This Supreme Court has said it can overturn any established law its five members is told to do. I believe they have yet to consider abolishing the bans for yelling “fire” in a theater or possessing a Thompson submachine gun without a permit.

            Illinois just passed a law banning sales and getting a permit for existing ownership of assault rifles and limiting the size of magazines. Gun dealers and the NRA are suing to overturn the law. If the Thompson is still illegal then these new assault guns should be illegal, too.

            Have people changed their minds? Most polls indicate about three-quarters of Americans believe in limiting the type of gun and magazine size. Dealers, manufactures, organizations, and some conned people believe there should not be any ban. With that interpretation of the second amendments t I could have a M-60 machine gun and an M-80 grenade launcher for self-defense!

            All rights are limited. The first amendment has many limits to those listed rights. When the Constitution was approved 234 years ago, civilization, culture, and technology was different. This was a time of muzzle loaders and local militias as stated in the amendment.

            It is time for the courts to look at questions with common sense and an eye on the fact that times have changed since the constitution and the Bill of Rights was signed. We no longer need a gun to fight the Redman or the British while being in the militia.

            We already have laws that people don’t feel violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The use of the Thompson Sub-machine gun was banned because of its use by gangsters against each other, police and civilians caught in the crossfire. Many other weapons of war are considered to not be eligible for use by civilians. Many groups decided the Second Amendment to be open ended. These groups are funded and prompted by manufacturers and people who have been brainwashed to believe they must have those guns to survive. Some video games make shooting people as realistic as possible so the player is conditioned to shoot people with assault style weapons.

            Commonsense laws would help to reduce these incidents since nothing can totally end mass shootings. Some of those restrictions would make ownership of all assault style weapons illegal whether they are already possessed or not. No sale of a gun without a check on the buyer no matter how or whether the transfer of the gun occurs. The ownership of every weapon must be registered whether the gun is in the home or a shooting club. The age of legal purchase should be 21 years of age. The so called “Red Flag” confiscation of all guns from a person suspected of having certain mental problems for one year, not two weeks as some states have. End all advertising of those guns not related to bolt action rifles and revolvers. Just as shot guns are supposed to be limited to three shot magazines, no rifle or pistol magazine should hold more than 9 rounds. Those pistols and rifles with greater capacity shall use restricted magazines. Sale or manufacture of parts turning semi-automatic guns into fully automatic should be banned. All guns must have key trigger locks to prevent kids use.

            Violators to be locked up and not fined and released.

            Chicago’s crime problem isn’t much worse than any other community on a per capita basis. It seems most cities and towns have a gang and drug problem. How to solve the problem is another thing they have in common.

            Let’s face it; Sheriff Andy Taylor in Mayberry doesn’t exist in today’s world. Andy didn’t usually carry a gun and even against armed bad guys he seldom used one. Today’s cops wear armored vests and carry semi-automatic pistols with high capacity magazines. Next is the controversial part of being a cop today: when to shoot and go home and when to think twice and go to the morgue. In the nano-second of the confrontation the cop must decide if the item in the person’s hand is a phone, a toy, or a gun. Does he or she still have the gun seen a few moments ago, and could that hand motion mean the gun is about to be pointed at the cop? Child or adult doesn’t matter since pre-teens are killers today.

            Too often well meaning people parade around protesting about crime one day and the next day police activity. Some prosecutors’ and judges think leniency is the solution. Low or no bail is the current fad which puts arrested people back on the street where they commit more crimes.

            We have more people in prison than any other country and the highest rate of recidivism. Clearly we have many problems in our criminal justice system. Much of it was passed for Andy to use in today’s world where little kids are given guns so they can shoot another kid in a drive by or an adult to kill a group in a park, store or church. No, we all have a problem!

            We have several times more guns than we have citizens. We have states that have strict laws next to states with lax laws. Illinois has strict laws but Indiana’s is a reservoir of guns that are sold there and brought across the border for sale at a profit to people who can’t legally buy one.

            The Federal Government needs to make laws which will create a uniform set of laws for all states. First should be to eliminate all assault weapons and any devices which would make them into rapid fire or fully automatic ones. Second, eliminate all gun sales not made through a licensed gun dealer or a single sale through the local police department. Third, no sale until buyer is approved by a computer check. Fourth, ownership of a gun implies the owner has responsibility for its use. Guns must be stored in gun safes with trigger locks to make accidental shootings far less likely.

            Fifth, all guns shall be fired at the factory so the ballistic markings can be catalogued for comparison. Sixth, and one which will be the most protested is all guns must be registered along with a bullet fired from it by police. Liability for the gun is only transferred to new owner when done through proscribed legal means. Seventh, a mandatory minimum for any violation of above to be one year in prison with costs paid by violator. Eighth, committing a crime with a gun is a mandatory additional five years over the sentence for the crime.

            Most of these points are supported by a vast majority of the American gun owners and the rest by over 80%. So why is Congress scared of the NRA and why is the NRA fighting ideas their membership wants?

            A talking head on a Sunday morning show put forth a fantastic idea for owning a gun. Why not have a license and training for different types of guns. It would be similar to a vehicle license process.

            If I wanted to drive a four-wheel vehicle I would get the basic license and an ability test. If I was dumb enough to get the organ donor license to operate a motorcycle, I would have to demonstrate my ability also. If I wanted to drive an eighteen-wheeler I would need a special license and ability to drive it. There used to be other classifications for other vehicles.

            His idea seemed to be a very sensible way to handle some of the concerns of over 70% of the American public. Just as with vehicle licenses; the costs would go up with each level of skill required. It’s the same with pilot’s licenses.

            The obvious criteria would be a low price for each hunting rifle and shotgun, a higher price for a revolver, higher for a semi-automatic, additional cost for an extended magazine, a high cost for any weapon which can be considered an assault weapon. Possession of any gun where the owner or possessor isn’t properly licensed would result in a substantial fine and/or imprisonment. I would suggest the fine be a minimum cost equal to ten years for the proper license and loss of all weapons.

A man started shooting people in the West Freeway Church of Christ and was shot by security guards and perhaps some of the people. A relative of one of the members said “some good guys shot a bad guy”. The relative just doesn’t get it.

We didn’t have this problem a few decades ago. Why? Two reasons are the most obvious. One is the proliferation of guns and we now have the gun lobby and the Supreme Court to thank for the availability of guns. Our country has more guns per person than Israel where it is mandatory for most Israelis. Americans have become brainwashed by the gun lobbies into believing racial war is imminent or civil unrest is going to happen. A friend of ours has several assault style weapons to protect her and property from the militias she fears.

The other obvious reason is the social media where much of those fears originate. The gun lobby, American anarchists, and Russian disinformation are the primary sources. The gullible people pass along the propaganda and lies to other gullible people. Our political leaders aren’t brave enough to confront this menace to our culture.

Guns are a clear and present danger to America and the lack of real laws with teeth in them are needed. Hunters know shotgun barrel lengths and three round magazines and are afraid of being caught with a short barrel or unplugged magazines. Even though hundreds of rounds were shot in Las Vegas or in all the school, mall and church shootings, nothing is being done. Why? What needs to be done by sane Americans to put a stop to this insanity?

For those who don’t know what these laws are designed to do, a red flag law is supposed to give the local law enforcement the ability to go to a court to temporarily take away a person’s guns. Note temporarily and not permanently. The laws basically depend on a friend or relative reporting a person they believe is nutty enough to harm themselves or another with a gun. The accuser must tell the reasons and be strong enough to sway a judge.

The Dayton shooter’s mom told the local police she was concerned about her son but had no idea he had a gun because he bought it over the internet from Texas a few weeks before the shooting. The Wal-Mart shooter’s friends and relatives say they had no clue. Assuming the guns are removed, most laws only allow for a few days cooling off period. Another possible person who can report a potential threat is their psychiatrist or psychologist. Sounds good but few of the shooters were seeing a doctor. What does temporary mean? In some states its less than two weeks before they go to court to get them back.

Reporting someone who might want to kill someone probably puts that person at the top of the kill list when the guns are returned. Seldom would this law have saved anyone’s life. But I guess if it stops just one mass shooter it may be worthwhile but not at the expense of getting real laws against assault guns, high capacity magazines, gun shows, and strong background checks. Those are what’s really needed!