Comprehensive Two Part Gun Solution
Controlling the size or type of weapons will not reduce the crime level in America. Several serial killers and mass murderers in American history never used a gun. Jeffrey Dahmer, Timothy McVeigh and the 9/11 terrorist never used guns to inflict injury. They fell through the cracks in the system back then and still would. As far as I am concerned they can have an Abrams Tank as long as they are willing to cough up the fees for the permits and have a legal right to own a gun.
The weirdos and wackos who are intent on committing a crime will do so regardless of the laws. Just like Americans who use drugs. If they want them they will get them. A large portion of the killings in America are crimes of passion and they could be reduced considerably if the party involved knew they were going to pay steeply for their actions. England and Japan are a perfect example of that fact.
The real problem is a lack of respect for life and authority in America. All lives matter. Yes even black lives matter. To fix the gun problem America needs to deal with the real problem. Today in America there is a lack of willingness to accept blame or to assign blame. The standard is to give everybody a break, especially criminals. The gun problem needs to be dealt with by Federal laws. The right to have a gun is given in the Constitution to all American citizens and should therefore be a Federal offense. Those not born in the USA should not be entitled to that right unless they are naturalized citizens who have sworn and allegiance to the United States. Just because someone is visiting America should not give them the rights of Americans guaranteed under the Constitution. That is not unfair as convicted felons no longer have the right to own a gun. I have been told that in some states they allow felons to only have muzzle loading weapons after a criminal conviction as it is what they had at the time of the Constitution's writing.
England has a population of about sixty three million people, but they supposedly only had fifty eight shooting deaths last year. In America almost 400 were killed by cops alone. While America has five times the population England has. We have over eight thousand shooting deaths a year. That is over one hundred and thirty times the amount shooting deaths England has. Police in England do not even carry guns. That may have changed with all the terrorism today. The question is why so big a difference. The police officers in England perceive their duty as maintaining the safety of their fellow citizens, not defending the state. It boils down to respect for life.
The punishment system needs to be modified to reflect the seriousness of owning and using guns. There needs to be a set punishment for certain crimes. They need to be enforced with no plea bargains being allowed. You commit the crime, you do the time. My views may be harsh but they are fair if they are enforced without favor. These laws all need to be Federal crimes and punishment done in the Federal prison system. Proof that you had a gun is all that is required to be sentenced. Period
So how do we make room for all the new prisoners without building new prisons. America needs to decriminalize marijuana which is not the same as legalizing it. It simply makes it not a crime to have or grow it. Alcohol is not illegal, but it is still regulated. Marijuana and all drugs grown from seed should be decriminalized. If you want to take the time to grow your own you should be allowed to. Native Americans are not allowed their religious freedom as the government has criminalized the plants they use in their ceremonies. Prohibition should have taught us something. Decriminalizing alcohol and making it legal ended the mob violence. Legalization took the profit out of it for everyone except the government. Making laws against nature is almost as asinine as the politicians that pass them. You might check Genesis 1:29 and the Declaration of Independence and see that all plants from seed are a God given right. Removing people from the prison system who have an addiction and treating them for it will make plenty of room in the prison system. Then you will have room for the criminals who deserve to be there.
The following laws would go a long ways towards a realistic solution. Ending the Wild West attitude in America would be a step in the right direction. There was a time when guns were needed. That time has passed. We also need to get our government out of the killing business. All lives matter, even foreign ones. The very first rule is that there are no plea bargains. You commit the crime, you do the time, period.
Why do I have such an attitude? I knew a young man who at the age of 14 with two friends shot and killed his grandmother so they could go for a joy ride in her car. He was incarcerated in the state system as a minor and because of Indiana law, when he turned 18 he was released. Just after he turned twenty he went back to prison for killing his employer. He was an easy going and soft spoken kid and I did not believe he did the first murder and that his friends had set him up. The second murder proved I was wrong. Another young man I knew beat a man, there was no gun, severely. He got a sixty year sentence and his victim is out living a normal life. The system definitely needs some reworking and making all gun related crimes Federal Crimes would be a step in that direction.
1. Commission of a crime with a gun should be a Federal offense and should carry a minimum of a life sentence. Regardless if anyone is injured. Just the presence of the gun at the time of the crime would require enforcement. The word will get out quick and attitudes will change. (Japan has such a law and has virtually no gun murders)
2. Shooting someone in the commission of a crime would carry a life sentence with no chance of parole.
3. If anyone is killed in the commission of a crime the minimum sentence is life in prison without the chance of parole. Number three may sound harsh but the victim who is shot does not get a second chance at life. Knowing there is a set penalty for a crime might stop some from committing a crime, but not all. I worked my way through college tending bar in a private club and knew many customers who had DWI's and no license and continued to drive. Which proves to me that the only real solution is to remove the problem from society, or it will happen again and again. Till someone is dead. My preference would be capital punishment for crimes which take a life, with execution within twelve months of sentencing so we do not put the burden on society for the criminal’s action. Would you want the person who kills you to go on enjoying his life at the expense to your family in the form of higher taxes?
4. Anyone who possesses, uses, or transfers a licensed weapon without a proper permit and title transfer will receive a minimum five year sentence. Number four means if a person with no background check, no permit to own a licensed weapon or with a criminal record is in possession of a gun they can be charged.
5. Threatening a person with bodily harm while using a weapon of any kind is grounds for a ten year prison sentence.
The only exemption from these punishments is an act of self-defense to preserve a life.
The sentences should be cut and dried.
Possesion of a gun during a crime automatic five years in prison.
If the weapon is used during the crime the sentence is an automatic ten years
Injuring a person during the commission of a crime, Twenty years to life.
Taking a life in the commission of a crime, mandatory life sentence.
Taking of more than one life in the commission of a crime, automatic death penalty.
Persons committing a crime which requires the death penalty must be executed within ninety days of sentencing.
Part II
This second part deals with gun ownership.
Guns should be broken into two categories or classes of guns. 1. 1. Constitutionally allowed guns or type 1 guns.
2. Recreational Licensed guns or type 2 guns.
The mandatory sentences in part One apply regardless of the type weapon used in the commission of a crime.
Constitutional or type one guns should have no conditions to owning them or how many you can own. This class includes muzzle loaders, bolt action, lever action, shotguns and revolvers. All weapons that must be loaded or cocked between shots would be in this category.
This nation was liberated from England with single shot weapons and it was preserved as a nation with single shot weapons. Single shot weapons properly handled can save a life or shoot game to provide for the needs of the hunters family. Generally these are not the weapons chosen for mass murders. They are often used in crimes of passion however. These guns should not require a permit or a license of any kind. This would preserve the rights granted under the Constitution. These would be called Constitutional or Type One Weapons.
The second class would be recreational or licensed weapons.
All semi-automatic pistols and rifles, and all automatic weapons should require a permit/license for ownership. These would all be considered class two guns.
(We require a license to drive a car, and proof of age to acquire alcohol. Both of which often take lives, just like a gun.) The permit should require both a background check and mental evaluation. It should be kept on permanent record. All of these weapons should be licensed just like a car with a minimal annual fee. They should have a certificate of title and the title should be changed anytime ownership of the said weapon takes place.
Anyone having three or more weapons should be classed as a collector. Collectors should be required to keep all their weapons under lock and key. The weapons and the ammunition including magazines should be required to be in separate storage units each having its own key.
Some of the funds raised by this program could be used to teach gun awareness and handling in the schools. This would reinforce the understanding of why we have a second amendment. It could be combined with an understanding of the
American Constitution and history. The classes should also teach ethics and values and the sanctity of human life when using guns.
Finally and mainly the funds could be used to put bullet proof doors on American Schools and classrooms. A card lock system that restricts the entrance to any school except by a designated door should be put in place. The system should be able to lock all classrooms from the main offices. A system similar to those used in most motels and hotels in America should be installed. This could be used to restrict intruders from entering a classroom without the proper card.
This system does not take away any rights. It does provide for a system of control and accountability as to who has weapons. Penalties could be put in place for having a weapon without the proper paperwork also. The system of permits and licenses could be put in place retroactively without violating the Constitution or the ex post facto laws. Slaves were long term held property and their status was changed by use of the Constitution and all were freed. Regardless of their standing before the war, all blacks received freedom. This would be similar in nature. The ex post facto laws should not apply
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