How Do Americans actually feel about stronger gun laws?

2015-08-30T18:59:11-04:00

Two journalists in Virginia gunned down on live television by a man who also injured a third person. Two women shot and killed, along with nine other people who were injured and survived, inside a Louisiana movie theater. Nine parishioners massacred inside a South Carolina church.

Each horrifying burst of violence captured widespread attention in ways the daily cavalcade of people shot and killed across the United States rarely does, breaking through what has become a fog of pain and misery so ubiquitous as to sometimes seem like background noise. Each shooting prompted calls for stronger gun control laws, which were in turn followed by the usual reminders that such laws were unlikely to follow.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/08/29/how-americans-actually-feel-about-stronger-gun-laws/

How Americans actually feel about stronger gun laws

Recent shootings have sparked new calls for stricter gun laws. But how do the American people actually feel about the issue?

Response by MSgt Curtis Ellis made Aug 30 at 2015 7:03 PM

2015-08-30T19:03:40-04:00

I believe we should effectively enforce the laws currently on the books to include stiffer penalties for those who violate them. Then once that is effectively accomplished and we can measure and assess the results, then we make recommendations for improvements from there...

Response by Cpl Mark McMiller made Aug 30 at 2015 7:08 PM

2015-08-30T19:08:58-04:00

It's just common sense; if you outlaw firearms, only criminals will have them.

Response by TSgt Kenneth Ellis made Aug 30 at 2015 7:27 PM

2015-08-30T19:27:29-04:00

They don't enforce the ones we have now. And the ACLU makes it impossible to find someones mental health records.

Response by Sgt Cody Dumont made Aug 30 at 2015 7:32 PM

2015-08-30T19:32:44-04:00

Guns don't kill poeple, people kill people. Enforce current laws.

Response by SSG Stephen Arnold made Aug 30 at 2015 7:57 PM

2015-08-30T19:57:02-04:00

Here is the "logic" behind those arguments: "the laws are not being followed now, so we need more laws that won't be followed."

Restricting MY rights has no effect whatsoever on the actions of a criminal.

.02

Response by MCPO Roger Collins made Aug 30 at 2015 8:05 PM

2015-08-30T20:05:27-04:00

My one question would be "What laws would have prevented any of the killings that don't already exist?" Specificity and potential ramifications with regard to the 2nd amendment please.

Response by SFC Everett Oliver made Aug 30 at 2015 8:47 PM

2015-08-30T20:47:35-04:00

When they outlaw guns, I'll become an outlaw. I carry everywhere i go sometimes open sometimes concealed. And sometimes openly concealed....I have a 380 that fits in a holster designed to look like a cell case...

Response by SSG Leo Bell made Aug 30 at 2015 9:24 PM

2015-08-30T21:24:17-04:00

I don't think the stronger gun laws will matter. In Alaska the are no concealed carry permits need and they don't have as many crimes because everyone pretty much carrys there and people know it so they don't take the risk of committing crimes like in the lower states.

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Aug 30 at 2015 11:00 PM

2015-08-30T23:00:27-04:00

The gun isn't the problem; the criminals and the insane people are the problem. Taking guns away from the law-abiding bulk of the population will not solve the problem so long as we do nothing about the dangerous people loose in public. It is a matter of aiming at the right target.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 30 at 2015 11:50 PM

2015-08-30T23:50:15-04:00

It's like the old saying "we need stricter drug laws.........you see how good that is doing for us."

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Aug 31 at 2015 12:25 AM

2015-08-31T00:25:25-04:00

From what I am reading lately I guess I will have to reserve my opinions for my own FB Pages. Liberal Soldiers, Sailors, Airman and Marines & Liberal Constitutional Patriots.

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 31 at 2015 1:18 AM

2015-08-31T01:18:04-04:00

For the One Millionth time, the state and federal firearms regulations and criminal statutes are more than adequate for every civil or criminal issue involving guns. These regulations and laws ARE NOT enforced by courts, appropriate charges are not filed by prosecutors, and the penal system dumps these Tier One offenders back into society too fast, creating a recidivism rate of as high as 83% amongst some types of parolees. We have MORE than enough laws on the books. Enforce them.

Response by Cpl James Waycasie made Aug 31 at 2015 2:07 AM

2015-08-31T02:07:12-04:00

I live in Georgia and about 60 miles South of us is a City called Kennesaw Georgia. This city passed a law that every household is required to own at least one firearm and ammo for it. Of course gun control activists predicted it would turn the town into a war zone> Would you really go into a city knowing that such a law existed and try to shoot it up?

Gun Ownership - It's The
Law In Kennesaw
By Jonathan Hamilton and David Burch
Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writers
http://www.mdjonline.com/StoryDetail.cfm?id=10017128&Section=Home%20Page

3-14-1
KENNESAW, Ga - Several Kennesaw officials attribute a drop in crime in the city over the past two decades to a law that requires residents to have a gun in the house. In 1982, the Kennesaw City Council unanimously passed a law requiring heads of households to own at least one firearm with ammunition. The ordinance states the gun law is needed to "protect the safety, security and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants." Then-councilman J.O. Stephenson said after the ordinance was passed, everyone "went crazy." "People all over the country said there would be shootings in the street and violence in homes," he said. "Of course, that wasn't the case." In fact, according to Stephenson, it caused the crime rate in the city to plunge. Kennesaw Historical Society president Robert Jones said following the law's passage, the crime rate dropped 89 percent in the city, compared to the modest 10 percent drop statewide. "It did drop after it was passed," he said. "After it initially dropped, it has stayed at the same low level for the past 16 years." Mayor Leonard Church was not in office when the law was passed, but he said he is a staunch supporter of it. "You can't argue with the fact that Kennesaw has the lowest crime rate of any city our size in the country," said Church, who owns a denture-making company in Kennesaw.

Response by Cpl Jeff N. made Aug 31 at 2015 6:55 AM

2015-08-31T06:55:38-04:00

What we should be doing is evaluating our handling of the mentally ill and criminal population in this country. Most of these shooters are in either one or both of these categories. The latest shooter (deputy in TX) is clearly a criminal and has had man arrests and convictions but there he is, out on the street ready to kill. The shooter at the television station appears to have been mentally ill. Many of the mass shooters appear to be mentally ill as well.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 31 at 2015 8:20 AM

2015-08-31T08:20:16-04:00

There are places where getting a gun is easier than getting milk, and a criminal could care less about what laws are in place, that's why they are called criminals.

Response by SSG Warren Swan made Aug 31 at 2015 10:16 AM

2015-08-31T10:16:08-04:00

I have multiple weapons and I'm still here. I know many others that have weapons and neither they nor their weapons have killed anyone. People need to understand that until they deal with "Mens Rea" they'll never get to the root of the problem. A weapon is an extension of the person; so the person is the problem then. Adjust the laws to reflect that...but we have and that's still not a deterrent. We have a for profit incarceration system that isn't a viable deterrent. Maybe we need to figure out a new method and see how that works out being that what we have is a failure. I'd wager the "gun mentality" we have could be a remote issue, but quite a bit of that is through law abiding citizens. Then you have the element that should be affected, but they're not. There's nothing that can be done short of banning every type of weapon available (from water to fire). And lets see...didn't work in England too well and they did ban firearms for the most part but allow fire and water.

Response by CW3 Kevin Storm made Aug 31 at 2015 6:13 PM

2015-08-31T18:13:01-04:00

I have mixed feelings about this issue. First I would rather see stricter requirements for training of first time gun owners. All gun owners should be required to meet a universal national standard for safety. Should the types of firearms that are sold be available to everyone on day one? IMHO no, start off with something simple, like a bolt action .22 for the first 2 years, and move up to something more advance before you can ever apply for a semi AR platform. But that is my opinion.

Response by SrA Matthew Knight made Aug 31 at 2015 8:06 PM

2015-08-31T20:06:24-04:00

I can personally get behind to better back ground checks and verifying that people that want to buy can. Banning firearms completely will accomplish nothing though. As many have said, criminals don't follow laws. The only people you would be disarming would the law abiding citizens who could be using them for protection.

I always like to look back on prohibition. The banning of alcohol only bred further violence and corruption, I mean even the police and other members of the justice system were buying, transporting and drinking under the table. A ban will never get rid of the problem, it will only give cause to throw more people behind bars, which if I am not mistaken we are all ready overflowing.

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 31 at 2015 8:13 PM

2015-08-31T20:13:21-04:00

This American thinks stronger gun laws are a bunch of bunk. Guns don't kill people, people kill people. When we outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns. I pretty much believe those slogans, because they are true.

Response by PFC Robert Falk made Sep 1 at 2015 9:54 AM

2015-09-01T09:54:20-04:00

Stronger gun laws won't change anything. The police can't enforce the current laws new ones or stronger .

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 1 at 2015 3:11 PM

2015-09-01T15:11:59-04:00

Americans are more broadly in favor of gun rights in recent years, but specific gun control policies (when evaluated separately) are actually quite popular. That effect is common, where one's general feelings on a topic differ from their position on a specific policy, because looking at the specific policy tends to detach the strong, emotional rhetoric that surrounds the larger debate and get people to evaluate policy in a more genuine manner. Note the posted graphic: the only policy with a greater proportion opposed than in favor is the only one where the pro-gun position is the "in favor" one.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Sep 1 at 2015 4:35 PM

2015-09-01T16:35:09-04:00

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/fox-psychiatrist-every-person-without-a-gun-should-ask-what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-me/#.VeYJ7RI3V9w.twitter

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Sep 1 at 2015 5:22 PM

2015-09-01T17:22:57-04:00

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/08/study-shows-racial-bias-shootings?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+motherjones%2Fmain+%28MotherJones.com+Main+Article+Feed%29

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Sep 1 at 2015 6:43 PM

2015-09-01T18:43:24-04:00

Thank God we don't live in a democracy where the majority rules. We live in a Republic where the law rules and the law rules that citizens may keep and bear arms. I don't care if 99% of Americans oppose me, they have no right to alter my right to self defense and if they attempt it, I'll defend myself (as I believe many will)...

Response by SSG Stephen Arnold made Sep 4 at 2015 7:14 PM

2015-09-04T19:14:45-04:00

Why is it that when someone uses a firearm to commit a crime, the government wants to take guns away from the people who did not do it?