(04-18-2021, 05:15 PM)captivating Wrote:

(04-18-2021, 09:37 AM)TheO-LineMatters Wrote: And how do you propose to do this when there are over 17 million semi-automatic rifles currently on the street? There's enough out there that even if you stop manufacturers from making them, someone who wants to commit a mass shooting will almost certainly be able to get their hands on one. You can't propose something asinine like Beto O'Rourke did when he said he was going to go door to door and confiscate them. Talk about problems! That would cause extreme casualties to the people confiscating guns and the people who refuse to give them up. Confiscating property from innocent people who did nothing wrong is akin to stealing. I and a lot of people like me, don't allow people to steal from us. I will defend my property to the death. Not that I'm admitting to owning such a weapon, but property in general. Mandatory confiscations would lead to more bloodshed than any mass shootings would ever cause. People aren't just going to voluntarily turn in firearms that they legally bought with their hard earned money. It's just not happening. 

As far as the mental health aspect. It needs to be addressed responsibly. Those with depression aren't going to go out and start killing people. That's not how depression works. Depression is almost always directed at hatred of oneself. The only real danger people with depression are is to themselves. There is always another underlying issue to accompany depression when these people snap. Those accompanying issues are the ailments that need to be addressed. There needs to a tier list of psychological issues with the highest ones meeting the standard of those who would be unable to own weapons. As far as what those would be, that should be left to the medical professionals. I'm certainly no doctor, but if you have a history of violence, have been on record stating you want to commit mass killings or have said you hear voices that make you do things, these are certainly 3 areas where most people would agree, that you shouldn't own weapons of any kind. 

Nothing that is done will totally end mass killings though. If someone wants to kill a lot of people and they can't get a hold of a semi-automatic weapon, all they have to do is go online and learn how to build a bomb. These things are way too easy to find on the internet. They shouldn't be, but they are. Bad people will just go from one means of committing murder to another. It's a vicious cycle that will never end. There will always be evil in the world and there is no way to stop it, no matter what kind of regulations and rules are put into place.

You can play the long game here.  OK, there are 17 million semi-auto rifles.  Lets stop more from going into circulation. So stop the sale of all semi-automatic weapons from now on.  Add a federal tax to bullets.  Is it just coincidence that the States with a highest tax on cigarettes also have the lowest rate of smoking?

Implement county wide laws requiring guns to be locked and do spot checks and fine those who don't comply.  

Get imaginative rather than saying it can't be done.  This country wasn't built on can't be done.

As for confiscation, eminent domain allows land to be acquired by the Government for just compensation.  So it's not as if the Government acquiring assets legally purchased have never been done befowre.