The second amendment is a legitimate thing.
However, we can amend the Constitution. Remember how black people couldn't vote, or that booze was once illegal, and is now legal again? Just fix the amendment, if it isn't working. The NRA, who represents the main obstacle to such a change, doesn't represent the majority of gun owners, but there isn't a current alternative. The politicians and the American people need to break the back of the NRA and create a more moderate group.
That said, just banning assault weapons would not have necessarily stopped many of the mass shootings in American history. Handguns are responsible for most US killings, assault weapons just happen to be used in some of the more high profile killings of white people. That comment aside, don't consider this a race argument (though the perpetrators of mass shootings also tend to be white). My point is just that $200 .32 caliber pistols flood the streets, while $1,200 bushmaster rifles tend to be a bit more rare (and not concealable enough for every day crimes)
Understand the following caveats:
1.) I am a gun owner, and I enjoy hunting and target shooting
2.) If the government said that they were banning handguns, I would turn mine in.
A heavily armed society isn't good or bad in a vacuum, but it will lead to more violence. Period. For some reason people seem to think that "leveling the playing field" will cause criminals to think twice. Of course, if they were thinking twice about consequences, they wouldn't be criminals in the first place. This is an Occam's Razor situation. More guns means more people being shot. While it may not be true in every society, it is true in ours.
We need to do a lot of things to reduce gun violence, and obviously a lot of those things have nothing to do with the guns themselves, but solving social issues. Still, there are a few things that just make sense:
1.) Make it harder to get a gun legally. We have to take multiple tests and have a learner's permit for months and demonstrate responsibility to drive cars, because they are dangerous. Why is a gun any different? Make a person take shooting lessons, pass a written and practical exam, and interview with the police in order to have the ability to buy a gun.
2.) Close the gun show loopholes. This should be self-evident.
3.) Ban the assault rifles (or at least the high-capacity magazines) because it makes sense, not as an emotional reaction to a particular incident. On this note, it is important to recognize that it really is the magazine that's the issue here, not the gun itself. Which looks scarier?
or
But both can take a 30-round clip and are semi-automatic rifles. Appearance should have nothing to do with the debate, aside from the psychological make-up of people who feel the need to own a "military-style" weapon as civilians.
4.) Get rid of guns that are out there now. By the best scientific estimates out currently, there are about a zillion guns in America, give or take a few. Changing any existing laws about new ownership or purchase won't change that. We need to get guns back out of circulation. One of the best ways to deal with that is the Japanese model, under which the right to ownership of a firearm isn't something you inherit. If a man dies, his kids don't inherit his guns (for which only he was licensed), they get turned in by the estate. Tie the specific gun to a specific license.
5.) Limit the number of guns you can own/purchase. Again, this is about angering the few to protect the vast, vast majority. I'm not suggesting an unreasonable limit, how about 6? 8? 10? Let the people decide, who make up this new non-NRA gun owner's group. But don't let the extreme members of the community hold common sense hostage. This goes for clip size as well. Hunting and target shooting don't require more than 5-7 shots (in fact, most ranges and fish & game departments don't allow more than that). Let the nuts make a compelling argument for why they would need more.
There's a lot more that could/should be done, but that's a reasonable start.
Update: Off topic, but I solved America's taxation and economic problems. I have a solution that will address both the revenue generating and spending problems. The solution will appear here shortly.
p.s. - Happy Holidays
