Ladies and gentlemen: Many of our discussions on this forum have revolved around the current firearms regulatory system and whether it needs revamping. So let's review for a minute.
The situation here is that we have a convicted felon with a lengthy record who managed to get his hands on a firearm (system failure #1). Not only did he managed to get his hand on one firearm, he managed to get his hands on 7-10,000 firearms (system failures #2-10,000). Initial estimates are that 99% of the weapons and other goods are stolen (system failure #3). It was only by sheer luck that the authorities stumbled across this cache of weapons (system failure #4).
In other threads writers have pointed out that most of the mass shooters in this country obtained their weapons legally (system failure #5).
Now, we can dwell on semantics and euphemisms such as gun regulation, gun control, or any other words we would like to use. No matter how you describe it, we have a problem with gun ownership and usage in this country. We have firearms deaths that outnumber traffic deaths. Many portions of our cities continue to be dangerous to both cops and ordinary citizens because there is an unchecked flow of firearms into the hands of criminals. Guns continue to flow south across the border in exchange for drugs. The mental health system is uncoupled from the firearms background check system. Nearly 224,000 guns are lost or stolen every year. Gun owners continue to sell guns privately to straw buyers or other persons who shouldn't have guns. We have people who buy and carry firearms with no training or no real understanding of how these things work. They are a public safety hazard by their ignorance. Call it what you want. But our gun environment in this country is messed up, and is not getting better.
Yes, on other threads I've mentioned some solutions: mandatory firearms training and licensing, liability for gun owners for proper locked storage, holding law enforcement officers accountable, tracking gun serial numbers to combat gun trafficking and criminal acts, fully funding the ATF to do their job. I don't claim to have all the answers. Certainly there are other solutions out there. If you don't like my ideas, come up with some of your own. But existing in denial and saying no to any and all solutions is not the way forward.
Here's my biggest concern:change from without. Guns don't flow from liberal gun haters to criminals and crazies. They come from us, the gun owners. This is our "sport", our passion, our section of society. We are the ones responsible for policing ourselves. As in every other situation, if we don't police ourselves, then that policing will come from outside the community. Given the rampant dysfunction of the GOP these days there is a better than average chance that the Dems will win the White House. Public opinion continues to swell against firearms and the media isn't helping. So, we can either take the lead and make changes from within that actually work, or we can dig in our heels and allow change to happen from without. We might not like that result.
