A NRA Member Makes Some
Humble Suggestions on Gun Control

Not a bad position but still fraught with opportunity for abuse. Background checks are "red flag light." The left cannot be trusted. Background checks, like I go through daily, will eventually come to include checks on social media. If you don't think that could go sideways I can't help you grasp the risk. I committed a felony in Illinois for which I was not charged. The State didn't process my FOID (Illinois Firearm Identification) renewal over the course of 4 months and I became a felon. Governor Edgar took measures to make sure we were protected but when it happened again under Blagojevich we were hung out to dry. Nobody got arrested but the times are changing aren't they. Last time I tried to renew well in advance but they wouldn't process it early, it had to be 90 days from expiration if I remember correctly. I have also engaged in a private sale to an acquaintance I did not know well, a friend of a friend. I asked to see her FOID card and was glad to know she had gone through the check.

While we'll on the mass shooting and killing subject, let's not forget the Soviets killing tiousands of Polish Officers at the Katyn Forest mass shooting. Then there is the thingy with 47 million killed by the Russkies. And let's not forget the winner of history's greatest mass murderer (Guiness) by the "artist and poet" CHAIRMAN mao. And of course there's that Hitler guy and Pol Pot. There's more great mass murderers and I find it odd that most are government employees.

The Left is not trying to control guns. They are trying to control people. And since they cannot control criminals with guns their only other option is to come after legal, responsible gun owners who are exercising their constitutional rights. The strategy is obvious.

Unfortunately, there is a fallacy in this reasoning. The gun grabbers are not trying to save lives. They don't actually care who or how many die because of some whacko's lunacy. They just want to be sure you cannot defend yourself against "official" tyranny. They already know the whacko's can't be controlled by removing guns from their tool belt. The whacko's are whacko - but not necessarily stupid. If they can't get a gun, a knife, vehicle, home-made bomb or myriad of other devices will do. Look at London - and the muzzie mayor who thinks stopping the sale or possession of knives will stop the mayhem. The only thing that might work is a straight jacket for the trip to a mental institution - if you can find a way to detect the whacko's. Don't let the dems or bleeding hearts mislead that guns are a problem!

Gun Control is like Border Control. The People Screaming for New Laws are the ones ensuring that the Current Laws are not enforced!

Existing laws are selectively enforced, depending on political alliance, race and national Origin. The solution for many years was to identify, confine and treat to the extent possible, those whose mental state was unstable. Unfortunately, it was decided that to do that was against "humanity," and it was abandoned. In almost every mass murder it is recognized, after the fact, that "signs" of mental instability was ignored by all, including Law Enforcement. Red Flag laws can and will be used as a weapon against "Deplorables" of any stripe who fall in disfavor by family, friends or political enemies.

Good suggestions for the most part. All schools should have one locked entrance with an attendant scanning every person that attempts entry. The suggestion has been made to recruit volunteer military veterans to serve as armed guards in the event they can not afford security. Thousands of us would volunteer in a minute. As for gun shows, I bought a semi-automatic rifle at a show twenty years ago and had to wait two weeks for the background check to complete. It's not true that these shows are wide open. The AR-15 is not the only such rifle available and knock-offs are just as effective. Then there is the AK-47 used by most of the world's armies. Russia would be glad to supply them to US citizens just as Obola and Holder supplied them to Mexican and Libyan citizens. Nothing can stop government stupidity or the Black Market. As for the "crazy" factor we need to be completely honest. Too many of today's millenials show signs of abnormality and the dicisions would be tough. Let them buy sporting rifles and shotguns at an early age and apply for higher-capacity weapons once they have proven that they can behave like responsible adults. Any refusals to certify should be subject to review by different people every few years. Mandatory training is a must and responsible instructors can spot the immature easily. Bottom line, the 2nd Amendment guarantees the right to defend yourself from ALL enemies, especially your own government.

"I'm from the government, and I'm here to help," said every totalitarian. Why not permits, testing, and background checks for knife ownership? We do it for licensing drivers, but close to 40,000 a year still die due to negligence and indifference. I appreciate that people want a "common sense" approach to guns. But, that does nothing - absolutely nothing - to stem the tide of violence and murderous intent. The fact is that people determined to do evil will find a way to do it. That fact cannot simply be regulated, licensed, or background checked away.

It is not a gun problem...Millions of us have weapons and NEVER cause a bit of problem....the problem is MORALITY which cannot be legislated....

How would you enforce a background check law without registration? You cant. The government has abused every power it has ever stolen from us. This will be no different. The only power they do not abuse is that which they do not have.

To answer the author's question, yes you DO have to have a background check to buy a gun from a vendor at a gun show. It is every bit as thorough as buying from a gun dealer in their shop. The objective of the proponents of 'background checks' is not really to keep guns out of the hands of crazies and criminals, it is to get a method of determining who has what gun - so when the time for confiscation comes, they know who has which gun. That's why private sales (me to you) irritate them so much. There's no way to track it! It is really the long guns they are after - those that could be used for defense against tyrannical takeover. They don't care about criminals with guns (ala Chicago), because the street criminals are no threat to government power. BTW - a rifle doesn't have to look particularly scary to use a high-capacity magazine. You can get a 10-round magazine for the venerable Remington Woodsmaster in .308 or .30-06 or .270 and more. The Woodsmaster is about as 'non-scary' looking rifle as you can find. But with (or even without) a good scope, it will shoot a .308 with better accuracy than a AR-15 can shoot the puny .223 round.

Mr. Simon is seriously misinformed when he states, "...where personal gun ownership is virtually illegal for private citizens ." This is absolutely false, and said out of ignorance. I had a friend, living in France, who had several rifles, a couple shotguns and a very nice Colt Python .357 magnum revolver. All totally legal for an ordinary private citizen in France....in fact he is a Brit, was living in France, and owned a handgun, which is impossible in Britain. I saw these guns personally a couple of years ago when I visited him and his wife. And as to the background check for all transfers.... drop dead. THAT is effectively gun registration and will ONLY affect honest citizens, the criminals will just have 20,001 gun laws to ignore. And yes, that is a reasonably accurate number the existing "gun control" laws that we have in this country. One more restriction on the law abiding, ignored by the criminals, will help nothing. NOT ONE INCH more infringement on our already heavily infringed 2nd Amendment.....which "...shall not be infringed."-- Hah, that's a joke now.

All you need to know about gun control is on exhibit in Chicago every weekend. How many crimes are committed by stolen guns ? What are they going to do about mental illness ?