10 Common sense responses to Newtown

1. Promote gun safety and responsibility. The fact is that background checks would not have prevented Newtown shooter from getting a hold of the guns that he used to commit mass murder. I don’t know what, if any, methods his mother used to secure her guns but they obviously were not enough. If someone owns gun(s), they have a responsibility to make sure they are secure and don’t end up in the hands of someone that should not have them. I would like to think that a national campaign of PSA’s on gun safety would be a starting point.

2. Pass universal background checks. While universal background checks will not prevent every person from having a gun who should not have one, they will make it harder. I can’t drive a motor vehicle without a license there is no reason I should be able to buy a gun without first passing a background check.

3. Make sure those that should not be able to buy a gun (felons, mentally ill, etc.) are identified and placed in a national database that is updated frequently. Establish a process so that those that have gotten the help they need and no longer are a danger to society may have their names removed.

4. Strengthen the ability of the ATF by repealing the Tiahrt amendments and any other restriction that prevents the current laws from being enforced.

5. Encourage states to pass laws the punish those that have illegal guns. I would like to see those laws modeled after Project Exile. I lived in Richmond, VA during the initial enactment of Project Exile and I remember the difference that it made.

6. Encourage states to make the punishment for selling an illegal gun stiffer than owning one. For example, an illegal gun will get you 5 years in VA, selling a known illegal gun should get you 10 years.

7. Encourage the movie and video industries to tighten their ratings in regards to violence and promote better parent education and dialogue on children and violent imagery.

8. While we certainly need to cut our federal spending, please make sure it is not done at the expense of mental health services. Now is the time to increase the services that need to be provided to those that need our help.

9. Establish a maximum limit on magazine clips and outlaw armor piercing ammunition. While I have the right to defend myself, I don’t need 30 rounds to do so and I certainly don’t need armor piercing bullets.

10. I am not a gun enthusiast nor am I a gun expert. However, I do believe that if there is a weapon that is being sold in the U.S. whose sole purpose is a weapon of war, designed to kill on a large scale than it should be outlawed. I do not know if any of the “assault-style” rifles fit that description. I realize the reality of any legislation that outlaws a gun does not have much of a chance of passing; however I believe that weapons of war belong solely in the hands of our warriors.