... their Constitutional right to own and BEAR firearms and there will be no need for them to do so illegally.

First, law-abiding citizens do not break the law.

Second, the article is about how legal guns get into the hands of criminals and making gun owners responsible for their own weapons by reporting lost or stolen guns.


"He says legislation could help. In Illinois there is no requirement to report the loss, theft or transfer of a firearm.

McCarthy says it is not a gun control problem, it is an accountability problem. "You give it to whoever you want, you sell it to whoever you want, and then two years later when we recover the gun at the scene of a murder we go back to you and you say that gun was lost two years ago," he told the audience.

"That simple measure would change the dynamic of firearms," McCzarthy added. "But it's still going to take a long time because those guns don't have expiration dates."

"He says legislation could help. In Illinois there is no requirement to report the loss, theft or transfer of a firearm.

McCarthy says it is not a gun control problem, it is an accountability problem. "You give it to whoever you want, you sell it to whoever you want, and then two years later when we recover the gun at the scene of a murder we go back to you and you say that gun was lost two years ago," he told the audience.

I think very few people who really has a gun stolen from them is not going to report this to the police. If someone broke into my home and stole some of my guns I would be reporting it to the police at least to get a police report so I could file an insurance claim.

Many of the people who are "losing" these guns are really straw buyers or otherwise funneling guns to the gangs, and these people are never going to report their gun as stolen, even if a law is passed that says that they were required to do so. They will simply claim that they didn't know it had been stolen.

Furthermore, we cannot have a system where every lawful firearm transfer is noted by the government, because this creates a registry of firearm owners, and this undermines the second amendment.

attempts at controlling objects won't accomplish a thing.

They ship free guns to every criminal on the mailing list including the hidden criminals.

They would get the free and hand delivered courtesy of the US Taxpayer.

You're welcome, amigos.

Unfortunately, Chicago gangs have to buy their own from illegal gun smugglers.

And have probably standardized gun smuggling along with the proven drug smuggling operation. Best to allow ready, legal access to guns in Chicago, I.e. how many guns are smuggled in to otherwise law-abiding citizens under prohibitionism?

... to exercise my RKBA ... I wouldn't do it to own a garden-variety Glock that anyone could buy in neigbouring Wisconsin...

No ... I would get me one of THESE ...



After all ... "In for a penny, in for a pound"

... at this photo from



http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/08/27/749171/how-federal-law-helps-arm-chicago-street-gangs/

These are guns seized from Chicago gangs (allegedly)

I see at least one M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, an MP5, two M4's that I'm going to assume are full-auto, and another fully auto that I can't place (help me out someone).

These guns I've listed weren't stolen from civilians or sold in "straw sales" or legally purchased in the next state -- they are either illegally smuggled or stolen from US military armories and resold by criminals.

Gangs aren't interested in my guns (or any gun I could buy in my local gun shop) - they have the money and the connections to get bigger and better ones than are available to legal sports shooters.

How many of those guns in the picture are the full auto or selective fire versions, as opposed to fully legal semi-auto versions.

The guns are probably legal to own. The people in possession of them were probably NOT legally able to own them.

As stated by many, the problem isn't the guns, it's the people who mis-use them.

As for accidental shootings I agree with those that want gun safety taught in the schools at all levels.
You teach your teenager how to drive.
You teach your toddler NOT to run out into the street or in front of any moving car.

Safe gun HANDLING should be taught at an age appropriate time.

As soon as they are old enough to understand children should be taught:
STOP!!
DON'T TOUCH!!
LEAVE THE AREA!!
TELL AN ADULT!!

...surely aren't legal for anyone without a Class 3 license (seriously, how many could there be in Chicago). But, my point is -- Chicago gangs have access to all kinds of military-grade firearms that sports shooters will never own.

The primary source of gang firearms isn't civilian shooters.

I'm fairly sure they're post '86. Having shot one I really wouldn't want one anyway. That being said if I could present my DD214 and have my old M16A2 back I wouldn't mind

It shows up in a lot of other places as well, if you google it...

... all guns are equally scary looking to the grabbers.

But, I'm sure the gangs of Chicago aren't using squirrel guns.

A compact version of the MP5, whatever it is.


That's a lot of firepower for a street gang. Non-concealable firepower.

solve the real problem - violent felons.

And being a gang member does not automagicaly mean you are a criminal.

Gun running is a criminal act.

They just joined for the weekend barbeques, store discounts and dental plan.

If they're not one at the time they joined... they'll become one in short order.

I have no doubt that many gang members have a criminal record. And some of them may use guns.

But to think that hauling them all off to prison is going to solve the illegal weapons issue is moronic.

crack down on strawman purchases. I have no problem with that.

If the customers are in jail, then they're not buying anything but porn and smokes.

on edit: While we're at it - lets privatize the prison system to "make them more efficient". But how do "privatized for profit" prisons work anyway? Where is the profit in running a prison? Oh. Look. They get paid by municipal, state and federal agencies to house prisoners. And those agencies get money from taxes. So if everyone is in jail - where does the tax money come from? Especially since no one want's to pay any taxes anyway.

...of people that are in jail and shouldn't be. Stop dropping gun charges in plea bargins.

I don't mind the law being hard on people who commit crimes with guns; I mind the law being so difficult and harsh that merely legally owning a gun can get you tossed in jail.


And prisons shouldn't be privatized... like many boring, non-innovative, and necessary things, it should be run by the government.

I live in MA. We have some ill-conceived gun regs - including the one that makes it illegal for a ffl to sell certain guns that are not on the attorney generals list of "approved firearms".

Example - the Beretta 92fs is on the approved list. But the M9 and other variants of the 92 are not --- because....? I don't know. Maybe Beretta did not pay the state off enough.

I can get "pre-ban" 15 round magazines for a 92, but not newly manufactured ones --- because...?

"Pre-ban" Glocks can be had. But newer ones with better safety features cannot --- because...?

Similar absurdities for many manufacturers, the list goes on and on. The state wastes time and effort enforcing these ridiculous laws, driving some ffl's out of business and in the process depressing a legitimate business segment for the state.

They should be dealing with real crime and real criminals. I am convinced that part of the reason they do this is because it provides the appearance of doing something, is easier and safer than really fighting gun crime, and gets them re-elected.

As for prison, local, state and federal prisons should be run by those respective governments. They should be paid for by taxes, and everyone should pay taxes to maintain them since we all benefit from having (real) criminals in prison and off the street. I am more concerned about corrupt politicians pandering to the rich (and offering tax breaks to them) than I am of pot heads.

and gun shows.

Duh.

It seems that existing laws are obeyed by law abiding subjects only. A history of bad management by the city has promoted a fertile breeding ground for criminals. Is there a relationship between stripped liberties and crime?

It only makes sense in a nation with 80 million gun owners and 300 million firearms.

I feel a mandatory gun safety course should emphasis the basic rules of handling a firearm in a safe manner. The course could use disabled firearms or realistic replicas to show how to safely handle these weapons. It should be taught by a firearms instructor or a teacher who has received significant training in firearms and their uses.

Every student should be also taught how to safely determine if a common firearm was loaded. They should know for example that merely removing the magazine from a semi-automatic firearm does not mean that it is unloaded. They should realize that if they are unfamiliar with a certain firearm they should find an individual who can check to see if it is loaded. Clips from movies and TV shows could be shown to illustrate unsafe gun handling which is very common in such programs.

In the course I envision firearms would not be unnecessarily glamorized. Firearms are definitely not for everybody and this fact should be discussed in depth. It should be emphasized that if a person abuses alcohol or drugs, has a serious mental problem, suffers from anger management problems, or lives in a volatile relationship with a significant other then firearms in the home is a poor idea. Tragedies caused by firearms should be discussed and used as illustrations.

Of course the safe and secure storage of firearms should be discussed and the fact that if you have young children who enter your house it is essential that you take measures to insure that they can not access a loaded weapon.

And it could be mentioned that firearms can be used legitimately for target shooting, hunting and even self defense by responsible well trained individuals.

Would this significantly reduce the gun violence problem in Chicago? Probably not as this is largely caused by turf warfare between drug gangs and Mexican cartels. More proactive law enforcement or the legalization of some drugs would accomplish far more in the Windy City.

Still I feel that a gun safety course in all high schools in our nation is a logical idea just as a basic course in emergency first aid is.

of the health sciences as there are direct health impacts for unsafe practices.

Of course just as for most classes, the student decides which classes to take. Some schools offer more or less choices for electives, and there are required core classes, but some form of firearm safety elective should be offered.

Here's a Great Idea