I’m generally in favor of the fewest possible restrictions; I’d rather change the cultural attitude and situations that lead to violence in the first place than restrict the tools that people use. Cramming tons of poor people with no hope for a better future into a very small area, for instance; that’s a pretty solid predictor of bad outcomes.
First, I think that any costs associated with laws on gun ownership should be covered by income and wealth taxes. (I also think that state and national parks should be funded the same way; I oppose fee-based gov’t services. It’s it’s a public good that the gov’t should be performing, then it should be fully funded.)
I would absolutely favor mandatory training for people that wanted to own firearms, but I’d also make sure that training was on-demand, easily accessed, and paid for by income taxes and not fees. (So, like, Cook County, IL couldn’t have only one class every month that meets 30 miles east of O’Hare at 3:30am on Tuesday morning, with a maximum of five spots open, all to make sure that very, very few people can legally own firearms.) I do generally think that people should know under what circumstances they can legally use lethal force, and I’d support free–as above–classes for anyone that wanted a carry permit. Carry permits should be free to people that have attended the classes. I support free universal background checks on all firearm transfers. I’d have to consult with how to make background checks on private transfers work, because I wouldn’t want Joe Schmoe holding onto a 4473 that I filled out–too much personal information–but I also don’t want the gov’t having a database of all private transfers that would become a de facto registry.
I’m generally in favor of removing the rights from someone once they have been convicted of a violent offense, but not usually otherwise. (I think that ‘violent offense’ would need to be carefully defined so that states couldn’t e.g. redefine speeding as a violent offense.) I think red flag laws might be a good idea–people planning acts of mass murder usually ‘leak’ information in the days or weeks prior–but the way they’re currently implemented is not good at all, and it can take months to get your rights back.
I’m generally in favor of the fewest possible restrictions; I’d rather change the cultural attitude and situations that lead to violence in the first place than restrict the tools that people use. Cramming tons of poor people with no hope for a better future into a very small area, for instance; that’s a pretty solid predictor of bad outcomes.
First, I think that any costs associated with laws on gun ownership should be covered by income and wealth taxes. (I also think that state and national parks should be funded the same way; I oppose fee-based gov’t services. It’s it’s a public good that the gov’t should be performing, then it should be fully funded.)
I would absolutely favor mandatory training for people that wanted to own firearms, but I’d also make sure that training was on-demand, easily accessed, and paid for by income taxes and not fees. (So, like, Cook County, IL couldn’t have only one class every month that meets 30 miles east of O’Hare at 3:30am on Tuesday morning, with a maximum of five spots open, all to make sure that very, very few people can legally own firearms.) I do generally think that people should know under what circumstances they can legally use lethal force, and I’d support free–as above–classes for anyone that wanted a carry permit. Carry permits should be free to people that have attended the classes. I support free universal background checks on all firearm transfers. I’d have to consult with how to make background checks on private transfers work, because I wouldn’t want Joe Schmoe holding onto a 4473 that I filled out–too much personal information–but I also don’t want the gov’t having a database of all private transfers that would become a de facto registry.
I’m generally in favor of removing the rights from someone once they have been convicted of a violent offense, but not usually otherwise. (I think that ‘violent offense’ would need to be carefully defined so that states couldn’t e.g. redefine speeding as a violent offense.) I think red flag laws might be a good idea–people planning acts of mass murder usually ‘leak’ information in the days or weeks prior–but the way they’re currently implemented is not good at all, and it can take months to get your rights back.
Damned if I didn’t agree with most of your points. Common sense is a hell of a thing, yet so rare.