What do you think would be a good starting point in lessening the impact guns have in the states? I’m also trying to understand your correlation with Australia re their regulations? The high capacity mag law is I think a start but just a small start as it only takes a second to flip a clip. Canada is trying to limit the amount of handguns entering the black market from theft of legitimately owned handguns by banning them all, what are your thoughts on that approach?
The high capacity law in California, in my opinion was a political knee-jerk reaction and not much about any real effort at regulating guns. What CAN be done in the short term is study the problem looking for solutions that aren't draconian "takes yer gunz away" laws. The Republicans and Russia's NRA have been squelching the NIH from even studying the problem, leaving the matter up to fascist goons in law enforcement to decide what to do.
So, let's get started funding research into a system of knowledge-based recommendations to put into the hands of lawmakers that have validity and thought put into them.
Without waiting for that, there are common sense actions that could be taken such as:
Tighten and fund gun background checks that give time and resources to do an adequate check on EVERY gun sale.
Require guns be kept in locked safes with ammunition stored somewhere else.
Require all new guns be registered before delivery to a registered owner who is by law responsible for damages by that weapon even if it is stolen.
New guns to be restricted in capacity and any modifications to that gun to accept high volume magazines will be considered a serious offense.
Gun nuts react to such a list by saying the cops will be breaking down doors to do gun inspections. That's not necessary but if a gun hurts somebody, the gun owner had better be able to prove it was stored according to regulations and show how the safe was broken into. This is just a suggestion of what I think could be done. As I said earlier, I'd like to see the US use Canada's system as a model for our own.
I understood that Canada was limiting hand guns by making them very hard to justify purchasing and transporting them. I think that if a gun is stolen, the owner had better be able to show he had it stored properly or be liable for damages if that gun hurts somebody. I don't have a problem with stiffer regulations on hand guns but think that mindlessly banning them isn't necessary. I do think that the stakeholders in the gun industry including gun owners should pay for enforcement of these laws. Maybe not all but a large portion through taxes, registration fees and, perhaps, pay for a form of insurance that settles damages when people are harmed by guns.
