In light of what happened at Virginia Tech last week, what do you think of the gun laws in the United States? Should it be harder for some people to buy a gun than it is now? For instance, it was technically illegal for the VT killer to buy firearms because he had been diagnosed as emotionally troubled by a psychologist, and yet he still managed to easily purchase two guns and ammunition. What good are laws if they are easy to break without being caught? Do you believe laws should be changed to make it much tougher for potential killers to buy weapons? If so, how could the laws be better regulated and enforced?
Kelby Hausman
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15 comments:
I knew that someone would be asking this question. What happened at Virginia tech is a tragity. we wigh that things such as this won't happen but they ultimatly do. It is a shame that these people are dead because some lunatic dicided to go on a rampage due to his own falts. What happened immediatly after this incident is the talk of the gun laws.
In this country, the citizens are allowed to own firearms by the second ammendment of our constitution. The ammendment actually calls on the public to own weapons for the security of our country through militias. Unfortuntaly, there are people in this country like this psycho that decided to use this right to hurt others that were completely innocent and undeserving of their fates.
I am a firearms owner and a believer in allowing for the people of this country to own weapons. However, I am a realist and I strongly believe that there are people in this country that do not need to possess a firearm. Convicted criminals of violent crimes involving a firearm have no business owning one in the future. People that are diagnosed with a disorder that could forshadow an event such as the one in Virgina.
If you get the chance to look into your question a little more, you will find that Illinois has some of the strictest gun laws in the country. In this state, any person that owns a firearm must have a firearms identification card that has to be renewed every few years. There is a no carry policy throughout the state which means that no one can possess a firearm in concealment(ie. carrying a pistol across your chest like you see in James Bond movies.) Each weapon must be registered and there are waiting periods after purchasing a weapon of at least one day in order for the state to get the buyers info.
Many gun advocates don't like the waiting periods and the firearms cards but they are a step in the right direction. We need to be able to keep guns out of the hands of those that shouldn't possess them but also allow for the common sports shooter to own them with as little trouble as possible.
There are people that certainly should not be allowed to own firearms. Gun laws are important in order to try and keep the public save from preditors and pyschopaths. these laws need to continue to be created and refined but still allow for the average american citizen to own a firearm if they decide to purchase one.
first comment by Ryan Bales 9:00 (Sorry!)
I feel there should be stiffer laws for emotionally disturbed people to purchase guns and ammunition. I believe such places who do not abide by the laws should be penalized for the sale of the weapon.
It is a shame that such people can find ways around laws to purchase weapons. I blame some television and movies for showing acts of voilence in this way. I understand television is television, but such pyschos like the VT killer was show with different pictures mimicking such movies. I believe they should of locked him up a long time ago, no matter if it violated his freedom of speech. I think VT should of done more for this crazed lunatic, like reporting him to the local police, psychologist. Something more should have been done. Situations like this are getting worse. This is a horrible tragedy, and when is something more going to be done to prevent such violent acts. I believe President Bush needs to concentrate on the terrorism here in the United States within our own people. It seems situations like these keep happening, and Americans are suppose to deal with it and start the healing process almost immediately. What is wrong with our society?
Cheri A
I feel that people should be able to buy and own firearms. I have no problem with them. Guns do not kill people like everyone says. People kill people. The gun was just the means. If you can blame guns for killing people then I can blame misspelled words on my pencil. However, some people should not be allowed to purchase guns or ammo. If you have been deamed emotionally troubled then you shouldnt be able to buy guns. If you have a major criminal record, you shouldnt be able to buy guns. Finally if you dont have a FOID (Firearm Owner's Identification) card or arent a legal US citizen, you shouldnt be able to buy guns.
Josh Kaufman
this is a very sensitive subject and one that draws intense reactions from both sides. I am a frequent shooter and i enjoy firearms, i also believe that people should maintain the right to own guns for their own personal protection. in my opinion its people who kill people not guns. i understand the reason why people think that guns regulation is important but i disagree. i believe that if you make guns harder to purchase legally than more people (especially the ones like Mr. Cho at VT) will purchase guns illegally making guns even harder to control. i don't want to see guns treated in the same category as illegal drugs. Illinois has an excellent gun control system and i believe that it is somewhat effective. people like Mr. Cho are going to find a way to accomplish their grisly desires regardless of what rules we place on guns. what i think we need is for more of the right people to have guns in order to defend themselves from these people.
Douglas King
I think that gun laws should be a bit more strict, BUT, I also think that there should be police or faculty or SOMEONE armed in case something like this does happen. So really, where do you draw the line? Is it even possible?
You're example of the VT killer getting guns even though technically he couldn't brings up a valid point. People who buy guns should have a LOT of credentials on them. I Mean, just overflowing with info about them, medical history, etc.
But, I do think that some people have the right to bear arms to defend themselves, I just think it somehow needs to be better controlled.
Maybe make all guns have an electronic "sticker" on them, and all info about the person who has the gun and the gun itself is relayed to a police station? I'm not sure if this would be possible or even a good idea...just a suggestion though.
Other than that, I can't really say much else.
Blake Widmer
i think that the laws do need to be changed, but at the same time a lot of these things happen because of briberies. if we have cops in the gun shops monitoring every thing and questioning the reason for the need to buy a gun , it will be much better. we should make gun laws more strict and increase security in public places. it would be senseless to not allow guns as this will be a violation of the constitution. just be more careful about it.
Bahaa Abu Salim
i think guns should be strickly for law enforcment and the military period. thats the only real solution to get guns out of the hands of criminals. and anyways it is more fun to hunt with a bow.
Isaac Mitchell
Guns that serve a rational purpose, I don't have a problem with. Guns like shotguns and rifles that are used for hunting. Guns like semi-automatic assult rifles, Fully automatic guns, and guns that are primarily designed for concealment, are guns I have a problem with. No matter how long you argue they are not ideal for hunting purposes. These types of guns shouldn't be as easy to acquire. There is a loophole in the Brady Laws, which don't allow the laws to uphold it's purpose to it's potential. It doesn't allow the funding for the information to be obtained and processed. The loophole allows the mentally unstable and criminals to still obtain guns. The NRA and other similar associations are aware of the loopholes, and take advantage of it. The NRA do everything in their power to keep the loopholes from getting fixed. The lobbyists for the NRA even promote the tragedy of Virginia Tech as a reason for everyone to own guns. Their arguement, if everyone had a gun on campus the killer could've been stopped. Nevermind, that the law enforcement who were dispatched,were on campus looking for someone with a gun. The judgements the law enforcement make while on duty, are to benefit the people. If all the students had guns the law enforcements judgements would be likely for errors. The student that was carrying a gun and took law into their own hands, could be gunned down by the law enforcement. Lightening the gun laws would cause more problems than it is worth. The lobbyists still push for mentally unstable to obtain guns, even after the Virginia Tech tragedy. Why would the NRA still support the lightening of gun laws? They are financially supported by gun makers, so they want to sell more guns for bigger profits. Maybe they know something we don't, maybe like a large number of members of the NRA are mentally unstable. This may make sense; a paranoid schizophrenic will arm themselves to the teeth, because they don't trust anybody. It may be just good business.
Aaron Peters
Gun laws can be a very difficult subject to decide on. our constitution was set up on a basis of the right to bear arms....The government has always stuck to that even though you have a waiting process on buying hand guns....but at the same time that shouldnt really make sense, since you can buy guns at wal-mart....so if they really want to be stricter then everyone should go though a waiting process where they check out their previous criminal, medical, and legal records. Really dig into their past and even search into their future. We'll see what the future has to offer for gun control because i've herd in heavily populated areas, there is really strick control...for example i herd in England you cant even own a hand gun and its rare to own a riffle or shotgun...But i own guns and believe that the government should stick to what they've always done, and even though this sounds cold...people have been using guns for years to kill people in all kinds of situations, and VT was just something that was almost ground breaking for news and they latched on to it....when someone is shot at in a neighborhood you dont hear about it for weeks on end...they'll blast it once or twice in the news and thats it....for example in monticello a month ago a former school-mate/football buddy of mine got into a fight, shot at a car, and hit the driver in the back of the head...the guy survived and he's still waiting for his trial...and you dont hear about it everyday in the news.....
Justin Crowley
I don't know how to make it much harder to buy a gun than it already is because there is the mandatory wait the buyer must go through to get his background checked. I don't think there would be anything that would stop a person from just disregarding this, but i do agree that there should be more about a persons mental history on their record.
But in some states though it is legall to carry a consealed firearm
around for protection, assuming you go through the right channels. I'm not saying this would be a fix for anything but it mght make a person think twice about shooting a person who might shoot back.
James Butler
To be honest with you I think it might be one of those cases were regardless of the law people are going to find ways around buying and selling guns. There is such a high demand for weapons and it is good money for the seller that they aren't as worried about the risks.Between guns and drugs it's a tough call, sure changing the law to become more strict may slightly slow down the criminals until they find a way around it, yet for the long haul I don't think it will help. The laws should be more inforced with people smuggling guns into the country, strict enforcement of searches on all boats coming in from another country would put a huge damper on people bypassing the laws completely and still buying weapons. Amy Marx
here's what I have to say . . .
John
I think that people who wish to buy a gun should meet certain requirements. They should have a clean record, no criminal charges, etc. I believe that guns should be less accessible to the public, maybe have authorization to buy guns. This would be inconvenient, but worth it. It would help prevent psychos access to guns, so if they want to kill people they'd have to find another way. Laws serve a purpose. They tell us what is socially acceptable, and also helps us identify who the bad guys are. I think that if there were harsher punishments it would make people think twice about what they are about to do. I don't know how we could improve our laws. At least we have laws. That's something.
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