Posted on 07/22/2012 9:22:02 AM PDT by frithguild
While I'm sympathetic to those who would wish to wave a magic wand to prevent tragedies like the one in Aurora Colorado, we all know that no such magic wand exists. I wish it did. I wish it were possible to simply pass a law and with its passing, prevent all future meaningless acts of violence - or all violence for that matter. If only such a thing were possible, I'd happily support it.
But since that isn't possible, we must tragically content ourselves to deal with what is. If we are to draft our laws based exclusively on what we wish for, then we intentionally consign ourselves to cope with the unintended consequences of poorly designed law. Past experience dictates that instead of doing so, it might actually be better to do nothing at all. But what we should really do is focus on the goals of the policy rather than the intent. And the only way to do that effectively, is to take into account both the benefits and costs of anything we consider. Anything else and we likely do ourselves more harm than good.
If it really would save lives and prevent all violence, then no one would be against the banning of all civilian firearm ownership. Regrettably, that isn't the case. Banning guns doesn't prevent violence, it only disarms the victims and empowers those who are still willing to flout the law. In microcosm, the theater in Aurora where the shooting occurred had a strict 'no firearms' policy. It was a 'gun free zone' as these shooting so often turn out to be. The victims of the shooting all obeyed the law and were unable to defend themselves while James Holmes, intent on murder, was totally unrestrained by it. Similarly, Chicago's strict gun control laws have done nothing to stem the constant flow of civilian blood in shooting after shooting after shooting.
Some are proposing the re-imposition of the Clinton era 'assault weapons' ban, but this is another red herring. Guns which operate identically to the one the shooter used could have been purchased legally under the Clinton era ban - as they are now in NJ, NY, CT and California where state bans are still in place. What's more, even an outright total ban of all guns, wouldn't have stopped this particular killing, which could have been accomplished with Gasoline and a match. The point is that if history has shown us anything, it's that someone intent on murder will always be able to find a way. The only question is, how easy do we intend to make it for them?
If we are going to pass a law which will restrict the rights of 300 million innocent and law abiding Americans, we shouldn't do it haphazardly. At the very least we should be certain that the law will achieve its desired effect. But no gun ban has even been shown to do so. On the contrary, by disarming only those who are willing to obey the law it has often had an opposite effect. Mandatory registration, background checks, psychological profiles and all the other laws which the left wants to pass, would also only effect the innocent and law abiding. Those intent on crime will not register their guns, and those that sell to them will do no background checks from the trunk of their car. These are all laws which punish the wrong people by design.
By all indications so far made public, none of those proposals would have done anything to prevent the Aurora shooting. So the cost to the innocent public would have been very high, and the benefit to the citizens of Aurora would be none whatsoever. That's the real tragedy of laws designed like these. It's simply a reality that passing additional restrictions on the innocent rarely restricts those intent on lawlessness - however much it might make us all feel better to pass such laws.
It's easy to craft policy that's really only designed to sooth our fears or our outrage, or our sense of self satisfaction. But that isn't how effective law is made. An effective law is one which accomplishes the goal it sets out to accomplish at a minimum cost, inconvenience, and reduction in liberty to innocent citizens. That is the world we live in. And it would add deep insult to an already significant injury to pursue the political goal of punishing the innocent, in a vain attempt to eliminate the guilty.
If the left has proposals which they believe are likely to achieve the goal of reducing public violence, I for one would be very interested in hearing them. But since all their past ideas regarding 'gun control' have all failed to accomplish what they set out to, I think it's time for them to begin thinking about new ideas. Punishing the innocent with restrictions has been tried and has failed... so it's time for them to consider something different that at least stands a remote chance of success.
I think I picked up on the new narrative to set up a false argument. Chris Wallace has re-framed the argument to today on FNS a few times: The answer is not fewer guns, but more guns - this framed the gun-grabbers from the CC proponents. I really don’t think it is quantity, but placement. In other words, those who own their existing guns need to be allowed conceal-carry so they can be effective in the reduction of mass-murder and to be used for individual self-defense.
If I were a politician in a small community I would attempt to model after Israel.
Make open carry commonplace. Insure everyone has a gun, all the time everywhere.
What a stupid statement. Many would be opposed to such a plan no matter what it delivered. We still have our rights, dumbaXX.
Our problem is that the shooter in this case will never face any punishment that he would really fear. He will be coddled, where even the death sentence will be little more than taking a nap. We are too civilized!
Give these types of killers some real pain on the way to death. Sure, some will commit suicide, but some will not. Stop those that you can.
The coverage of these killers should reflect what they really are, Cowards. Unable to deal with the real world.
They said this guy spent a month booby trapping his apartment ,so he had a month to wake up and realize what he was doing ,he was going to do anything to make this happen and laws would never stop him
I is not nor ever will be the firearms. It is the individuals who have them.
When you have about 3 million seriously mentally Ill with homicidal tendencies walking the streets, this is what happens. Get them handled and you go a long way to solving the problem.
These people are NUTS, plain and simple. Yet when they take their medication, they are fine, and many are at the genius level of intelligence. Yet because of lack of funding at the local and state level, these people are not watched by people in the field and they are left to their own devices. BTW, Obamacare cuts further, the funding for mental health organizations.
Remember Ted Bundy? or This?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,578292,00.html
Do you know who is standing next to you in the store?
A smart guy like that could have easily fashioned a horrifying Propane bomb, which would have killed at least half in the theater.
Well then.
BAN PROPANE!!!!!11!!1!
The guy had 30 explosive devices and 30 artillery shells. It’s idiotic to be suggesting gun control because of this horrific incident.
I met and rejected a strange PhD-candidate genius guy in school - stalked me for a while
His weapon of choice was cyanide
Luckily he only used it on himself
A canister of cyanide in a theater could have also killed dozens
Until we grapple on how to identify and deal with potentially violent mentally ill, there will be mass murders, by other means if not guns.
Mentally ill people can get plenty of ideas and inspiration from violent “entertainment” in our pop culture
We can’t have that. The goal of our governmnet it seems is to have us all cowering and scared everywhere we go.
I can see the day that we will hand over our personal security to a group like the TSA. Searches in theaters, train stations, bus stations, malls, sporting events, you name it.
And of course we will have ALLOWED it with hardly anybody even speaking out against it. Just like we’ve ALLOWED the bastards to get away with taking half of our hard earned money by taxation.
It was a great nation while it lasted.
No offense intended, but that sounds very much like a Democrat-progressive statement. No amount of funding is going to guarantee that every crazy out there takes his meds every day. Hey, wait- there's a great use for those FEMA reeducation camps that they have set up for us conservatives should they retain power...
< /sarc >
Most likely this nut simply became afflicted with adult-onset schizophrenia, most likely a paranoid mixed type. He’s at the age of most probable development. No doubt, we’re going hear from his family and former friends that he had been acting increasingly strange during the preceding months.
If this country was serious about stopping these kinds of tragedies, it would mount a sustained national campaign to educate our country about the signs and symptoms of this disease and how to go about getting help for the afflicted individuals.
But that’s not going to happen. For a couple of reasons. First, it’s beneficial to the Communists that run our country for these kinds of massacres to continue, since they can be used to influence a mentally weak public into willingly giving up their 2nd amendment rights.
I have a betteridea.
Lest’s pass a law against murder.
That would stop it.
He will be coddled, where even the death sentence will be little more than taking a nap.
***
It is not.
http://www.freecdtracts.com/heavenandhell.htm
Here’s my plan:
1) speedy trial/conviction
2) altar call by someone good at it
3) pastors available (NOT Muslims)
4) death penalty in 10 days after conviction
Typos typos
I'm as pro-2nd Amendment as they come, but there's also a matter of property rights to be considered. As stupid as it is, if a theater owner, restaurant owner, mall owner, etc. choose to disallow firearms, so be it. If however, they choose to do so, they need to be held 100% liable for the safety and security of their patrons. In this case, every CCW holder who complied with theater policy and left their firearm at home or in the car, should be entitled to HUGE damage awards against the theater owner for inhibiting their right to protect themselves, and making no accomodation to protect them.
That would not fly.
First thing the defense lawyer would point out is that you were not forced to enter the property.
In the case of government property; DMV, Post Office, courts, etc., I do believe that they should be required to protect you or pay damages.
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