The terrible mass-shooting at Santa Fe High School points out the need for more and better gun control. Not for more debate and more laws - MORE/BETTER gun control AT HOME!
That's right...I don't believe more laws are needed, that stronger gun control statues with "more teeth" are needed. What is needed is more responsible control of guns at home. The weapons used by Santa Fe shooter were "average weapons," not the much maligned "assault rifle," yet this teenager still managed to produce at least twenty casualties, including ten dead.
As expected, the talking heads on both sides are yelling about "More Gun Control" or "Guns Don't Kill People, PEOPLE Kill People." Both of these arguments are tired and so over-used, and (as the news says) "revived" at every mass shooting. But the discussion that often "slips between the cracks" is the "how." If the shooter obtained weapons either legally, or by circumventing all the laws on the books, then again, it is clear that no new laws are needed. We already have them!
The Santa Fe shooter broke several laws when he obtained, possessed, and carried his weapons with him. First, he was under age. The law limiting the age at which a person can by a gun is already "on the books." He was too young to possess ammunition, ANOTHER law already on the books. The shotgun he carried was "sawed off," or illegally shortened. Yet ANOTHER law on the books that was violated, and probably not only by the shooter. Most likely the shotgun was shortened by the owner or some other person who was "of age" to own the weapon, and chose to break the law as to barrel length. So, it is clear beyond any further debate that no more gun laws are needed. We HAVE THEM NOW!
What IS needed is GUN CONTROL. No, I don't mean the illegal "damn the Second Amendment" type of gun control advocated by so many. I mean the common-sense gun control that falls squarely on the shoulders of each gun owner. No amount of legislation can force people to use good judgment when storing their weapons, unfortunately. But the many incidents of underage persons taking guns to school could certainly by reduced if true gun control were exercised by gun owners, many of whom I am sure are at this very moment are still decrying the atrocity committed at Santa Fe High.
It is so very simple to secure all of one's weapons at home. There are devices and gun safes of many varieties and price ranges, so there is literally NO REASON that gun control in the home (or even in one's business) cannot be practiced at all times. I remember as a youngster being taught by my father, my uncle, and my grandfather, not to touch or handle the weapons that were located in our home and the relatives' homes as we were growing up. I am not sure what was different then, or if maybe there was simply less coverage of accidental shootings then, but in any case, none of us children handled the guns without permission. That does not seem to be the case anymore. Also, not so long ago, many people carried rifles or shotguns in gun racks mounted inside their pickup trucks. Again, people did not seem to trifle with such weapons in years past.
Be that as it may, however, the safe and common-sense approach is to have all your guns unloaded and locked away. Not everyone has a gun safe, but everyone can MAKE their gun SAFE! By the way, storing a gun in a vehicle (except if you utilize a secured rack of some kind) is not a good idea, either. Guns left unsecured in a vehicle are presents for car burglars. Guess what...anywhere in your car that you can think of to hide your weapon has already been thought of by the gun thief.
Back to guns in the home, it is abundantly clear that guns in the home need to be secured, now more than ever. But wait!! What if someone breaks in while I am in my house?! First, you need to secure your guns and ammunition the right way, THEN you can plan for what may never happen, although I and you know it does happen fairly often. Here is a good plan for both keeping your guns secure and your family safe from attack in your own home. First (and AGAIN) secure all your weapons. Daytime burglaries are far more common than nighttime home invasions. So, while you are at work and the kids are at school, you do not need access to weapons at your home...and neither do the BURGLARS. Have all your weapons secured, even if that means chaining them to plumbing. Second, when you are preparing for bed and feel that you need a gun close at hand and ready for action, you should remove ONLY the weapon that you would use in home defense to be ready and at close reach. By the way, I do not advocate sleeping with a gun under your pillow. There are just too many things that could go wrong. But, I do advocate having the chosen weapon in a safe place near to hand, along with a very bright flashlight. Both will be necessary if it should really come down to needing to defend your family.
How does this different, common-sense gun control apply to the Santa Fe shooting, or other shootings, for that matter? Well, because in several of these shootings, including Santa Fe, the shooter took weapons from the "family armory" presumably without permission of the responsible adult (s) in the home. Surely the parents did not hand the shooter the shotgun and revolver and tell him to take the guns to school. Of course not. But did they have the weapons locked away, or was the shotgun leaning in the corner of a closet, the revolver in a box on the top closet rack? Unfortunately, these kinds of arrangements constitute "gun control" in many homes.
True gun control begins in the home, and the gun owner is ultimately responsible for the security of his or her weapons. This is even more important when a child in the home is known by the parents to be depressed or to have some other emotional or mental issue. I realize that parents can not know everything their children think or do, but parents DO in fact know, by the time a child is nearly fully grown, that the child has some mental or emotional issue and should never have access to weapons that are kept in the home. So please, secure your weapons. Go to a gun shop or sports center and take a look at all the options, or view them online. Then, BUY THEM AND USE THEM! Please do not let your weapon fall into the wrong hands. The life you save might be your own, your children, a police officer, or even a school full of innocent children.
May God bless you all, and God bless America
That's right...I don't believe more laws are needed, that stronger gun control statues with "more teeth" are needed. What is needed is more responsible control of guns at home. The weapons used by Santa Fe shooter were "average weapons," not the much maligned "assault rifle," yet this teenager still managed to produce at least twenty casualties, including ten dead.
As expected, the talking heads on both sides are yelling about "More Gun Control" or "Guns Don't Kill People, PEOPLE Kill People." Both of these arguments are tired and so over-used, and (as the news says) "revived" at every mass shooting. But the discussion that often "slips between the cracks" is the "how." If the shooter obtained weapons either legally, or by circumventing all the laws on the books, then again, it is clear that no new laws are needed. We already have them!
The Santa Fe shooter broke several laws when he obtained, possessed, and carried his weapons with him. First, he was under age. The law limiting the age at which a person can by a gun is already "on the books." He was too young to possess ammunition, ANOTHER law already on the books. The shotgun he carried was "sawed off," or illegally shortened. Yet ANOTHER law on the books that was violated, and probably not only by the shooter. Most likely the shotgun was shortened by the owner or some other person who was "of age" to own the weapon, and chose to break the law as to barrel length. So, it is clear beyond any further debate that no more gun laws are needed. We HAVE THEM NOW!
What IS needed is GUN CONTROL. No, I don't mean the illegal "damn the Second Amendment" type of gun control advocated by so many. I mean the common-sense gun control that falls squarely on the shoulders of each gun owner. No amount of legislation can force people to use good judgment when storing their weapons, unfortunately. But the many incidents of underage persons taking guns to school could certainly by reduced if true gun control were exercised by gun owners, many of whom I am sure are at this very moment are still decrying the atrocity committed at Santa Fe High.
It is so very simple to secure all of one's weapons at home. There are devices and gun safes of many varieties and price ranges, so there is literally NO REASON that gun control in the home (or even in one's business) cannot be practiced at all times. I remember as a youngster being taught by my father, my uncle, and my grandfather, not to touch or handle the weapons that were located in our home and the relatives' homes as we were growing up. I am not sure what was different then, or if maybe there was simply less coverage of accidental shootings then, but in any case, none of us children handled the guns without permission. That does not seem to be the case anymore. Also, not so long ago, many people carried rifles or shotguns in gun racks mounted inside their pickup trucks. Again, people did not seem to trifle with such weapons in years past.
Be that as it may, however, the safe and common-sense approach is to have all your guns unloaded and locked away. Not everyone has a gun safe, but everyone can MAKE their gun SAFE! By the way, storing a gun in a vehicle (except if you utilize a secured rack of some kind) is not a good idea, either. Guns left unsecured in a vehicle are presents for car burglars. Guess what...anywhere in your car that you can think of to hide your weapon has already been thought of by the gun thief.
Back to guns in the home, it is abundantly clear that guns in the home need to be secured, now more than ever. But wait!! What if someone breaks in while I am in my house?! First, you need to secure your guns and ammunition the right way, THEN you can plan for what may never happen, although I and you know it does happen fairly often. Here is a good plan for both keeping your guns secure and your family safe from attack in your own home. First (and AGAIN) secure all your weapons. Daytime burglaries are far more common than nighttime home invasions. So, while you are at work and the kids are at school, you do not need access to weapons at your home...and neither do the BURGLARS. Have all your weapons secured, even if that means chaining them to plumbing. Second, when you are preparing for bed and feel that you need a gun close at hand and ready for action, you should remove ONLY the weapon that you would use in home defense to be ready and at close reach. By the way, I do not advocate sleeping with a gun under your pillow. There are just too many things that could go wrong. But, I do advocate having the chosen weapon in a safe place near to hand, along with a very bright flashlight. Both will be necessary if it should really come down to needing to defend your family.
How does this different, common-sense gun control apply to the Santa Fe shooting, or other shootings, for that matter? Well, because in several of these shootings, including Santa Fe, the shooter took weapons from the "family armory" presumably without permission of the responsible adult (s) in the home. Surely the parents did not hand the shooter the shotgun and revolver and tell him to take the guns to school. Of course not. But did they have the weapons locked away, or was the shotgun leaning in the corner of a closet, the revolver in a box on the top closet rack? Unfortunately, these kinds of arrangements constitute "gun control" in many homes.
True gun control begins in the home, and the gun owner is ultimately responsible for the security of his or her weapons. This is even more important when a child in the home is known by the parents to be depressed or to have some other emotional or mental issue. I realize that parents can not know everything their children think or do, but parents DO in fact know, by the time a child is nearly fully grown, that the child has some mental or emotional issue and should never have access to weapons that are kept in the home. So please, secure your weapons. Go to a gun shop or sports center and take a look at all the options, or view them online. Then, BUY THEM AND USE THEM! Please do not let your weapon fall into the wrong hands. The life you save might be your own, your children, a police officer, or even a school full of innocent children.
May God bless you all, and God bless America
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