Originally Posted by
my my my!
First, I'm a realist, and believe that Humans are inherently prone to being violent which is the reason that I don't believe we are going to stop the gang/underworld type of shootings. Criminals will get weapons somehow, theoretically from corrupt foreign country black markets (assuming at that point in the future , ALL guns are banned and confiscated from every single home in the US and gun dealers are shut down)
I don't like using google for these type of subjects, but am I correct in saying that most of the mass campus shootings of the past 5 years have been by teens to mid 20's type of people?
-Require all gun owners to register their weapons (serial number and weapon type) and have the data added to central database. The local cops here can punch in your license plate and figure out if your car is insured, and what your name is before even asking you , Unless you're in a stolen car or someone else's car. So doing a central database system for guns that is accessible to all law enforcement, gun dealers and other government entities is very do-able. Public availability to this database? Perhaps not, because criminals would know exactly where to get weapons from registered citizens.
-Raise the minimum age for buying weapons to 30 . I'll admit that with teen angst and college years drama , some people of those ages just shouldn't have a weapon available (not saying that older people don't go nuts and shoot people too). I have the belief that People become wiser and more serene as they get older, generally.
- Initiate a psychological/psychiatric evaluation program that is mandatory for anyone turning 18 or less general , anyone wanting to buy a weapon for that matter. They did one of these at my old work place as part of a workplace personality study, and you'd be surprised how many people realistically were found to need counseling. Some employee's answers were evaluated, and interpreted to show signs of depression, dissatisfaction and other issues. When the same employee was asked, they revealed that said conditions were true. Might give insight into perhaps prohibiting sales of firearms to some people with these types of issues.
- Install a sensor/chip type of device on ALL weapons, even retro fitting old weapons in people's possession. Create "boundaries" within cities or areas, that firearms are absolutely forbidden and will raise an alarm, such as schools, banks and other institutions. *I admit guns should only be allowed in gun environments like shooting ranges. Current gps and navigation technology would allow this, it would just be a matter of passing the legislation to require this and then implementing the system. Example school would be able to detect a registered weapon within 2000 yards of the school and sound a buzzer or alarm, like the old "fire drills"
- Require a high technology safe for all weapons , except for ONE weapon designated for home defense (this one is very hard to enforce admittedly unless the door to door principle is implemented) One solution could be , to force us gun owners, to get a permit to shoot,EVERY TIME we want to shoot our weapons. They would be like the ones you are issued when you want to make an addition to your house. Us shooters would have to plan way in advance when we want to schedule a shooting session. Possible killers might get frustrated by this process and calm down and NOT do what they were going to do.
- Anyone under 30 can not discharge any weapon, without the registered serial number owner present. What does this mean? Junior can not tell dad, "dad I'm going to go fire the 44" anymore, without dad having to accompany him.
- Make magazines with serial numbers that also have to be registered, and Limit one magazine for the home defense weapon. When someone tries to buy more magazines, the seller (gun shop) runs the buyer's information through the centralized system, and will know if the person already has a magazine in their possession. Claims of "I need another one because my other one is damaged" would require bringing the other magazine in to the seller's facility, to be registered for destruction, and removal of serial number from buyer's profile. Inserting bullets into the magazine would have to be done on the spot, if anyone actually managed to unload the "home defense pistol" in public.
- for those of us that value the home defense sense of security, Neighborhood watch type of programs should be looked at again. That way if any strange people are in a neighborhood, actions can be taken to PREVENT a crime, including a shooting.
-require gun safety and gun violence teaching at schools. even if it's a 2 hour course per student per year or something like that. Kids would be shown how a gun works, and would be shown statistics of how many people die by guns every year. Demonize guns, so maybe the newer generations don't like guns as much, and us older gun guys eventually die out. There will be less guns in FUTURE generations.
Social factors related to shootings and other violence and deaths that might be worth looking into:
- Punish bullying, internet/real life harrasment, child abuse with stiffer fines and penalties. The reason I bring this up, is because some of the mass shooters, or random shootings are done by people that were being bullied at school/work or in another social scenario. Also perhaps look MORE into the resources available to bullied/harassed/abused children and teens (or of any age). Crisis centers, teaching kids in school that bullying has negative effects and perhaps also show the statistics i.e.how many kids committed suicide or homicide because they were being bullied/harassed/abused.
- Look into Workplace firings/layoffs more deeply. Alot of shooters are disgruntled ex-employees. Perhaps force a temporary confiscation of Laid off people's weapons. They have to prove stable employment to regain their weapons as well as pass the psychological requirement exam. Employers would be required to report terminations to corresponding authority, to escort laid off employees to their homes. Mass layoffs would get tricky though.
-Look way more seriously into unemployed/laid off counseling and psychiatric help programs. It is very STRESSFUL to get laid off, and some people just can't hack it. I was laid off 4 years ago, and our employer just to sign our termination, and we were without a job a minute later. No offer of counseling programs or resources.
- Look into Implementing an even stricter rating (example would be 25+ only 25 year olds and above can play that game or watch that movie) for video games, movies and other media that depict guns shooting a human. Do we really need kids playing a game where your objective is to shoot as many people as you can? Does a 14 year old need to see the new Rambo movie? Or be force fed call of duty every year for 10 years in a row? This is a free speech issue, and Is kind of harsh.