What it will do is make a Vegas incident impossible to carry out on a whim. If a perpetrator is determined enough, there are an estimated 450 million firearms floating around the USA, he will find a way.
Probably. This is true in England or Germany as well. But making something harder to do is a good start. Besides. Our big problem is not with domestic or foreign terrorism. Our gun problem goes far beyond that.
If people were no longer allowed to possess military style arms they would slowly disappear. Certainly prohibiting large magazines will make them a more scarce commodity. Preventing people from carrying handguns and greatly restricting new purchases (and make the illegal to sell between private parties) will make them increasingly harder to get and more dangerous to possess.
Most arguments seem to imagine the changes in our gun culture as an event. It would be a process.
Gun ownership in the US, when seen from abroad, looks like we are all toting. In fact only 30% of households own a firearm at all. About half of those say they could see owning a gun but don't own one and half say they would never own one under any circumstances.
Some in favor of guns cite hunting and target shooting as the reason most people own guns. According to polls this is not true. The number one reason people give for owning guns is personal protection. Rural people, where the threat of crime is lessened, tend to own more guns. College graduates fewer. Whites more than blacks, Hispanics least likely.
Many of these theoretical 450 million guns are in multiple gun households. 30% own five or more. The most prevalent ownership is handguns. Only 38% of gun owners say that hunting is the main reason they own guns. Clearly our gun culture is not about the annual deer hunt. It is about banging away at an intruder. (Except in rural areas where still just under half of owners say they keep guns for hunting.) Only 3 in 10 of gun owners cite target shooting as the reason they own guns.
So want a scary number? 70% of handgun owners say they sometimes carry outside of the home. Less than half of them say they frequently go to the range. Almost 20% say they never do.
More?
Only 13% are members of shooting clubs or ranges. How about the stupid factor:
Only two thirds of gun owners keep their guns locked up. 44% keep them unlocked and loaded. Only 41% "claim" to keep their shooting skills up-to-date. Only 24% tell visitors with children that there are loaded guns in the house. (And these mouth breathers admit this to pollsters. I wonder what the real number is.)
30% of gun owners have never taken a safety course and here is the scary part. Of those who only own one gun for personal protection less than half have ever taken a gun safety course. (Not to mention a personal protection course.)
84% of all Americans favor background checks.
71% favor a federal database to track gun sales.
68% favor banning assault type weapons.
65% favor banning high-capacity magazines (Over 10 rounds)
81% of Americans favor banning concealed carry without a permit.
Yet we do not get what we want. Why? Because gun owners are more likely to contact their elected officials than non gun owners. And the NRA has a disproportionate strength with lawmakers.
So what do we know? Gun ownership is dropping. Not the number of guns which is growing but the percentage of people who own them. Perhaps in time guns will go the way of the buggy whip.
In the meantime we ought to give the people what they want by a considerable majority. Ban assault weapons. License gun ownership. Prevent concealed carry without a license Ban high capacity magazines.
This will never happen as long as we have a Senate that gives equal power to a senator with less than a million constituents as we do one with 40 million. So guns are around to stay and it is up to localities to handle them.
editing. hit the button too early.
- By skinster