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Gun Control

by Que Clingerman

The debate over gun control laws is heated and aggravated by the partisanship divide. Since we as a nation are suppose to abide by the Constitution, I think it should show us the way. The Second Amendment has been understood to mean that individual citizens are to be able to bear arms "without infringement". Those who wish to control the ownership and use of guns should change the Constitution first! I do not think the government can be trusted to do the right thing in controlling guns. The president and cabinet and those in influence can urge citizens to buy and use guns responsibly. The NRA certainly as an organization has promoted that and provided assistance to that end. Enforcing the laws already on the books would also help immeasurably. Criminals using guns in a crime should feel the full weight of judgement when convicted. Sellers of guns should take real care to whom they sell guns. Background checks are warranted whether it is a commercial dealer or private citizen. Perhaps it should be illegal to sell a gun to another individual privately; sell only to licensed dealers. Gun safety should be taught in our public schools. But ownership should be private without licensing. I do not own a gun nor ever plan to do so. But those who wish to own a gun or guns should be able to do so without government interference except in very specific circumstances as prescribed by law. What is your take?
Posted to Political by Que Clingerman @ 3:33 pm EST
As with any legal issue, we are all wrapped up with legality when the question should be one of freedom.  Given the freedom to own a gun (by the law) never gives a person the right to use it without thought and consideration for others.  We have a problem in our country (as with every country) of how to handle our freedoms.  Any law presupposes that it will be broken.  Just like in the Bible, the Ten Commandments were given to point out man's inability to follow the law, and all the legal system has done is add more and more laws to the books trying to enforce a non-existent goodness in mankind.  Having spurred your thinking, I will stop and let you work it out.    I found the answer in God and a relationship with Him through His Son's death and resurrection.
Posted by Reason A. Poteet on 2/24/2013 @ 4:26 pm EST

 

I believe that the 2nd Amendment should be upheld and that the Constitution should stand. The reasons for the writing of the Constitution have not changed. The administration of the Constitution has changed with the whims of the governmental powers.  This country was formed with the intention that God's laws would be the guiding factor in the making of the laws of the land. God's laws, more often than not, receive no consideration. The morals of the people cannot be legislated. They come from the heart and the heart can only be changed by submitting to the will of God.

Posted by Geneva Poynter on 2/22/2013 @ 2:16 pm EST
Rich you speak from substantial experience.  I agree whole hearedly.

A letter to the editor in my local paper today quoted statistics from studies made of gun ownership.  The reports concluded that gun ownership is basically unsafe.   Maybe.  But it is one of the prices of freedom if that is so.  We can allow the government to make us quite safe but at a terrible cost to our freedoms.

Freedom has responsibility with it.  Our schools and government should be emphasizing responsibility rather that so-called safety.  And that goes for a lot of values in our society.  Quentin Clingerman.  
Posted by Que Clingerman on 2/21/2013 @ 1:50 pm EST

If the goal is to reduce crimes committed by guns, then the solution must address prevention and punishment of the use of guns in crimes. The government is attempting to control use by placing restrictions and controls on all gun users. Having worked with criminals in prison, I would expect that the criminal who chooses to use a gun will not be purchasing a gun according to any laws, rules, or governance whatsoever. Certainly, the criminals do not want the gun traced back to them. The solution is not to impose crime reducing measures on people who don't commit crimes. Severe punishment is a deterrent. Convicts have told me in the past that the time spent in jail is worth the crime is some cases. That is because the punishment is too lenient. I also believe we are seeing more unstable, emotionally disturbed, and mentally unbalanced people not under supervision because they must voluntarilly commit themselves unless they have committed a crime. There was a time when a psychiatrist could have an individual placed into a facility based upon a diagnosis. Both the public and the unstable individual were kept safe from harm. In the 1970's, when I worked in a mental hospital in Massachusetts, the law changed such that no one could commit a mentally/emotionally unstable person except the person himself. For starters, let's return to stricter punishment for gun crimes and allow professionals to determine whether an unstable person needs to be placed into an appropriate facility before a crime is committed.
  Concerning change from within the spirit of criminals, the government is not capable of that. I have seen success only with religious organizations that contribute their time in prisons helping people to change. We need more of that!

Posted by Rich Tassinari on 2/20/2013 @ 8:02 pm EST

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