I told you so

One of the manifestations of my yellow-bellied, wet-the-bed liberal ideas is that you will never convince me that the vast majority of people "need" or should have guns.  I realize, if the media is to be believed, that this puts me in quite the minority.  And, I do notice that those friends of mine who are avid hunters take gun safety very seriously.

But, the fact of the matter remains that the vast majority of people shot with guns are not shot in self-defense.  They are generally shot in vicious, violent and senseless crimes.  (Including that weird "stand your ground" crap in some states.)

I hear from a lot of people that gun control won't work because criminals don't much care.  But, I argue that it is a start.  We have radically changed our culture around smoking.  It took a few generations, but it happened.  I think gun control laws can be the start to major changes in our cultural attitudes around guns.

First, I don't understand why every single gun isn't tracked by the government.  If the government can keep track of how many sinus tabs I buy, surely they can also have a central registry of gun serial numbers and track the purchase of bullets.

Second, assault rifles, semi-automatic, and kevlar piercing bullets are made for hunting people and/or cops.  Thus, should be outright banned.

Third, it should be much more of a hassle to own a gun.  You should have to insure your guns.  And, there should be liability attached to every gun registered to you.  If a gun registered to you is used in a crime, you are liable . . . and that crap line about the gun being "stolen" . . . well, if you didn't report it stolen, then you still bear the responsibility for the gun.  In order to insure your gun, you should have to demonstrate that you store them properly.  Guns should be strictly registered to specifically licensed individuals.  If your child or brother-in-law is caught with your gun, it goes against your liability insurance.

Fourth and last, it should be a whole lot easier to lose your guns.  If your child brings a gun to school, you lose your guns.  If you fail to report a gun stolen and it is used in a crime, you lose your guns.  If you demonstrate in any way a lack of vigilance in keeping your guns properly, you lose your guns.  If you make threats, ever and to anyone, you lose your guns.  You post pictures of your guns on your facebook page like it makes you tough and bad, you lose your guns.

We take sinus tabs and cars and birth control pills more seriously in our culture than we do guns.  It's about time we start looking at how desensitized we have become as a culture, and work to create meaningful changes that will make gun violence a rarity.