An interesting article I found off of the New York Times. It is about Vice President Joe Biden's push for legislation concerning the use of assault weapons. This is, of course, in response to the Newtown Shootings as well as to follow up on the vow Obama made, saying that he would try to impose new gun regulations. I thought it was good, so here it is for all of you to take a look.
Monday, January 14, 2013
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I appreciate the fact that people such as Rahm Emanuel (former House member and White House chief of staff--now the mayor of Chicago) are recognizing that other social factors need to be assessed, not just gun control. Yet, I stand by my belief that there should be no more regulations on guns and that a semi-automatic gun is not an assault rifle and, therefore, should not be restricted upon (only automatic guns which have already been banned). If a criminal wants a gun, they will find a way to go above the law and obtain one. Adding these restrictions is only restricting the 2nd Amendment rights of decent citizens of America.
ReplyDeleteI find it funny that Obama keeps saying that he's going to "ignore the politics" and do what makes sense and what he believes will work, but then doesn't consult Republicans in his committee. How is this ignoring the politics by refusing to directly work across the aisle?
ReplyDeleteI think other factors do need to be addressed, but that is not in place of gun restrictions. We need to assess the problem holistically. While we absolutely need to look at the programs we have in place for people who have mental disabilities, we would be amiss as a nation to ignore the fact that stricter gun laws could help to make our country a safer place.
ReplyDeleteStricter gun laws are not the answer. Reducing magazine size is not the solution. Banning semi automatic weapons is a dangerous step toward tyranny. I believe we are already there. A measure I support that Obama favors is making people who have attended mental health facilities public record for the state to access when conducting background checks. I also support an increase in prosecution by those who lie on forms and barred a gun because the background check came up with a negative result. Of over 80,000 people are on record of having lied on the federal form in 2010 to purchase a firearm. only 44 were prosecuted. That's the real problem. These people then find some other way to get guns to commit a crime.
ReplyDeleteI think that Obama needs to consult with the republicans on the issue of gun control. I also think that we need to regulate who gets guns and what types of guns that can get.
ReplyDeleteObama is to self-confident at this point. Claiming that he will ignore the poliitcs is a huge mistake. He should just man up and say "Hey Republicans. I need help. Lets Compromise" instead of trying to act like he can fix all of these problems himself. Our nation is not set up for one man to do it all himself.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lauren that other social matters need to be dealt with, not just weapons. And if restrictions are enforced which limit our 2nd Amendment rights it would not solve the problem. People would find another way to obtain the illegal guns.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that there are more social matters and issues that need to be dealt with aside from weapons. I agree with Amanda about how Obama needs to try to compromise, instead of trying to take everything on himself and fix it, because it's not going to work.
ReplyDeleteIt may be true that some people will be able to find guns illegally if certain ones are banned, but a generalization cannot be made that all people will be able to access one. Each incident is independent of any others. If the effort to illegally find a gun is enough to derail the would-have-been criminal, then lives will have been saved. Isn't that the purpose of the gun laws in the first place?
ReplyDeleteI believe the incidents are independent of eachother as well. I do not believe that certain crimes would be prevented with weapon bans because these criminals are committing crimes that are already illegal. What is another law to them?
DeleteI think that this is a good approach because our country is so far gone that I am not sure it is possible for major gun control policies to work. However tightening up the qualifications and requirements for gun ownership as well as trying to ban military grade assault rifles, and their ammunition sounds like a really good idea. I think that military assault rifles have no place in civilian life or hands because there is no civilian use for them.
ReplyDeleteAlthough White House officials and Democratic lawmakers said that "there are clear limits to what the president can and cannot do," this still gives Obama some type of authority, and maybe he will actually make a difference in restricting gun laws now. I agree with Ellie that trying to tidy up the qualifications and requirements of gun ownership might be one of the best approaches at this point.
ReplyDeleteIf Obama thinks that he is going to be able to ignore politics and do what he wants without the consultation of the Republicans, then he is extremely delusional and needs to take a moment and rethink his intentions. All politicians, no matter the party, need consultation from the opposing party so that we have a true bipartisan agreement on laws.
ReplyDeleteI would tend to believe we need to add teeth to current laws rather than enact new ones specifically the ATF agency which only has 5000 agents to regulate the entire country's gun sales and only has the capacity to visit each gun seller about once every 17 years
ReplyDeleteI don't think there is one solution to this problem, but rather we need a combination of different laws, stricter background checks, bettering of mental health, security in schools, etc. Obviously there are people who will find a way around laws, but there are people who would be stopped from accessing guns due to laws. A suicidal teenager might not have enough motivation or the access to weapons even behind the law. There isn't a solution that keeps gun violence from ever happening.
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