Common-sense approach to curbing gun crimes

[SecularMotion]

If you think New Jersey does not have a gun-violence problem, think again. And if you think New Jersey politicians and voters are not deeply concerned by this violence, then you are not looking hard enough.

As three Republican mayors serving in Bergen County, we believe that Congress has not done enough to close dangerous loopholes in our nation’s gun laws. In states like Virginia and Georgia, criminals continue to avoid background checks at licensed gun stores by purchasing from private sellers at gun shows and over the Internet.

Too many of these guns are trafficked into the Garden State. Last year, 79 percent of the guns recovered in New Jersey crimes originated out-of-state, in some cases from very far away: 104 of the crime guns were originally purchased in Florida and 40 of them in Texas.

To be clear, we are not anti-gun. We are also the first to admit that not every crime has a legislative fix. But we are concerned that the gun debate on Capitol Hill has been overtaken by well-funded lobbyists with extremist positions – people who are pushing to allow guns in bars, in churches and on college campuses, and who are not doing enough to keep guns out of criminal hands.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/gunlaws_092612.html?page=all

[gopiscrap]

1. How about slowly getting rid of guns period

yes, I'll get blasted for this..and yes it would be tough for awhile, but eventualy the country would be a much safer less violent place. I come from being born and raised in Europe and to me it was a much more congenial society anfd definitely safer.

[Atypical Liberal]

2. That will never happen.

Aside from the fact that the majority of Americans don't want it to happen, it cannot practically happen, either.

The United States is awash with firearms. There are some 200 million firearms in circulation.

[Missycim]

3. No one is stopping you from going back to there if you

don't like the BOR, you have the option of repealing the 2nd if you don't like guns.


Your original point wouldn't work, you'd only take guns away from law abiding people (if they choose not to "lose" them)not the criminals.


Besides where would you get the money to buy all the guns owned by the people? 300 million guns, thats a lot of cash to buy them back.

[hack89]

6. Yes - we can use the eradication of heroin and cocaine as our model.. oh wait. nt

[SecularMotion]

7. Do you think gun owners are addicted? nt

[hack89]

8. No - I understand supply and demand

I know that criminals will always have guns.

[trouble.smith]

9. America has a CRIME problem, not a gun problem.

stripping the rights away of law abiding citizens will do nothing to solve the crime problem, it will likely make it worse. You want to fix the crime problem? My advice is to stop releasing unrehabilitated felons onto the streets as most violent crimes are committed by recidivists. My advice to you personally is to return to your homeland where society is so much more "congenial" and "safer". I wouldn't want you to have to endure our uncongenial and unsafe society another day.

[Atypical Liberal]

4. The article provides almost NO solutions, common-sense or otherwise.

The article only speaks of one solution:

"Some progress is being made. Ninety U.S. House members, including four in New Jersey, have co-sponsored the Fix Gun Checks Act. This bill would mandate background checks on all U.S. gun sales and boost the reporting of relevant state mental health records into the federal gun background database."

This is an unacceptable solution, because it creates a registry of firearm owners.

How about universal opt-out licensing instead? This achieves the same result in requiring background checks for all firearm sales, private or commercial, AND it preserves firearm ownership anonymity.

And as a happy consequence, we will be able to buy firearms through the mail once again.

[montanto]

5. common sense approach to curbing gun crime:

1: end poverty
2: mental health care for those in need
3: drug and alcohol treatment programs for those in need

curb a lot of other problems at the same time. since taking guns away from people doesn't do anything about those other issues, the "crime" part of "gun crime" won't go away.