The current push for more gun control laws is understandable after Las Vegas. The usual people who push gun control are out screaming and crying about how America can't wait and the NRA is the devil. Let's take a step back first and consider what is being pushed.
Some of the gun control people are pushing the requirement of background checks on all gun purchases. We are already at the point where nearly all sales require a background check. More important, the Las Vegas shooter passed three different background checks in the last few months as he purchased weapons. Would universal background checks have stopped the Vegas massacre? The clear answer is NO!
Another push by the gun control forces is to ban automatic weapons like those used so horribly in Vegas. The problem, of course, is that since 1986, it has been illegal to manufacture and sell such weapons to the public. Only the military and the equivalent can legally buy those new weapons. The automatic weapons which were in existence before 1986 can still be sold, but the federal paperwork needed to complete such a sale is overwhelming and difficult to complete. The Las Vegas shooter did not buy any of those old automatic weapons. So would a further ban on automatic weapons have stopped the Vegas massacre? Again, the answer is NO!
The current belief is that the Vegas shooter used automatic weapons which were converted from semi-automatic. I haven't seen yet any clear evidence as to who did the conversion or when it was done. There are very strict rules under which such a conversion may be done; afterwards, sales of the new automatic weapons are still government by the stringent federal laws on the subject. There seems to be no paperwork filed by the Vegas shooter connected to that sort of a sale. We don't know for sure, but it certainly seems most likely that the automatic weapons that the shooter used were illegal under the current federal laws. So, if the weapons were already illegal and the shooter was breaking the law by owning them, is there a need for another law to do the same thing? Again, the answer is NO!
I have no problem with a blanket ban on all fully automatic weapons. Ownership of such weapons could be limited to just the military. No one really needs a machine gun at home. Such a law would be a minor change to existing gun laws since nearly all automatic weapons are already illegal. But would such a law have prevented Las Vegas? The answer is NO!
It would be a good thing is all those lamenting our gun laws or lack of gun laws would take a moment to calm down and consider what sort of laws they are actually seeking. There's nothing being pushed now that would have prevented Las Vegas. Put another way, the government and gun laws can't fix everything.
Some of the gun control people are pushing the requirement of background checks on all gun purchases. We are already at the point where nearly all sales require a background check. More important, the Las Vegas shooter passed three different background checks in the last few months as he purchased weapons. Would universal background checks have stopped the Vegas massacre? The clear answer is NO!
Another push by the gun control forces is to ban automatic weapons like those used so horribly in Vegas. The problem, of course, is that since 1986, it has been illegal to manufacture and sell such weapons to the public. Only the military and the equivalent can legally buy those new weapons. The automatic weapons which were in existence before 1986 can still be sold, but the federal paperwork needed to complete such a sale is overwhelming and difficult to complete. The Las Vegas shooter did not buy any of those old automatic weapons. So would a further ban on automatic weapons have stopped the Vegas massacre? Again, the answer is NO!
The current belief is that the Vegas shooter used automatic weapons which were converted from semi-automatic. I haven't seen yet any clear evidence as to who did the conversion or when it was done. There are very strict rules under which such a conversion may be done; afterwards, sales of the new automatic weapons are still government by the stringent federal laws on the subject. There seems to be no paperwork filed by the Vegas shooter connected to that sort of a sale. We don't know for sure, but it certainly seems most likely that the automatic weapons that the shooter used were illegal under the current federal laws. So, if the weapons were already illegal and the shooter was breaking the law by owning them, is there a need for another law to do the same thing? Again, the answer is NO!
I have no problem with a blanket ban on all fully automatic weapons. Ownership of such weapons could be limited to just the military. No one really needs a machine gun at home. Such a law would be a minor change to existing gun laws since nearly all automatic weapons are already illegal. But would such a law have prevented Las Vegas? The answer is NO!
It would be a good thing is all those lamenting our gun laws or lack of gun laws would take a moment to calm down and consider what sort of laws they are actually seeking. There's nothing being pushed now that would have prevented Las Vegas. Put another way, the government and gun laws can't fix everything.
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