Stricter punishments, not stricter gun control, is how we should deter gun crimes – By Gabrielle Martin.
I do not believe in punishing a whole group of people due to the stupidity of several people. For this reason, I do not support stricter laws regulating gun ownership. I do, however, support putting harsher laws into effect for those illegally possessing, selling, or using firearms. At the very least, we should be prosecuting people who illegally possess, sell, or use firearms to the fullest extent of the law.
According to the National Institute of Justice, “Surveys of [gun] offenders have found that they prefer newer, high-quality guns and may steal or borrow them; most, however, acquire guns “off the street” through the illicit gun market.”
This is supported in a journal article written by Caroline Harlow, which was published in 2001 by the Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report. The report surveyed inmates who were serving their first prison sentence and were in possession of a gun at the time of their offense. Of those surveyed, 40 percent got the firearm from a family member or friend, 31 percent obtained it through theft or an illegal transaction, and only 20 percent got the gun through a licensed dealer.
To me, this shows that putting stricter laws on who can legally obtain a gun will not significantly affect the number of people who shouldn’t have a gun from obtaining one. I do, however, think that there are two ways to effectively and fairly deter gun crimes.
Just as those who are caught buying alcohol or tobacco for minors can be punished, I think that those who are caught purchasing or loaning guns to friends or family should be punished. As I mentioned, 40 percent of the surveyed inmates got their firearm from a family member or friend.
I also think that there should be harsher punishments for those who illegally obtained a gun. According to MCL 750.232a, a person who uses or attempts to use false identification to purchase a firearm is guilty of a misdemeanor. That person’s punishment is “imprisonment for not more than 90 days or a fine of not more than $100.00, or both.”
According to MCL 750.234d, that is the same punishment a person could receive for carrying a gun on the premises of a daycare, hospital, church, or bank. Seriously? 90 days and/or a $100.00 fine for attempting to illegally obtain a gun by using false identification or carrying a firearm onto the premises of a daycare or bank is it? I’m thinking at least a year in prison and a $1,000 fine. At least.
Let’s punish those who are actually committing the crimes instead of putting more restrictions on those who just want to exercise their Constitutional rights.
America: Where guns have more rights than the people they harm – By Greg Horner and Peter Skrzypczak.
Gun violence is as American as chain smoking in a McDonald’s drive-thru; no other country has this problem quite like us.
In 1996, Australia had a mass shooting at Port Arthur, Tasmania. Over two days, a gunman would kill 35 people. In the aftermath, the Australian government took steps to insure nothing like this happened again. They regulated the amount of guns a household can have, made guns harder to get and initiated a buy-back program.
Careful and proper regulation on guns has lowered the homicide and suicide rates in Australia. Regulation is why we can rest easy knowing there won’t be bits of dead rat in our meat.
A person buying a gun is more likely to be killed by the gun they just bought than by any stranger in the street. The “good guy” with a gun is more likely to shoot himself than protect anything, and if you think the second amendment protects citizens from tyranny I have some bad news for you. Your hunting rifle was made to shoot birds not drones.
Americans have the right to bear arms, but you have to expect that some of those people will be unstable, immature, or bigoted. The problem with using the second amendment defense is that it was written so long ago, in a completely different time. The founders couldn’t have had the foresight for the world, and weapons, we face today.
Vester Flanagan (murderer of Alison Parker and Adam Ward) obtained his guns legally. As did Dylan Roof (Charleston shooting) who had a felony, and James Holmes (Aurora shooting). I don’t care if they’re Americans and it’s their right. It should be hard to get a gun. This country should care more about the rights of people than guns.
It’s time for our elected officials to appreciate the victims of gun culture, instead of praising the proliferation of more guns. It’s time for each and everyone one of us to talk about our fear of public space, and about our fear of each other.
There’s value in hunting; there’s entertainment when firing at a practice range. But Americans thinking they need a gun to feel safe in public is just plain old insecurity. Don’t hate NRA supporters, and open carriers, pity them for so severely lacking in self-confidence.
There’s a difference between feeling unsafe in a community and feeling alienated, and it’s not clear many Americans know the difference. When people live in fear of strangers, their neighbors and their communities it’s because open communication is just too much a right to bear, not because “Robocop” is taking place outside.
We don’t have all the solutions to our gun culture, we’re just trying to start a conversation. For too long extremists drowned out any discussion about the second amendment; whenever the topic of gun control is broached there are cries of tyranny and government watch lists.
If we continue to do nothing the problem will only compound itself. America used to be the land of hope, soon it will be the land of looking over your shoulder.
