To the leftwing I would say: Freedom isn't safe, there's always risk in freedom. You have to accept some aspects of risk and danger with freedom.
To the rightwing I would say: Tyranny and shooting people isn't a freedom, so stop selling guns to crazy people. If you can take away a felon's God-given right to vote as a citizen, then you can not sell guns to every nutcase who wants one. And if you think YOU are the nutcase they won't sell to. Maybe you shouldn't own a gun.
@Dreaw404 Gun control should be done through safety courses which have to be re-done regularly and strict licenses. Also, any violent crime of any kind should be an automatic lifetime ban on weapons, forever.
For the most part, I actually like Canada's model of gun control.
@quinnsentialOne agree. States with stricter laws and training requirements have better outcomes.
@quinnsentialOne high risk individuals can be put on statewide terrorism lists. However, it takes someone if authority to do that once the person is identified. Depending on how (or if) permits are granted in a state and local jurisdictions, there might not be any mechanism to even know a persons psychological status. And most mass shooters have character traits such as rage, misogyny, substance mis/use and depressive issues but not MI. Thanks for posting this. Tough topic for sure.
@Dreaw404 Also, I'm super wary of anyone who open carries something like an AR-15 in public that isn't a gun-related event.
To me, just doing that means something ain't right.
@quinnsentialOne this is very challenging to do in practice. Mental illness alone does not increase your risk of violence. In fact, those with severe and persistent mental illness are statistically far more likely to be a victim. While red flag laws help, many jurisdictions are just starting to implement the processes necessary to execute. Who takes the firearms, where are they stored, for how long, who authorizes them to be returned? Many psychiatrists don’t want to authorize return.