City of Buffalo announces 'first of its kind' lawsuit against gun manufacturers

SFC (Join to see) - I live in Chicago. I walk around town and ride the buses and the L. I walk around without fear because I'm not some low-information pansy snowflake who's afraid of his own shadow.

PO3 Justin Bowen - Sometimes some fear is a good thing. When bullets start flying around, they don't care who they hit. It's always good to get some firsthand information. What's your opinion on all the shootings in Chicago every week. Who do they affect most and how do you think it can be stopped?

SFC (Join to see) I live IN Chicago. Not the suburbs. IN Chicago. I wander around on foot in my neighborhood and other neighborhoods - and go between them on the busses and the L - all...the...time.

Everyone that lives IN Chicago knows that guns are flowing in like migrants from failed countries from deep-red, pro-no gun control at all Indiana (actual FBI data shows the same thing, which is what happens in other states as well). Everyone who lives IN Chicago also knows that most of the city is actually very safe. The places that are not safe are the poorer neighborhoods that police and politicians have largely ignored, which, not coincidentally but rather as a result of both factors, are the places where the overwhelmingly vast majority of gun violence in the city takes place. The area north of the McCormick Place and east of Lawndale, East Garfield, and Humboldt Park and then most areas of virtually every neighborhood north of Humboldt Park in both directions (altogether encompassing a very large portion of the city) are generally very safe.

The ONLY people who think that what they're seeing on the propaganda outlets is at all representative of what's going on in Chicago as a whole are people who don't know what they're talking about.

How do we stop the shootings? First, put a stop to the far-right's influence on the Supreme Court, which now has little credibility. Impeach Thomas for violating the law with respect to failing to recuse himself from any case (as the law requires) where impartiality can reasonably be questioned, which in his case is any Jan. 6th case due to his Big Lie-supporting wife who was communicating directly with the chief advisor to Trump that was advocating for martial law so they could overthrow the government (anyone who blathers on about Hunter Biden but claims that Thomas is not at all influenced by his WIFE has no credibility).

Then, expand the number of justices to dilute the influence of the remaining far-right justices so that states can once again pass meaningful gun control laws based on centuries-old gun control traditions that predate the Constitution itself and that remained in force after the ratification of the Constitution for the better part of two centuries before the far-right co-opted the Supreme Court.

Go after the supply of guns. Have the feds crack down on the gun dealers that are responsible for a vastly disproportionate percentage of guns that end up in criminals' hands. They're facilitating straw purchasers and are simply hiding behind the Republican-supported laws that shield them from any responsibility. Mandate that gun manufacturers install biometric controls on all new firearms.

Pass mandatory storage laws that mandate life in prison for ALL firearms owners whose firearms are used in any crime by anyone if it's proven that the storage of their firearms did not comply with the law.

Pass nation-wide red flag laws that provide due process so police can temporarily remove firearms from known violent people that abuse victims, family members, and friends are simply too afraid of to do anything.

Ban concealed carry nation-wide.

Ban all future purchases of semi-automatic firearms, mandatory relinquishment of all semi-automatic firearms upon owners' death or convictions for violent crimes, and life imprisonment for anyone who sells or gives away existing semiautomatic firearms and those who knowingly receive them.

Repeal the Republican-created law that bans the federal government from funding research on gun violence.

Create and fund fully-mandatory universal health insurance that includes full funding for mental health treatment so that no person goes without it simply because they can't afford it as well as annual caregiver respite retreats so that parents and caregivers of the disabled and elderly don't get burned out (already an available option for caregivers of terminally ill people in some circumstances in the US and in many actually-civilized countries).

Create a nation-wide HousingFirst program so that millions of vulnerable people and families aren't forced to remain in abusive homes because they have nowhere to go.

Eliminate all tax deductions and credits for any household in the income brackets of top 10% and above and permanently 50% of gross income for anyone in the top 1% to top 0.1% income brackets.

Mandate 50% employee-ownership of all companies with over 500 employees with the employee-owned share being based on longevity with the employer. Cap at 1% individuals' ownersip share of any company valued over $1 billion with a maximum of a total of 10% of the employee-owned share for executive management, with the remaining shares put into trust for all employees that can be redistributed to the original owner on a prorated basis if the value of the company declines below $1 billion and withdrawn by employees after 10 years of employment based on their percentage of ownership. Caps on executive management pay limited to no more than 50:1 pay for executives with meaningful penalties for any company and company board members that attempt to curcumvent the letter and spirit of tge law by changing how executives are compensated.

Replace all lead water lines in the US and severely punish any individual or company that, through intention or negligence, releases heavy metals into the environment, including mandatory criminal penalties for executives and steep corporate fines based on companies' gross annual revenue so that fines don't amount to rounding errors on income statements.

The gun violence problem is rooted in far-right paranoia and political extremism that has made economic insecurity and violence central features of life in the US.

The problem can't be solved with bandages. restrivting future ownsership of certain firearms doesnt matter if existing owners can simply bypass the law by handing down or handing over what would be banned firearms. Taking away guns from only convicted violent criminals solves only a small part of the problem if cops and courts cant take away guns from people who they know are violent or threatening violence but just haven't been convicted because people are afraid of them. Providing mental health treatment doesn't matter if the underlying causes arent addressed. Not addressing poverty - one of the most widely recognized co-morbid conditions associated with gun violence - undermines all other efforts.

That is what my opinion is about what's going on in Chicago, the people who claim to know what's happening in Chicago, and what should be done to solve the problem.

PO3 Justin Bowen - I appreciate you comments and candor so even though I don’t agree with you, so I give you an up vote.

I can appreciate you feeling on guns. You obviously don’t believe in the 2nd Amendment and that’s OK, that’s your right to agree or not agree with things. I would respectively point out there are mass shooting in countries that don’t allow guns. My point is criminals and gangs will find them one way or another.

I don’t know anyone who things Chicago completely homogeneous and gun shootings are equal in all areas of the city, but the violence is there none the less. That is a fact that can’t be denied.

The rest of your explanation is political in that the 2nd Amendment would need to be struck down to implement what you are calling for. You advocate for actions that dilute court members because you don’t like their ruling. I respectively submit it would be better, and legal, to just vote members into congress that will add a Constitutional Amendment that ends gun rights for our citizens.

I am somewhat disappointed out of all the political stuff you propose, you didn’t identify gang culture and the problems within it. I can say more, but not knowing you it can be taken negatively when I don’t mean it that way.

I will leave you with a final thought of how you would feel if the 2nd Amendment didn’t mention Gun Rights and people who wanted gun rights proposed expanding the SCOTUS to get their way, would you be for that?

We will have to agree to disagree on gun policy and how to stop violence.

SGM (Join to see) - That cartoon about says it all. Thanks.

PFC (Join to see) - They are smart all right. The thing you need to identify is what their objective is... A friend gave me this link to explain what's happening. It's an eye opener because it's happening in front of our eyes.
https://carm.org/social-justice/rules-for-radicals-by-saul-alinski/

SFC (Join to see) Shades of the Black Panthers and Patty Hearst! (In LA during the 1970s).

CSM Charles Hayden Good morning Chuck, you are right again. How does the saying go? Those who don’t learn from history are destined to repeat it. That’s why the Left is trying to destroy our history do they can Gool people.

The application of thought or common sense in supporting the best interests of the community is not a primary cannon of politics these days. But your right.

I believe that is the way of Progressives/Socialists/Communists, if they don't get their way bankrupt the system so they can make it how they want. They get their way by destroying what opposes them.