Very depressed since school shooting

Post Reply New Topic

I’m not saying dispense with the 2nd Amendment.

I’m saying we should have more control over who gets sold guns.

Well, that is a bit of a conundrum. The right to buy, own and use a firearm lawfully resides entirely within the Second Amendment and it subordinate laws. These federal laws protect the identities of firearm owners and concealed-permit holders unless a court order states otherwise. Various U.S. Supreme Court opinions, not least of which include McDonald v. Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010) and District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008) have, over almost a century, determined the right to keep and bear arms is protected and incorporated to the states and their local jurisdictions.

The idea of who gets to buy a firearm rests with state courts who may, if petitioned, comment and act on the probability of an individual being a danger to self and others. As the most recent scapegoat, many "gun-show" sales now rely largely on the same National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) technology to approve sales through the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Most states also rely on the NICS system to monitor firearm sales through brick-and-mortar businesses. Concealed-permit holders in the United States have their criminal background reviewed at least every 24 hours. Using the NICS system takes just seconds to confirm or deny who is eligible to buy a firearm.

The last U.S. president to try curtailing certain firearm sales was Bill Clinton who signed into law the Federal Assault Weapons Ban (AWB) in 1994. The euphoria was quite short-lived. In that year's mid-term congressional elections, the bill energized the National Rifle Association and Republican base, and contributed to the Republican takeover of both houses in the 1994 mid-term elections. Immediately after the elections, Clinton and his adviser George Stephanopoulos admitted essentially that they had underestimated the influence of the American firearm-owning voter.

It needs to be understood that firearm owners are largely not the stereotype of the 1960s and 1970s. There are influential groups whose memberships include individuals who are black, Jewish, communist, LGBT, disabled, female, Latina/o, seniors, charitable hunters (who hunt for the sake of donating their catch to food banks and church members who often go hungry) and self-described "nerds." Make it more difficult for them to qualify to buy a firearm, and watch violent crime skyrocket.

Last edited by AspieUtah on 18 Feb 2018, 4:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

It’s a form of personal autonomy, a protection against the potential tyranny of government.

The assertion of gun rights. I mean.

It is indeed.

Have you been target shooting, KK?

I last fired a gun when I was ten years old, when I was doing “riflery” in summer camp.

I bet you would be great at it. I believe strongly that, like women, autists can become extremely good sport shooters. We systemize the process into memorable bits and pieces. Most women sport shooters rely heavily on memorizing their instructors, too. Annie Oakley might now be a bit of a joke, but she was the real thing. Multi-target tactical shooting is a breeze for women.

Wrong Planet's own Alex Plank enjoys sport shooting.

How is it prevention of tyranny of government? Please explain.

It’s the viewpoint of some people who own guns, and who harm nobody. They feel, if they hurt no one, that they shouldn’t have guns taken away from them.

If you had read what I wrote before, you would know that I am FOR gun control.

Federal President Washington learned all he thought he needed to know about governmental tyranny when, after succeeding in the American Revolution, he led the federal response to the Whiskey Rebellion ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiskey_Rebellion ) personally. While ultimately winning the day, he only made matters worse for years thereafter by driving the rebellion underground (something that still abounds today in many parts of the United States).

And, worst of all for any politician, he failed to consider how the whiskey rebels would feel about having fought successfully for him in the Revolutionary War (which was based largely on brutal British taxation) only to see Washington agree with federal Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton about raising taxes exorbitantly on whiskey (at the time, whiskey was simply a community-based, bartered byproduct of postharvest gleanings, not an industry).

But, Washington and Hamilton failed miserably to appreciate the irony of what they had done to their fellow Revolutionary War veterans, farmers and ... VOTERS.

Let's all repeat after Forrest Gump: "Mama says, 'Stupid is as stupid does.'" Which leads me to ask publicly, what is it with the fans of the Broadway musical, Hamilton?!? Do they not understand that the man was a prissy artistocrat who, like Washington, loved to climb the social ladder and loathed the poor?

Sarah is scared about what’s going on.

This is why she’s not too thrilled with guns.

Sly is similarly scared....but he believes in gun rights.

It’s something that’s rooted in the American psyche. It doesn’t make us a violent people.

Yes, I appreciate fears. I have told people who ask me about the Second Amendment that "if you don't like firearms, don't own one" (a twist on the similar statement about abortion choice). But, don't make that choice for me.

That’s why the gun debate is so difficult.

All sides have definite points. All are “right.”

I’ve kept out of this as it’s in haven. I don’t want to further upset Sara.
I don’t agree with her, but this isn’t the place for it. I’d rather comfort her but don’t know how given my position.

Sarah, it IS scary and I cry for you and each other person affected by this and other tragedies. It makes my heart sink to hear yet another mass shooting (or other tragedy) I am too old to be losing my innocence, but I get where you are. I am so sorry you and others have to go through this. I too was depressed, yet again, by this news.

Sly, and others, you can give comfort to someone without having to agree with them. Sly, I appreciate you pointed out that the gun rights issues should not be here in Haven.

It looks to me like the title of this thread is "Very Depressed Since School Shooting". I don't see anywhere within that title nor within the initial post by Sarah that would indicate this is a debate about the 2nd amendment. Let's respect the poster and focus on her concerns surrounding the shooting, and keep irrelevant politics out of this. Of course, I realize there's a zero percent chance that is going to happen, but I thought I'd try at least.

Of course you're right, AspieDad.