You are a voice of reason, as usual. We come from fundamentally different positions on this issue but I think we both recognize there can be improvements to the status quo. I am not utopian enough to think we can rid our society of guns. But we can take steps to keep them in the hands of those who have passed some reasonable validation and training hurdles. Sort of like getting a driver's license, as someone (you?) suggested.

This is not an unsolvable issue. It has just been made to seem so by extremists on both sides.


>There are many NRA members pushing the NRA for responsible gun control. Most NRA members I know do not want any weapon available to anyone without the proper training and licensing. I am one of them. There are many though, I agree with you on that, that do. The fear is mainly that all weapons will be outlawed instead of dealing with the primary issues: mental health assessment and treatment, weapons training and supervision, and legal licensing and longer waiting periods. It is not as common today for parents to teach their children safe weapon handling and usage as it was even 10 or 15 years ago unless they live in a rural area.
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>>>>The latest year where statistics are available is 2004:
>>>>
>>>>Deaths population Rate per 100,000
>>>>29,569 293,656,842 9.95
>>>>
>>>>All Races, Both Sexes, All Ages
>>>>http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/mortrate.html
>>>>
>>>>I won't dispute that we have the highest death rate by firearms. I just do not see prohibiting the sale of firearms to law abiding citizens the answer. It will never stop criminals from having them. I would rather see:
>>>>
>>>>Stricter gun purchase/license laws:
>>>> no weapons sales to anyone with a history of mental illness or misdeamer crimes (anyone with a history of a felony already cannot get a weapon legally)
>>>> no weapon sales without a certificate of training from an approved firearms training site
>>>> no weapon sales without a 60 day waiting period (cool off time and background check)
>>>>Strictor enforcement:
>>>> severe prison terms for illegal sales and usage
>>>> severe prison terms when firearms are accessible to minors
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>>>Wait a minute! So restricting the sale of guns to only elligible people is preferable to stopping it altogether?
>>>
>>>Does not compute.
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>>>Anyway, point is made, there's nowt you guys are going to do about it so long as there are so many people earning a crust from their sales, while there's a gun lobby.
>>>
>>
>>I wish it was just the gun lobby. A lot of Americans truly believe gun ownership is one of our most fundamental rights. You have seen a sample of that in this thread. IMO it's nuts but that doesn't change the facts of the matter. The reason the NRA is so powerful is that so many Americans agree with their positions.