Quote:And isn't that kind of the discussion we should all be having instead? The NRA has got to be wetting its pants with glee that we're all hung up on a stupid flag instead of trying to make it harder for sociopaths to get guns.

 

There was a law broken.  The system didn't catch it.  So, should they create another law just because the system missed the fact that this guy was charged with a felony a month prior?  In SC, if you are charged with a felony, you cannot purchase a firearm.  They ran the background check which includes a federal check, and no flags were raised.  That's not a law problem. 

 

There was a law broken.  A law the pastor of the church, and victim #1 supported wholeheartedly.  It made it illegal to carry a firearm into a place of worship.  That law ultimately cost 9 people their lives.  Had one been a concealed carry owner, or had armed security been permitted on the grounds, the likelihood that all of these people would have died would have dropped considerably.  So, what new law would fix that law? 

 

Seriously, the need for more gun laws isn't the issue.  If you look at where many of the mass casualty shootings have occurred in recent years, the common thread is that they were some sort of gun free zone.  That didn't stop the shooters, but law abiding citizens did respect the laws, and it cost people their lives.  More laws aren't going to fix this. That's nothing more than lip service to suggest otherwise.

 

If you look at the high profile mass shootings that have occurred over the past several years, in most cases, the shooters obtained the weapons outside of the law.  Sandy Hook?  The kid broke into his mother's gun cabinet and took them.  Charleston?  A mentally ill man legally purchased a gun from a dealer despite the fact that he was medicated, and charged with a felony.  The list goes on and on.  More restrictive gun laws aren't going to prevent this type of thing from happening.  It sounds warm and fuzzy to suggest otherwise, but there are more than enough laws on the books right now to deal with almost every one of these situations. 

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