The worm has turned. We are numb, but we are tired of the shooting and the dying. We don't seem to be able to get together on gun control. However, we can almost all get behind legislation that effectively addresses the prevention of mass shootings and massacres.
Legislation Supporter #1
You are scared, terrified, in fact. You don't know what to say to your children. You are tired of "Breaking News" bulletins. You have a family; loved ones that you want to protect from the next mass shooting at the school, the mall, the church or the workplace. You don't want your family to be a statistic.
Legislation Supporter #2
You have a loved one who has exhibited disturbing violent, suicidal, hate-related obsessions, anger -filled rants and/or substance abuse. You are worried about him/her, your family and potential victims. You just don't know what to do.
Legislation Supporter #3
You are a freedom-fighting, Second Amendment-spouting, fun- and gun range loving, militia member, "varmint" hunter who wants to keep his/her gun. You believe that you can shoot them before they shoot you. You want to keep your gun. You want to protect and defend.
You can have your gun if you register properly. You just need to prove that you are trained to use the gun, are not stockpiling and you have a clear, clean mental health record regarding anger, violence, suicidal intent and substance abuse. But, you believe in your heart of hearts that you have the right to your gun. You are scared, but you want your gun, too. You get to keep your toy. It's just going to be harder to buy than a lollipop. And, you won't be able to by a lot of them.
Well, there you go, that includes most of us.
OK, so who wouldn't be behind massacre-preventing legislation?
Legislation Objector #1
You are a marginalized, abused, bullied, socially isolated individual who has had a long series of rejections and resentments. You have had a spotty history of failure in school, socially, and/or the workplace. You have begun to feel that other individuals and groups are to blame. You have begun to express your displeasure on the Internet. You have become more isolated, depressed and angry. You are concocting a mass shooting and have identified a target group or a location. You have identified with and are enamored with the perpetrators of past mass shootings and wish to be remembered in a similar fashion. You may even be stockpiling weapons.
You don't want this legislation. You have the motive, but with this legislation you now no longer have the means or the opportunity.
Legislation Objector #2
You are a politician with a history of huge donations from the NRA. Enough said.
Legislation Objector #3
You are a member of the NRA. Ditto.
See, so I think that you know where you stand on this type of preventive legislation.
Without massacre prevention measures, the killings will continue. However, the mass murders can not be prevented seeing it as a one-issue problem. So, what must this massacre prevention legislation involve?
We must enact legislation that addresses mass shootings and their core causes: accessibility, stockpiling, lack of security and lack of identification, Most of the most recently proposed legislation has included these significant components:
1. Tough registration process (including background checks).
2. Stronger regulations on quick access: guns bought at gun shows and the Internet.
3. Mental illness evaluation: specifically targeting violent or suicidal behavior and substance abuse.
4. Required weapons training.
5. Restriction on the number of guns bought, acquired, or in possession of.
6. Immediate reporting of loss of possession of gun.
This is not a gun law, this is not gun control, this is massacre prevention. Any objections?
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