I heard this morning that there have been 70 mass shootings since the first of this year. Another last night in Michigan. It may not be covid that makes every parent turn to homeschooling, but fear of the frequency with which children are shot at school that makes it necessary.
It reminded me of the response we hear from those resistant to restrictions on guns:
Guns don't kill people. People kill people.
They don't seem to realize that THAT is the very reason we need background checks for All firearms purchases: People kill. And those that do should not be allowed to purchase firearms.
The only way to even begin to prevent that is to do a background check before purchase. Every purchase, even at gun shows.
One could even say that it is gun lovers themselves who are screaming out for background checks.
It's time.
Let's do it before we lose more of our loved ones.
Comments
Background checks
Seems like it's the least we can do.
Sheriff's handgun permits, also.
Conservative gun-nuts have been harping (gleefully) over the need to get rid of the county-level permitting process, citing the origins as a reason why. Yes, initially this was mainly used to curb the freedoms of blacks (and some poor whites), but it has morphed into a critical part of our gun regulation system.
County sheriff's departments handle the brunt of both domestic violence cases and serving warrants for various infractions. Even inside towns and cities that have their own law enforcement presence.
In other words, it's not just data they draw from in making these decisions; it's real-world experience. Personal interaction. And if they've interacted with someone before, there's a good chance they will have to do so again. If they feel it would be a danger for Billy Bob to have access to a firearm, I'm inclined to agree with them.
Public nuisance
NC's Senator (spit) Ted Budd, owner of a gunshoporama and shooting range very famously said in an interview before the 2022 election that the staff of his store use their "feelings" when deciding to sell to a prospective customer.
One Democratic talking point about Budd's shop that got lost in the shuffle (it's the first I've heard it and I keep up with these things) is that his deadly weapon Walmart sells insurance for domestic abusers. Per Jezebel:
Also, with the proliferation of North Carolina extremist connections to January 6th and the Charlottesville Massacre, one thing we don't know is where they got their weapons.
Could Budd's gun store be a public nuisance, selling weapons to violent domestic terrorists, unstable domestic abusers, mass shooters, or common criminals?
We'll never know because NC doesn't have a law that requires reporting of the origin of weapons used by criminals and allows the shutting down of gun stores that facilitate crime.
NC GOP giving another handout to gun store owners
IndyWeek is out with a story on the NC GOP's response to the Michigan story.
The "safe storage awareness initiative is just another handout to the gun industry, using state funds to promote the sale of gun safes and other accessories sold in gun shops, since they just seem to not be making enough money off the sales of guns already. You can read the bill to see where it appropriates funds for something gun store owners and manufacturers in the state should be paying for themselves.
REALLY Bad timing on the part
REALLY Bad timing on the part of NCGOPs.
Can you say, Tone Deaf??
That never stopped them before
They pushed their "Don't Say Gay Law" when there have been at least four murders of trans individuals in the US in recent weeks, including one in Wilmington, NC. There were over thirty last year and over fifty the year before.
With the GOP, the cruelty is the only point.