i am for some basic mostly unobtrusive regulation that will save innocent lives, (background checks, criminal and mentally unstable regulation, waiting periods) but for the most part, people should have the right to buy as many guns, as they see fit. i think it is a mighty fine right to have, and to be able to protect ourselves and those we care about. "a rifle behind every blade of grass" and all that. whether that is with a gun is up to each person. that being said, i think most liberals are in this camp. we dont want to "take your guns away". at least i dont!
On paper, those sound great.
In practice, they are far more obtrusive to Gun Owners and those who want to purchase a gun than they are to stopping criminals from purchasing one.
Take for example "Universal Background Checks". We already have those, and yet I've argued with people till I was blue in the face who are convinced that there is no such thing as background checks, ever.
Every time a person buys a gun through an FFL, they are REQUIRED by Federal Law to go through a background check. Period. There are no exceptions to this.
Same with gun shows, which many Liberals are convinced are this mythical place of shady deals and criminal activity. Every time I've bought or sold a gun at a gun show over the years, I've had to go through a background check. Every. Single. Time.
The problem people get confused on is Private Sales. But Private Sales are....wait for it....PRIVATE. It's not the government's business, nor is it my FFL's business. And NO documented mass shooting has ever occurred in this country from a privately-purchased gun without a background check. Ever. They account for less than 1% of the 1% of total gun crimes in this country!
Now you have states like Washington and Oregon who mandate that Private Sales must go through an FFL to receive a background check. Which effectively bans and outlaws private sales. So now I have to pay some asshole in a gun shop upwards of $100 not just for the background check....but also to TRANSFER the gun to the buyer!
I don't have that kind of money. And unless I make the buyer pay for my half (in addition to his half...because he also gets charged for a background check).
So in that sense, it IS obtrusive. Very much so.
Mental Health Checks. Short of the government demanding or requesting my PRIVATE medical history, there is NO constitutional way to enforce this (violates Right To Privacy laws). So it's a non-issue; as it should be. Because medical privacy SHOULD be one of the few things that we have a Right To Privacy for.
Waiting Periods. You think that Joe Criminal, who's either unstable or plotting a crime, is going to abort his plan because he has to wait 10 days vs 10 minutes?
I don't think so. If you're determined to commit a crime, then you're determined to wait until the right time to do it.
Not to mention that there's already one case where a waiting period actually costed a woman her life. I believe it was in New Jersey. She bought a gun to protect herself from her violently abusive ex husband (IIRC), and was required to wait 30 days. He killed her during that waiting period.
Sorry, but there's a reason why those of us who study these issues feel the way that we do about this subject. On paper, Liberals talking points sound very good when it comes to guns, and it sells very well (as is proof by the recent gun legislation backed by Bloomberg which passed here in Washington by 70% of voters).
But in practice, they are either not necessary at the least, or dangerous at the most.
