Posted on 04/08/2022 8:09:31 AM PDT by rellimpank
The dramatic rise in gun violence over the last two years in the United States, as was demonstrated in the deadly shootout in Sacramento on Sunday, demands that leaders do more to keep firearms away from dangerous people.
This is no easy task, of course. But California has a system — the only one in the nation — to do so. The Armed and Prohibited Persons System is a state Department of Justice database that tracks firearms owned by people who are banned from possessing them because they’ve been convicted of a felony, are under a restraining order or have a serious mental illness.
Despite numerous obstacles it has demonstrated results, with more than 20,000 guns seized since 2006 from those banned from having them. During a February sweep in Los Angeles, — including 17 assault weapons and eight "ghost" guns, which are unregistered firearms sold as kits — as well as 49,000 rounds of ammunition from people on the list of prohibited owners.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Bingo. We need more effort invested at keeping CRIMINALS IN PRISON. The gun problem will take care of itself.
Here’s an idea. Let’s prohibit felons from owning firearms!!! Yeah that would work well!!! Oh...wait...
KEEP CRIMINALS IN PRISON!
Giant space based magnets are the only way to get guns off the streets.
Or closing the border
It is a drop in the bucket. In the same time period, Californians were purchasing a thousand times as many. One gun taken from a prohibited possessor; 999 legally purchased.
And kill the ones that need killing
Also, they should talk to the ATF about selling guns to Mexican drug cartels. That would likely go a least a short way into solving the problem.
The answer to the headline question is to import an expert from Saudi Arabia and cut off the hands of repeat felons.
The question facing America is how do we rid the Republic of the Ameritrash populating California like a metastasizing cancer
I know. I know........ lots of good citizens (and Freepers) reside in California. They lost control of their destinies long ago
This obviously does not work. I contend it does not work for some very basic reasons that are rooted in Christianity and the US Constitution. First, the database and many laws violate a strict textual interpretation of the 2nd Amendment - that pesky "shall not infringe" clause. Bottom line, if you are not in prison you should have all your constitutional rights - that includes the right to defend yourself. Laws that strip people of their rights in anticipation of a crime (restraining orders) are hideously unconstitutional. Anyone that has actually committed a crime should be found guilty and do the appropriate time to insure they do not commit another crime. As for the mentally ill, they have rights too, including defending themselves. They have not yet committed crimes and should not lose their rights. The mentally ill are not even likely to commit a violent crime, particularly with a weapon.
Second, as a Christian I believe in repentance and redemption. This goes to that old, but now seldom heard phrase, "paying your debt to society". That involves prison, but after a prisoner really pays his debt to society, he gets a second chance to being a full citizen with all rights and priveledges. That literally allows a person to be a productive member of society and reduces reoffending. Sentences for criminals need to insure the vast majority will never reoffend. Read that as longer and harsher. It also important to insure those that are released after paying their debt to society is that they are able to fully integrate in society. This isn't some kind of leftist philosophy filled with useless government programs. It means recognizing that we are all sinners and deserve a second chance. We ultimately get that second chance by taking Jesus Christ as our savior, but Christ wants us to give second chances hear on earth, as we are all sinners. I need only point to the Lord's pray as exhibit #1 - forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
There is amazing power in forgiveness for both the person who forgives and the person who is forgiven.
Easy. Throw their sorry butts in jail for a long time if they use a weapon in a crime.
If they kill someone with a gun, execute them by firing squad.
BUILD MORE PRISONS!
As for the mentally ill, they have rights too, including defending themselves. They have not yet committed crimes and should not lose their rights. The mentally ill are not even likely to commit a violent crime, particularly with a weapon.
= = =
True, but there is now no way to treat the mentally ill as such. And they cannot be required to keep taking their meds; that is cruel.
So, if they are ‘acting up’, they are charged with crimes to get them behind bars, initially for treatment to become competent for trial, and then a sentence to answer for their crime. And then while incarcerated, they often do not have to take their meds. So the cycle repeats, and worsens.
And they have to be charged with a felony. Otherwise they cannot be held. Felonies such as ‘terrorist threats’, resisting arrest, or resisting an executive officer (a Civil War era law) gets them locked up, misdemeanors do not work for this. These felonies are often arbitrarily interpreted and applied.
The mental person often just needs a ‘time out’. A facility where he is held, perhaps medicated, gets sober, etc. Then let back out with no criminal charges. But we don’t have these. I think they would help.
And we can stop bank robberies by bricking up doors and windows of all banks.
We can check out any time we want, but we cannot afford to leave….
As some have already pointed out, incarceration prevents illegal gun ownership by “prohibited persons”. The left just wants to make us all prohibited.
We should also bring back the days when the incarcerated earned their keep. Let them work off their debt to society rather than society footing the bill.
Allow them to EARN education and training while incarnated so that they can have gainful employment once released.
Every convict with tattoos on his (or her) face and neck. Load them into trucks and dump them down an abandoned mine shaft.
“That literally allows a person to be a productive member of society and reduces reoffending.”
Not sure on this. Evidence seems to prove differently as the Orange County sheriff’s department is finding adversely. And they are openly saying the effort was not successful especially with the ridiculous protection efforts of illegals in California.
“According to data recently released from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, in the two years since the implementation of California’s State Bill 54 (SB54), the sheriff’s department has rearrested more than 400 of those they released on whom ICE had active detainers. The aliens who were rearrested include those with charges including: rape, assault with a deadly weapon, child sex offenses, domestic violence, identify theft, and driving under the influence.”
That equates to almost 3 in every 10 people released are re-arrested and many of them for violent crimes. And according to the CDC, California has the highest number of gun deaths in the US.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/firearm_mortality/firearm.htm
Whereas I don’t disagree with your inference of Christian and Constitutional efforts, and as much as it would be that easy, it will never work as long as there is evil in the world. And the evil at this time has reached the point of people, maybe closer to animal, who would rather give up their lives than conform to the peaceful existence religion and our government documents talk about. Plus, the California government is so busy trying to track weapons legally being sold that they are not getting the work done for those illegally crossing the border and getting into the hand of those evil people that have destined themselves to lead a life of crime rather than peace. And I believe that the loss of 3 of every 10 people that are confronted by a repeat offender is too high a price to pay for the state doing nothing more than adding to the highest number of gun laws in any state being basically applied to responsible people and not the criminals.
Your intent is great. But your results are outnumbered by those that don’t prescribe to the peaceful existence.
wy69
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