A group of 20 bi-partisan Senators announced earlier today that they had reached an outline on a gun control bill they believe would get enough votes to pass.
The agreement would provide incentives for states to pass so-called “red flag” laws, which the group calls “state crisis intervention orders;” boost mental health resources; provide funding for school safety resources; clarify the definition of federally licensed firearms dealer; and crack down on criminals who illegally straw purchase and traffic guns.
It would also expand background checks for firearms buyers under 21, by requiring an investigative period to review juvenile and mental health records. Convicted domestic violence abusers and people subject to domestic violence restraining orders would also now be included in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, closing what is called the “boyfriend loophole.”
They spent the time patting themselves on their collective backs for doing something on gun control while preserving 2nd Amendment rights. Of course nothing announced today would have prevented the latest mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde which were perpetrated using legally purchased guns so as usual nothing is really going to change.
To be honest what they accomplished was more than I expected but I would put forward that nothing our government would agree to as currently constituted would be effective in stopping our ever increasing murder rate or mass shootings. As long as America’s hard on for guns continues to be encouraged by our courts unexplainable interpretation of the 2nd Amendment and groups like the NRA etc. buying of members of government, guns will continue to sell like hotcakes and eventually fall into the hands of those that could care less about human life.
I believe that at this point in history anything that we try amounts to closing the barn door after the horse escaped and the only effective means of stopping all the gun violence would be to get rid of all guns which has long since been an impossibility.
So going forward I foresee more and more guns being sold , many of them out of fear, which in turn will put more and more guns into criminal’s hands and the cycle will continue to lead us down a path that few will like. But hey at least you’ll be able to shoot that varmint with your AR-15.