Gun Violence

I propose a response to “gun violence” that is better than anything I have seen out there, but there are hurdles to going along with my “solution.”

First, “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”  Take away the guns, the firearms, and the perp cannot kill from a distance and cannot kill in large quantities per minute.  Nothing else kills quite so efficiently as firearms.

Second, there is no excuse to cover military style weapons under the second amendment.  Why not?  Because it asks for trouble.  What about nukes and chemical WMDs?  If you are even asking for second amendment coverage of these technologies, YOU are the problem.

Third, any sale or transfer of a firearm (not only to the end-customer, any sale or transfer) that is not accompanied with a transfer of title is a felony on the seller.

Fourth, you understand that if an under-age child harms a person or damages the property of another, that his parents are responsible.  When a child accidentally kills his friend with a firearm owned by his parent, his parent should be charged with murder.

Fifth, if a bartender sells liquor to an inebriated patron, he may become party to subsequent legal actions based on the behavior of a customer who was served when he ought not to have been served.

Sixth, there is no even partially reliable way to keep firearms out of the WRONG hands.  Forget background checks!  Think instead of a bartender selling to a drunken customer.

And last, the NRA will be held innocent of all gun carnage as they only sell an idea, a pernicious one to be sure, but only an idea.  They are accountable to their members.

Allow me now to introduce accountability to the debate.  Parties to a gun slaughter ought to include 1) the perpetrator, 2) the gun owner, 3) the gun seller, 4) the gun manufacturer, 5) the ammunition seller and 6) the ammunition manufacturer.  These parties are all partially responsible for all killings based on firearm usage.

Figure out the rest using the principle of shared responsibility.  We live in an imperfect world, claiming that one person alone is responsible ought to be seen as nonsense.