Do you think that the general population has too easy access to firearms and that they should be harder to obtain? Why, why not?

38 comments

  2. Before I answer this question, and frankly as I lack real interest in serious participation in a reddit gun debate…

    Please, OP, clearly define how and in what fashion such restrictions would take. Not only for our own context to the question, but to establish grounds for further commenters to add their input.

    Please allow some questions of my own.

    How do you think the process currently exists? What do you think the average person has access to?

  3. Yes, because it’s absolutely embarrassing how people brush off gun violence and mass murder as no big deal. The only legal firearm should be a pistol you keep at your home. That’s it. No taking it out in public or owning a fucking machine gun. And no, I don’t give a rats ass about the Second Amendment, so spare me.

  4. It’s not easy enough. The safest places have the most ~~fun~~ guns. The most dangerous typically have the most gun control. It’s funny.

    Our problem is that we don’t enforce the laws the way we should and let the criminal underclass fester. This is purposeful. It’s an Anarcho-Tyranny model of political repression practiced in our most corrupt areas.

    This place would be paradise if we had a penal colony. No more worries about prison overcrowding and expense. Pick a failed state like Somalia or Yemen that’s off continent. Go ham tossing out everyone who commits crimes against people. Maybe sprinkle in some prostitutes so it isn’t all men.

  7. Yes. The easiest to access places are where the guns come from that end up in the most dangerous places. Even Canada is now facing a problem where easily accessible in red State guns are being smuggled across the border.

    Mexico has done a very good job of tracking their guns back to these places. NYC tried to sue one of these red states after tracking numerous guns coming from one of the easy access red states, and they were blocked.

    edit;

    Also, this will be downvoted to hell but this is pretty much how most Americans feel, it’s a pretty small minority that wants no real restrictions on gun access. So don’t let the downvotes fool you. Most Americans aren’t gun crazies 😀

  8. Seeing how much effort goes into circumventing regulations when present, I’m not sure if our problem can be fixed with laws, especially in a way that lets people have guns for hunting and sport and dealing with wild animals and home defense. Doubly so because I’m really unnerved by the idea of our police forces being so militarized among a less-armed population. I think the heart of our problem is cultural. We’ve got that warrior nation mindset and use it on ourselves. I’d like it if we shoot each other less, but I’m not sure what we could do that would really make it better.

  9. I say firearms are too expensive, but I’m thinking of it from an American hobbyist point of view.

  10. I think we should have background checks, mental health screenings and mandatory training from combat vets on the usage of weapons, do i think we should restrict access
fuck no.

  11. There’s really no way to answer this for the US because the laws are very different for each state. That being said, in my state, I don’t think it’s “too easy.”

    When I bought my gun, I had to pass a background check that took about a week to process. I had to take some class for my LTC or concealed carry card(I forgot what exactly it was). I also met with the police chief in my town, which I think was for the conceal carry part.

    I’d been arrested a couple of times, but they were all 20+ years prior and not for any violent crime. (Driving without a license, shoplifting…)

    I didn’t go open a bank account and get a free rifle or anything like that.

  12. I am a firm believer in safe storage laws, particularly in households with children.

    On the flip side, I believe felons should be able to regain their 2A rights, especially nonviolent felons. I don’t think it should be a felony for a previous felon to have a gun, and I think almost every gun related criminal charge or sentence enhancer is too high.

  13. I know I will get downvoted to fuck for this comment, but the black market for guns coming out of America is a huge problem for other countries, not dissimilar or unrelated to problems with drugs coming from Mexico or China. Anyone who wants to get a gun here can get one with relative ease, whether legally or illegally. There are more guns than people.

    Whether it *should* be harder to get one? That’s for the people to decide, and they’ve so far decided against it. So I’m really indifferent to all the gun violence happening here.

  14. Yes, but, if I were to propose a law that makes it more difficult for citizens to get guns, that same law would also increase police accountability for shooting/killing citizens. Also remove police access to fucking military equipment.

    You’re not going to convince citizens to ease up on gun ownership while the state can still murder them in their homes and then retire/go on paid leave/etc.

  16. The right to bear arms is an inherent right. Only people who have voluntarily given that up through their actions, such as violent crime, should be restricted in this matter. And it’s the government’s burden to prove that someone shouldn’t be able to have gun, not my burden to prove that I should be able to have one.

  17. No in fact in some states it’s rather hard. They should not be harder to be obtained. I’m of the belief most if not all gun control laws are an infringement of the Constitution. NFA needs repealed and the ATF needs abolished.

  18. I forget which country it is, I think Austria, uses a class-based system similar to driver licenses in the U.S.. I feel *that* would go a ways to improving both control, *and* knowledge and training in use.

    Edit: Well the down votes were to be expected.

  19. Tell me you don’t live here or understand the hoops everyone jumps through to get a firearm, without telling me you don’t live here.

  20. No. We have too many stupid regulations surrounding gun ownership that don’t do anything for crime rates. For example, some places ban certain parts that are purely asthetic or there for ergonomic reasons.

  21. Yes. I, along with [74% of Americans](https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3848), believe the purchase age should be 21.

    Six out of the nine deadliest shooters in 2018, for instance, were under 21. The guns were obtained legally.

    Raising the age to 21 won’t stop every shooting. But it will go a long way to keep guns out of the hands of people who are so inclined to behave impulsively, as people that young often do.

    Cue all the people who think guns should be easier to access than cigarettes. As if guns haven’t killed dozens of schoolchildren over the past few years alone. Keep on ‘murica-ing, ‘murica.

  22. >Do you think that the general population has too easy access to firearms

    Nope. We have a God-given right to self-defense, and in the modern world, that means firearms. Additionally, they’re fun. Our problem is not the access to guns (which was much greater in the past) but the lack of respect for human life that got considerably worse starting in the 90s.

  23. No. The right to keep and bear arms is constitutionally protected. Any action by the government to infringe upon that right is illegitimate without amending the constitution.

  24. I think:

    – If we enforced the existing laws, it would help immensely. New laws being proposed are political, unnecessary, and overreaching. They’re more geared toward sticking it to the rednecks than actually solving gun violence.

    – The biggest issues regarding gun violence are lack of mental health services and a general decline in morality. The former could be fixed, but it’s an expensive fix. The latter? We’re screwed.

    – Assuming we were able to remove all firearms from society, we would still have a flood of bootleg weapons entering the country from our porous southern border. Until we can have an honest conversation about border security, gun control discussions are pointless.

    – 2A. *Shall not be infringed
*. So no


  25. I think people need to be trained for them to get access to a firearm.

    -Firearm owner

  26. I think access to firearms should be treated like access to voting with the exception that you have to purchase a gun while you don’t have to purchase the voting material. It’s a right and no law should impede the access to that right.

  27. I think it’s fine the way it is. Makes is hard for criminals/mentally unstable to get guns legally.

  28. I would like to keep my fundamental civil rights as strong as possible and I look forward to the Supreme Court striking down more arbitrary gun control laws in the near future

  30. Yes I think they should be harder to obtain, and I have a lifetime of pro-2A commentary, which stands in contrast to my evolution on this issue.

    I think one of the reasons we can’t make any headway on this issue has to do with a complete lack of respect on both sides, for the opposing position, especially where evil motivations are projected on the other side.

    I believe people who want more gun laws want to reduce violence. I do not think they are authoritarians or fascists who just want to “control people.”

    I know that people who do not want them want gun violence to stop, but aren’t willing to sacrifice fundamental liberties to do that.

    This then is what I recommend:

    * Mandatory universal background checks, with the background check system overhauled to make it accessible to private gun sellers. As it is now, universal background checks incur unjust costs because people without FFLs have to have someone who does have an FFL perform the check (and they do it for a fee). Buyers would pre-authorize the check, sellers would use a hash or key to do the check, and that would be that. They should also have to privately store records like gun stores do, of every sale they make. This is easily doable with modern technology. So we close the so-called “gun show loophole.” Also: the universal background check system should be *free of charge* to use. **The background check system must be computerized – none of this slow paper shit.**

    * Federally raise the age for buying certain classes of firearms to 21, with exemptions for people under 21 who have served in the military or police. This would include firearms which exceed a certain magazine capacity. I am skeptical this will have much of an effect, but it’s something I’m willing to compromise on.

    * A new Project Exile type program in which people with convictions of a pre-defined list of violent crimes, and are now prohibited possessors, would be prosecuted federally with mandatory minimum sentencing for illegal possession of handguns (5 years) if caught with one. Therefore, if you are caught in possession of a gun and are a violent felon, you go to federal prison. This legislation would be preceded by an amnesty period (6 months) in which felons in possession of handguns could turn them in, no questions asked.

    * I used to oppose red flag laws; I support them now. I do not like them. I fully understand the concept that they are a kind of “pre-crime” enforcement mechanism, but at this point, something has to be done to remove firearms from lunatics. The current standard for insanity is far, far too high a threshold. If you make threats to use your firearm, you should have them removed from your possession. Legislation can provide you with your day in court to make your case against whatever accusations have been made against you. Malicious use of red flag laws to fuck with people should also incur criminal penalties. Currently red flag laws are working badly in many states. We need further study of how to encourage their use. Especially this is important to stop mass shooters.

    * Mandatory reporting of stolen firearms within a certain period of discovering the theft is a good idea.

    * A national movement to stop releasing violent criminals early. If imprisonment is not a deterrence, the solution is not to give up on it, but to figure out *how to make it a deterrent.* I am in favor of improving prison conditions (air conditioning, etc.), and also lengthening sentences for violent criminals, or at least stopping their early release. If this means we release a bunch of non-violent criminals to make room for the violent ones, so be it. The purpose of prison is *exile* – removing people who cannot respect the rights of others from society so good people can go about their lives. It is neither *punishment* nor *rehabilitation.* Rehab is up to the convict, and resources will be made available, but this is secondary to *exile.*

    * Waiting periods. These are a pain in the ass, and I get it, but if you want to bypass a waiting period because there is immediate danger to your life, you should be able to get a court to grant you an exception. There should be mechanisms to do this. As for private sales, there would be some period between when a buyer authorizes a background check, and when the background check can actually be performed (probably 7 days), which would accommodate this need.

    * I don’t know how to accomplish this but gun manufacturers need to stop using the macho “man card” shit to sell firearms. For fuck’s sake, STOP.

    This is what I support.

    I do **not** support:

    * Magazine limits for law abiding gun owners, or banning categories of guns for law abiding gun owners.

    * Gun registries or licensing, or anything which creates a centralized registry of those who own firearms.

  31. Stricter gun laws only effect law abiding citizens.

    Until guns are eliminated from the world, from governments, militaries, police, it is imperative that citizens have access as well.

    I remember my mom sent me this open letter several years ago that was going around. I’m sure I won’t do it justice but the general concept was,

    If I have a gun, you can’t force me. You now have to reason with me. Having a gun eliminates weakness or strength as a factor and stops forceful people from bullying less forceful people.

    As a woman in a society where danger could be around any corner, where some men feel entitled to take from those that are weaker, I feel that having a tool that levels the playing field keeps peace more than anything else.

    It allows me to go where I want when I want without fear that someone will be able to take from me.

    Edit a typo

  32. No, everyone should have the same access. We are all part of the “general populace” as you call it. A small elite part of society shouldn’t have more rights than the rest.

  33. No. We will still have way too many blatantly unconstitutional laws floating around. For example 18 year olds shouldn’t be stripped of their second amendment rights just for being 18 which is the current law under the GCA

  35. In my state, which is relatively 2nd Amendment friendly, you go to an FFL, you pay at least hundreds of dollars for said firearm, you pay for the ammo (also not cheap), a background check is run to make sure you have no history of felonies, violent crimes, domestic abuse, etc… and then you may receive a gun.

    How much harder should it be?

  36. No, our Constitution grants the right to bear arms to citizens and unless that changes, firearms should be available.

    While crimes with firearms are high compared to other countries, the US has more guns per capita than anywhere else in the world. It’s something like 120 guns per 100 people or something like that. Despite that, our homicide rate is somewhere in the middle when you compare it to other countries.

    Do the wrong people get guns? Absolutely. But by a wide margin, most gun owners aren’t killing anyone or even doing anything illegal.

    I do wish more people were responsible gun owners though. Also, I wish our mental healthcare wasn’t abysmal so it could help prevent things like suicide, murders, and mass shootings before they happen.

  37. Murder someone, rob a bank, invade a home, go to jail, lose your individual right to carry.

    Hold a job, raise a family, pay your taxes, why should this good citizen be deprived of his natural rights?

    It’s just sofa king simple.

  38. No and no, in fact it’s actually never been harder to obtain a firearm; the right to keep and bear arms shouldn’t be infringed upon

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