The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - The aftermath - realistic assessments of the situation please

DanWesson357 · December 19, 2012, 03:46 PM

bikerbill
One thing that has struck me about the discussion in the Newtown tragedy is his access to his mother's guns. His family has admitted they knew he had mental issues, yet the guns he used in the murders were not, apparently, secured sufficiently to keep them out of his hands. Is there a law in CT about the owner being responsible for crimes committed with weapons he owned that were not secured? If his mother had survived, would she have been prosecuted for not securing her guns?

If those guns had been in a safe, with the door locked, he'd have had no easy access to firearms ... there are so many things that should be done to help prevent a repeat of Newtown; let's enforce laws about securing firearms ... let's see the feds actually prosecute those who use guns in crime on gun charges, and not bargain them away to speed the process ...

Sadly, there aren't enough people talking about this. Lanza should never have had access to these weapons to begin with. And it speaks volumes as to what was wrong in that household if his mother knew of his issues, yet kept firearms unsecured.

I'm all for a legal push that will force gun owners to have proper means to secure their weapons. Not only would this have prevented people like Lanza from gaining access to these weapons, it serves a double purpose in preventing weapons that are stolen out of homes from ending up on the street. I don't think trigger locks are the appropriate answer. But I think we must accept that in 2012, to own a gun pretty much means that you need to own a safe to store it in. Nothing is a failsafe, but it's a much better deterrent than what people have now.

No assault weapons ban is going to work, especially considering the illegal gun trafficking that goes on in this country. We need to focus on mental healthcare reform, getting illegal guns off of the streets, better securing of our weapons, and closing the gun show loophole. I understand that the gun show loophole had nothing to with this tragedy, I just think it's long overdue.

December 19, 2012, 03:46 PM	#91
DanWesson357 Member Join Date: April 3, 2009 Location: Metro Detroit Area, Michigan Posts: 67	bikerbill One thing that has struck me about the discussion in the Newtown tragedy is his access to his mother's guns. His family has admitted they knew he had mental issues, yet the guns he used in the murders were not, apparently, secured sufficiently to keep them out of his hands. Is there a law in CT about the owner being responsible for crimes committed with weapons he owned that were not secured? If his mother had survived, would she have been prosecuted for not securing her guns? If those guns had been in a safe, with the door locked, he'd have had no easy access to firearms ... there are so many things that should be done to help prevent a repeat of Newtown; let's enforce laws about securing firearms ... let's see the feds actually prosecute those who use guns in crime on gun charges, and not bargain them away to speed the process ... Sadly, there aren't enough people talking about this. Lanza should never have had access to these weapons to begin with. And it speaks volumes as to what was wrong in that household if his mother knew of his issues, yet kept firearms unsecured. I'm all for a legal push that will force gun owners to have proper means to secure their weapons. Not only would this have prevented people like Lanza from gaining access to these weapons, it serves a double purpose in preventing weapons that are stolen out of homes from ending up on the street. I don't think trigger locks are the appropriate answer. But I think we must accept that in 2012, to own a gun pretty much means that you need to own a safe to store it in. Nothing is a failsafe, but it's a much better deterrent than what people have now. No assault weapons ban is going to work, especially considering the illegal gun trafficking that goes on in this country. We need to focus on mental healthcare reform, getting illegal guns off of the streets, better securing of our weapons, and closing the gun show loophole. I understand that the gun show loophole had nothing to with this tragedy, I just think it's long overdue. __________________ "If someone's personality changes when they carry a gun, they should leave it at home." - Catfishman