Assault weapons are used by our military, only, even our Law Enforcement does not use it, not needing that kind of fire power to enforce laws. They only time they need it is when one of the Loose Cannons steals one or obtains one through a gun show. Then even our "Good Guys" with a weapon is out-gunned.
Not only do we need a background check, but stringent laws on gun ownership and the responsiblities of such ownership. We can use some ideas from Finland (see below) who had 195 gun related deaths in 2010 compared to the US which had 31,672 gun related death in 2010. Or Australia after the April 28, 1996 Mass shooting. (Results) What happened next has been the subject of several academic studies. Violent crime and gun-related deaths did not come to an end in Australia, of course. But as the Washington Post’s Wonkblog pointed out in August, homicides by firearm plunged 59 percent between 1995 and 2006, with no corresponding increase in non-firearm-related homicides. The drop in suicides by gun was even steeper: 65 percent. Studies found a close correlation between the sharp declines and the gun buybacks. Robberies involving a firearm also dropped significantly. Meanwhile, home invasions did not increase, contrary to fears that firearm ownership is needed to deter such crimes. But here’s the most stunning statistic. In the decade before the Port Arthur massacre, there had been 11 mass shootings in the country. There hasn’t been a single one in Australia since. They had 236 gun related deaths in 2010.
It occured to me that the Founding Fathers had no intent for the "People" to bear arms for any reason, using them indiscriminately and without any purpose. Back in the day, guns were meant to defend our country against terrony. To protect the "People" the people being the citizens of the United States not individuals. When the People are protect, so are the individuals. So before goinging into a post that researches gun violence, I wanted to get a little background on the very piece of history that the NRA stands so high and mighty on. They care not about the People, the families and individuals affected daily by gun violence, but about the wealth and power they accumulate. It is obvious that guns don't kill, people do, but it takes a gun in the hands of people, in order to kill, one does not work without the other. Finding the person who is going to be the next "Mass Killer" is looking for a needle in a haystack, not going to happen, more on that later. The only reason there is controversy on the 2nd Amendment is because the supreme court cannot decide whether the Amendment was meant for individuals or reserved for government...why because they can. As I researched the articles and how they come together, NOT stand alone, it is clear that the founding Fathers wanted it to apply to the Federal Government, as well as the states.
The Constitution was fully ratified in 1791. As usual the two groups controlling Congress dissagreed (the Federalists and the anti-Federalists) as to the protections afforded the people within the Constitution. A compromise was struck called the "Bill of Rights." The Original Bill of Rights introduced by James Madison, numbered 42, by the time they were approved, there were 10 Amendments to the Constitution, known as the "Bill of Rights."
No "Articles in Amendment" to the Constitution, stand alone and each can only be properly understood with reference to what it is that each Article in Amendment amended in the body of the original Constitution. The Constitution was first submitted to Congress on September 17, 1787 WITHOUT ANY AMENDMENTS. After debate, the States would not adopt the Constitution as originally submitted until "further declamatory and restrictive clauses should be added" "in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its (the Constitutions) powers". (This quote is from the Preamble to the Amendments, which was adopted along with the Amendments but is mysteriously missing from nearly all modern copies.)
The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as a direct result of the Revolutionary War; without access to weapons, the colonists would not have been able to defeat the British troops. The Second Amendment states that a "well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
The "the inalienable right of individuals to keep and bear arms" was predates our Declaration of Independence and Constitution and therefore is not a Constitutuinal right.
Militia refers to a body of citizens armed and trained by the state for military service apart from the regular armed forces. It is composed of physically fit civilians eligible by law for military service. It characterizes a military force recruited directly from civilians who would not otherwise be liable to serve in a state's regular armed forces. Usually the state imposes military obligation on the militia for the purposes of local or home defense and in case of emergencies. However, on occasions such militias have been employed abroad also.
Article 1, Section 8, clause 15
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
Article 1, Section 8, Clause 16
The Congress shall have Power To ...provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress...
US History:
1950s: 1
1960s: 6
1970s: 13
1980s: 32
1990s: 42 (1991: worst 1yr) (Assault Weapon Ban Sept. 1994)
2000s: 28 (Ban expired Sept. 2004
2010s (three years): 14
2012: 7 (2nd worst 1yr)
Gun Violence:
April 1982 - SOUTH KOREA 57 dead, 38 wounded+self - police office drunken rampage
August 19, 1987 - BRITAIN 16 dead 11 wounded+self - 27yr old gunman (Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 -- making registration mandatory for owning shotguns and banning semi-automatic and pump-action weapons.)
July 1989 - FRANCE: 14 dead-captured - Farmer killed family+others
December 1989 - CANADA: 14 dead+self - 25-year-old War movie fan hated women
November 1990 - NEW ZEALAND: 11dead - 33-year-old unemployed man loner on a 24hr rampage
September 1995 - FRANCE: 16 Dead+self - 16 yr old argued with parents
March 13, 1996 - BRITAIN: 16 dead children ages 5&6+1 teacher+self - 43 yr old former scout leader
(Results) Within a year and a half of the Dunblane massacre, UK lawmakers had passed a ban on the private ownership of all handguns in mainland Britain, giving the country some of the toughest anti-gun legislation in the world. After both shootings there were firearm amnesties across the UK, resulting in the surrender of thousands of firearms and rounds of ammunition.
2010/11 there were 11,227 offenses, 53% below the peak number, according to the official crime figures. Crimes involving handguns also fell 44% -- from 5,549 in 2002/03 to 3,105 -- in 2010/11. April 28, 1996 - AUSTRALIA: 35 dead 23 wounded - 28yr man seeking revenge
(Results) Twelve days later, Australia’s government did something remarkable. Led by newly elected conservative Prime Minister John Howard, it announced a bipartisan deal with state and local governments to enact sweeping gun-control measures. A decade and a half hence, the results of these policy changes are clear: They worked really, really well.
At the heart of the push was a massive buyback of more than 600,000 semi-automatic shotguns and rifles, or about one-fifth of all firearms in circulation in Australia. The country’s new gun laws prohibited private sales, required that all weapons be individually registered to their owners, and required that gun buyers present a "genuine reason" for needing each weapon at the time of the purchase. (Self-defense did not count.) In the wake of the tragedy, polls showed public support for these measures at upwards of 90 percent.
(Results) What happened next has been the subject of several academic studies. Violent crime and gun-related deaths did not come to an end in Australia, of course. But as the Washington Post’s Wonkblog pointed out
in August, homicides by firearm plunged 59 percent between 1995 and 2006, with no corresponding increase in non-firearm-related homicides. The drop in suicides by gun was even steeper: 65 percent. Studies found a close correlation between the sharp declines and the gun buybacks. Robberies involving a firearm also dropped significantly. Meanwhile, home invasions did not increase, contrary to fears that firearm ownership is needed to deter such crimes. But here’s the most stunning statistic. In the decade before the Port Arthur massacre, there had been 11 mass shootings in the country. There hasn’t been a single one in Australia since. April 1999 - USA: Littleton, Co: 13 dead hi school students 24 injured+selves - 2 18yr old students
July 1999 - USA: Atlanta, Ga: 9 dead+wife+2kids+self - 13 injured - 44yr old man Prior to the massacre, Barton had been a suspect in the 1993 beating deaths of his first wife, Debra Spivey, and her mother, Eloise Spivey
June 2001 - NEPAL: 10 dead+ self - 30yr old Crown Prince kills family
April 26, 2002 - GERMANY: 17 dead+self - 13 faculty members, 2 students, and one police officer - 19yr old Student By a bizarre coincidence, he noted, the German parliament had passed new legislation tightening gun controls on Friday.
October 2002 - USA Washington DC: 10 dead 3 wounded - 42 yr old qualified with the Army's standard infantry rifle the M16
+17 yr old Sniper style killings along the Belt Way April 16, 2007 - USA Virginia Tech: 32 dead 17 wounded+self - 23yr old Student w/mental problems
September 23, 2008 - FINLAND: 10 dead 1 wounded - 22yr old Student at Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences
March 11, 2009 - GERMANY: 15 dead+self (8 school girls-1boy-3 female teachers+2others) 2 wounded - 17yr old ex-student from the school
November 5, 2009 - USA Fort Hood: 12 Dead 31 wounded - 39 yr old Army psychiatrist
June 2, 2010 - BRITAIN: 12 dead 11 injured 52yr old Taxi driver (killed brother-atty+random)
July 22, 2011 - NORWAY: 91 dead (MANY 14-17 yrs old) 110 injured 32yr old He describes himself as a Christian, leaning toward right-wing Christianity, on his Facebook
page July 20, 2012 - USA Aurora, Col: 12 dead 58 injured - 25 yr old male student
August 5, 2012 - USA Oak Creek, Wisc: 6 dead 4 wounded+self 40 yr old white supremacist
December 14, 2012 - USA Newtown, Conn: 20 children+6 adults dead, 20 yr old known mental issues
Finland:
The ownership and use of firearms is regulated by the Firearms Act of 1998.
Firearms can only be obtained with an acquisition license, which can be applied for at the local police for a fee. A separate license is required for each individual firearm. The number of firearms a person can own is not limited in any way. With the primary licensee's consent, parallel licenses to his firearms can be granted to other persons. According to law, the firearms must be stored in a locked space or otherwise locked, or with vital parts removed and separated. Even then the weapon or any of its separated parts must not be easily stolen. If more than 5 pistols, revolvers or self-loading rifles or other-type firearms are being stored, they must be stored in a certified gun safe or in a secure space inspected and approved by the local police authority. They may be carried only when they are transported from their place of storage to the place of use (shooting range, hunting area or such). Even then they must be unloaded and concealed or kept in carrying pouches. Aside from law enforcement agents and military personnel, only security guards with closely defined working conditions, special training and a permit are allowed to carry a loaded gun in public places. The ownership of air-rifles is not regulated but carrying or firing them in public places is not permitted. A crossbow is paralleled to an air rifle in legal matters. To obtain a firearms license, an individual must declare a valid reason to own a gun (self defense is not considered "valid"). Acceptable reasons include hunting, sports or hobby shooting, profession related, show or promotion or exhibition, collection or museum, souvenir, and signalling. The applicant must provide evidence supporting the acquisition license application to prove that he or she is actually using firearms for the stated purpose(s). Such proof may consist of written declarations from other license holders as referees, shooting diaries or certificates from a shooting club. The applicant is also subjected to an extensive background check from police accessible databases and even citations for speeding or drunk driving can be grounds of not granting the license. Collectors can have special licenses for firearms otherwise not permitted (e.g. pocket guns or automatic rifles). These are usually issued based on the collector's previous record of gun ownership, but ultimately the issuing of licenses is at the local police's discretion. Conversely, a license for a pistol or a rifle is relatively easy to obtain, although the police usually require that the first gun is suitable for a beginner (usually a gun chambered in .22LR or single shot shotgun).
Possession of destructive devices such as automatic weapons, Explosive Ordnance, breech loading cannons, artillery or missile systems is generally not permitted. The Finnish Ministry of the Interior has discretion to license such devices to collectors, for motion picture production or exhibition use. The firearms certificate may be cancelled if a person has committed any crimes (in addition to violent crimes, simple theft and traffic offences are also considered) or has broken certificate rules. Physical and mental problems or reckless behavior are solid grounds for cancelling the certificate. Possessing a firearm without a license is a punishable offence. Unlicensed firearms may be confiscated by the police without punishment under a gun amnesty law, provided this happens under the individual's own initiative. Firearms surrendered in this manner are auctioned to the public or destroyed. It is also possible for the owner to get a license for the gun. Gun laws were last changed in 1998. At that time flare guns became subject to licensing, and some types of ammunition were specified especially dangerous. Such ammunition requires a separate license. The difficulty of obtaining such a license is dependent upon the nature of the ammunition. For example, it might be relatively easy to obtain hollow-point ammunition for hunting but a license for Incendiary ammunition is effectively impossible to obtain. The EU gun control directive is likely to outlaw firearm ownership for under 18-year olds. Currently (as of November 2007), a 15- to 18-year old whose guardian consents can acquire a firearm license for sports or hunting purposes. As hunting is a popular hobby with 15- to 18-year olds, Finland had earlier pleaded against new EU restrictions in this regard. However, in November 2007 the Finnish government declared that it is prepared to raise the age limit for acquiring firearms to 18 years. As this change coincided with the Jokela school shooting, where the perpetrator was above age 18, gun control opponents have questioned the timing.
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