for semi-automatic weapons; and restrictions on the sale of body armor to civilians.
These measures will not eliminate gun crimes from our society. But, at the same time, they will make it more difficult to obtain a weapon while only having limited impact on the rights of gun owners to obtain one. The Second Amendment is not absolute, but the infringement clause must be respected.
To one person, buying 10,000 rounds of ammunition is a dangerous folly, to another it is a legitimate interest. Our society needs to examine the rules evenly to make sure that to the best of our ability we can protect ourselves while simultaneously allowing the freedoms our citizens deserve.