Most mass shootings are in the ghetto.. and gangs are not using legal guns lol.
Newtown and San Bern were with illegal guns
Those guns were purchased legally. I have suggested ways to get illegal guns off the streets, but no one is buying that, either. Everybody wants their killing machine.
What were your suggestions? I dont see any way to get illegal guns off the street. You wouldn't believe the arsenals of some people I know. The best bet is to require background checks for ammo or magazines IMO.
Requiring background checks for
all gun transfers, and holding the last legal owner equally responsible for any crime committed with the weapon, if it was not transferred legally. Any gun that was stolen would have to be reported to the police to absolve the owner from responsibility.
It wouldn't stop all guns from floating into illegal limbo, but a lot of people would think twice about buying a gun and handing it over to Joe Criminal.
I'd love it if the world would just stop making bullets, but background checks on ammo--wouldn't that be the same as background checks on guns, as far as finding ways around it?
How would that help?
I saw a conference on C-Span back months ago, so I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but I know law enforcement from Maryland was one of the key speakers. They did a number of things in Maryland to cut down on gun crimes and finally hit on stuff that worked, and brought their gun crimes down over 50%. They based their decisions on research. Several studies on different aspects of gun control and gun use were presented.
I remember one study was to trace guns used in a crime. The vast majority were illegally owned at the time of the crime, but had been legally purchased and somehow came into the hands of someone else, illegally, before the crime was committed. A large number of the original owners said the gun was stolen,
but not reported, so I don't buy it. Why wouldn't you report it to law enforcement if you were robbed?
So in my simple mind, if there was some way to keep guns in the hands of those who had legally purchased them with a background check, or to persuade people to transfer them legally, with another background check, then a lot of those guns would not be floating around out there to commit crimes. I don't think it's just "straw buyers" that are involved here; people are too relaxed about selling their guns, don't take the responsibility to make sure they are selling it to someone safe and responsible.
That was only one approach; it was just an idea I had.