My girlfriend, Laura, often tells me that i focus too many of my negative thoughts about America on guns. Whether this point is to let me know that my views are not 100% accurate, that my wishes can never come true or whether i am missing so many more issues is still yet to be discovered!
I thought about this, long and hard, about why gun control means so much to me when there are so many other problems in the world. I guess it comes down to knowing something different and knowing that it works. Knowing that needless deaths can be avoided and awful situations, that should never be thought about, will not have to haunt families.
This morning a man shot dead a dozen people in Washington DC. No real motive, no real reasoning. He had access to a gun and he used it. He used it to kill people with friends, families, acquaintances and people who saw them every day on the bus and appreciated their smile. Death casts such a wide net and affects so many people. When this could be avoided, in so many situations, why has nothing been done yet?
In the wake of Sandy Hook, news reports of a similar occurrence in China came to notice. This man was armed with a knife, not a gun, and no one died. Sure, people were injured, but no one died. Tell me that guns do not kill people.
Having lived here for five months though i realised that America is still not ready for enough of a reformation that will make sense to the rest of the world. Still clinging to an amendment which was based around the English Bill of Rights of 1689, America simply is not prepared to give up their hand held freedom. This is where, instead of complaining, sticking to my guns (pardon the pun) and losing, I think it is required to change tact a little bit. When people are dying needlessly, something needs to be done. It is a classic move in negotiation. Once the opposition believes they have won, you snowball some slight changes to them and, often, get under their guard.
An American people, yet to understand that Obama's attempts at reforms have nothing to do with taking power away from the people, or turning America into 1930's Germany ("Hitler did this too" says the conservatives), Anti-gun lobbyists may need to aim a little lower at the moment. The things that i believe should be able to be done and can be done are all things which i have read or heard about and i do not think would infringe on anybody's freedom. basically, i feel all law abiding gun owners should not feel they are getting a raw deal from this. But they are a bloody hard mob to please.
Firstly, all assault weapons should not be available to ordinary citizens. Why do people need them? Seriously. I think at shooting rages people should only be able to shoot at targets and not ones that are in the shape of another human being. Again, why do you want to be able to train yourself to shoot a person between the eyes? I think ammunition should be very limited and any purchases out of the ordinary should be investigated. This is whether there is a spike in sales on one day, over a month, etc. If you are buying weapons, it should be traceable. People should not be able to purchase weapons without it being recorded.
I think this is something which could be effective. If you buy a weapon initially from a gun store, it should be coded and the purchaser then becomes responsible for that weapon. When it is lawfully sold this is changed. It is the same when people buy and sell cars so why can't it work with guns? Then, if something were to happen and a weapon was used in a shooting, the owner would also have to accept some of the responsibility. This would mean owners would be less likely to not keep their guns locked up and/or loaded around their children. Although they would not get the same charge as the perpetrator, some blame must be pointed on the owner of the gun. I would hope these measures would be the motivation to take care of guns and ensure they did not fall into the wrong hands.
Naturally, this is a huge step back for the gun laws i think should be introduced. I mean, sure Australia might be headed toward peril economically, educationally and in terms of human rights, but none of this is due to the fact that guns are harder to come by. Those who think America is a totally different kettle of fish have less respect for the Australian people than they should.
America needs to address its paranoia. I think doing this would be a step forward for the entire world. But that is a longer, more vague, potentially painful blog for perhaps a never day. Just keep your fingers off the trigger. It would save so much heartache.
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