I don't need to tell you all that the whole gun control movmeent is little more than grandstanding, but I have a few points to share.
One thing I like to point out is that even if a lot of strict gun control were to pass, it would likely to little to stop criminals from getting guns, and to illustrate that I point out drugs. Drugs (like heroin, cocaine, the illegals) have been completely banned since the 1970's. That said, ever since they were completely banned, drug use and its associated problems have increased significantly. On top of that, we spend BILLIONS of dollars every year enforcing drug laws and incarcerating non-violent offenders. What makes it even worse is that many researchers have concluded that current US drug policy is actually making the drug problem worse, they say that we woudl have less drug problems (including related crimes and medical problems) if we simply got rid of drug laws.
So, if a complete ban on drugs for the past 40 years has not kept drugs out of the country, how will I gun ban do so? The more we restrict guns, the bigger the opportunity for the black market. Its supply and demand, criminals will always want guns so they will always get guns. Right now, they are able to get them through quasi-legal means like straw purchases, but if we were to pass laws that ended straw purchases, the black market would quickly compensate for the loss.
That said, if we hope to do anything about gun violence, we need to target the offenders, not their tools. Premeditated crimes committed with firearms need to have harsh mandatory sentencing guidelines. I don't see any reason why someone who robs a store with a gun should not go to prison for 25-life. Same thing with gang members and drug dealers, if these people are caught with a gun they should be locked away for at least 25 years. I think a lot of criminals would think twice about robbing a convience store with a gun if they knew they would face a mandatory 25 years in prison for getting caugtht, stores would still be robbed but at least less innocent store oeners would be killed in the process.
We also need to step up law enforcement in high crime areas. Currently, police tend to avoid areas with a lot of violent crime, only responding to 911 calls. We need to create special task forces within police department to patrol and enforce the law in these dangerous areas. We need something between your standard patrolman and a SWAT team to patrol these high crime areas regularly. I remember when I ran EMS in Camden, NJ we would roll in there with bulletproof vests and the cops were nowhere to be found, if we needed police we had to call the state troopers directly and wait 20 minutes for them to get there.
End rant.
