It's not even a gun issue.
It's about mental health and the causes and effects our society has on the mental health of its citizens... This is not a uniquely American issue, thought it does seem like we get the worst of it.
I should note that I've read almost nothing in this thread (and I imagine it derailed somewhere around page 3 anyway), but this is right on the money.
There are a few things I'd point out, though:
- Most laws are in place not to prevent crime, but to punish criminals
- So long as people intend to kill each other, people will kill each other
Banning guns won't work in the US unless it's a Federal ban, and even still, that would cause a civil war.
Slapping magazine locks on guns and banning 10 or 15+ round magazines sounds great until you realize you can just buy a magazine from out of state or use an allen wrench to take off the lock.
That said, magazine limit laws like we have here in CA or in CO are in place to punish people who use them criminally.
Unfortunately, this puts law-abiding citizens at a severe disadvantage if they found themselves in the position where they were being attacked or threatened by someone who has a standard cap magazine.
Mental health screenings would be great, but it could potentially be a slippery slope or be abused.
So, in my mind, tighter laws can be placed, but it isn't going to fix the mass shootings we suffer here.
Gun laws can also be laxer, but it isn't going to fix the mass shooting we suffer either.
The only way it's going to be fixed is by working towards less stigma surrounding mental health and getting help to more people who desperately need it.
It's both a mental health issue
and and cultural issue, and neither are going to be easy things to deal with.
And before anyone asks, I'm a registered Democrat and liberal who voted for Obama and sometimes regrets it.
Political parties are shit and too partisan in their agendas.