Posted on 02/21/2018 6:25:59 AM PST by Kaslin
The gun control debate is complex. It pits rights against duties. It pits individualism against communitarianism. It pits gun owners against anti-gun activists, and law-abiding citizens against one another. Most of all, it pits "common sense" against evidence. The vast majority of gun control proponents keep talking about "common sense" gun control, as though Americans could simply blue-sky some ideas about curbing highly sporadic acts of violence and fix the problem immediately -- and as though Americans were suffering from lack of will, rather than disagreement about method. That's simply not the case.
But there are things we can do.
Let's begin with the easiest thing: We can insist that our law enforcement agencies actually enforce the law. The Parkland, Florida, shooting occurred because the FBI failed to do its job. Not once but twice, the FBI was warned about the shooter. And not once but twice, it ignored the warnings. That isn't rare. We know that law enforcement screwed up in the South Carolina black church massacre; we know it screwed up in the Texas church massacre; we know it screwed up in San Bernardino. We know that, as of 2013, out of 48,321 cases against straw buyers -- people who buy guns for others, including those who aren't legally allowed to buy them -- just 44 had been prosecuted. We know that as of 2013, there were nearly 20,000 people in California alone who weren't legally allowed to own guns but owned them anyway. Giving the government more legal power to confiscate weaponry or prosecute those who are dangerous means nothing if the government blows every available opportunity.
But we can do more.
David French at National Review suggests an option: gun-violence restraining orders, or GRVOs. These would allow family members to apply for an order enabling the legal authorities to temporarily remove guns from those who are deemed to be a significant danger to themselves or others. Furthermore, we should ensure more transparency in the background-check system with regard to mental health records, and we should look to ease the regulations on involuntary commitment of the dangerously mentally ill.
We should also radically increase security in schools. I attended a Jewish high school that was regularly threatened with violence. Every student who attends that school is now checked in by security; the school has barriers on every side; armed security guards attend the campus. The same measures should be available at every public school. Complaints about the so-called school-to-prison pipeline created by the presence of law enforcement at schools seem to be overblown, according to the data -- and, more importantly, it's the school's job to ensure the safety of students, not to protect students against their own criminal behavior.
These are simple measures that should be able to achieve broad agreement. But they probably won't, because it's too politically useful for the left to rail broadly about gun control. The biggest problem with the gun control debate has been its failure to boil down slogans to proposals. That problem won't be alleviated so long as the media insist on putting mourning teenagers on television with the chyron "DO SOMETHING." Something is nothing unless someone puts some actual proposals on the table.
There is a long breitbart article describing how the NAACP was upset about student arrests and a policy of not arresting students was established. I t would appear that the enforcement was so strong that many repeated complaints about Cruz were totally ignored because to act would cause abandonment of the hands off policy of not only the school but the Broward county school system.
FBI aside, local law enforcement made numerous responses to complaints about Cruz but apparently took no action.
There have been at least two threads referencing the lengthy article but I do not have them at hand
School employees don’t arrest people. Cops were called on this kid over 30 times but cops couldn’t come up with even onecharge to arrest him for? Why?
The article describes the problem
There is a hands off mindset
Any licensing or permit requirement is a direct infringement upon the rights recognized in the second amendment.
There is a reason why the shooters don’t shoW up at police stations or even Walmart! They fear armed citizens!
Too bad the students can’t understand that.
Here's the thing.
The corrupt ruling elite don't own stocks in mental institutions. They own stocks in Pharmaceutical Manufacturers.
IIRC, the biggest 'influencing' factor was Geraldo Rivera's EXPOSE on the Willowbrook State School.
For later...
Wish you were right, but you’re not.
The only weapon that will ultimately be left to us is Non Compliance.
The Liberals, Media and Politicians are using these Kids convincing the Public that “doing something” is the only answer, which is code for dismantling our God Given Constitutional Rights as outlined in the Second Amendment.
As usual, it will be incremental, but our changing demographics and the idea that the Government is here to protect you will only continue to be accepted.
To Conservatives and Libertarians, the Federal Government is a necessary Evil. To the rest of our Population, the Federal Government is embraced as a fulfilling part of their lives. They have no idea what Freedom even means.
What you say is correct. I know there are no mental institutions-and I know why- but the question was about solutions and institutions ARE part of the answer.
There are many people wondering the same thing. Who paid for the buses? Consider it is 450 miles each way from Broward County to Washington DC. That will include the cost for the driver's overnight stay in a hotel and 15% gratuity. At the higher price per mile of $5.50, that's $4,950 plus $742.50 (gratuity) plus $237 for hotel = $5929.50 for one 55 passenger charter. If the students paid for the charter out of their own pocket it would be $107.81. I doubt that will happen. Will the students stay in the bus overnight? If not, the costs for hotel must be considered. For instance, a quick check showed that one night at the Phoenix Park Hotel is $237/room for up to 4 adults on March 23rd (the night before the March 24th march on Washington). If some generous Lefty, that's about $3258.75 for 55 students. For the cost of the charter plus the one night's hotel stay, that's a grand total of . . . drum roll. . . .$9188.25! Ouch!
So, for each busload of protesters from Broward County to Washington DC that's $9188.25. Those are not "crums."
Definitely.
Pocket change for people like Soros. There are many who are willing to pay such a meager amount just to make Trump look bad.
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