Raise the age of gun ownership to 21

[Calculating]

This is some gun control I can actually agree with. If you're not old enough to buy a beer then you're not old enough to buy an assault weapon. It would at least give young people another three years to mentally mature before allowing them to buy the best weapons you can legally get. Teens are extremely emotional, hormonal, and all around poor candidates for gun ownership.

[In_The_Wind]

1. End the sale of assault weapons to everyone.

[Aristus]

2. Damn straight...

[Calculating]

3. No

Assault weapon is such an arbitrary definition. Is that any gun with scary features like pistol grips? Any gun with high cap magazines and semiautomatic fire? I own two guns which could be considered assault weapons and they have never assaulted anything except for some targets out in the desert.

[In_The_Wind]

5. There is no logical reason to own a rapid fire weapon.

[Calculating]

6. Self defense against multiple armed attackers

Not saying it's a common scenario, but it does happen.

[In_The_Wind]

7. I hope you never have to face that problem.

I own a handgun and have a carrying permit. I hope I never feel the reason to use it.

[Captain Stern]

17. I don't understand.

You are saying we should ban the sales of assault weapons because there is no logical reason to own a rapid-fire weapon.

Yet, you are also saying you own a handgun, and have a carrying permit.

If you have to reload your handgun every time you fire a shot, then what you are saying makes sense. If your gun holds more than one bullet, and it can fire a bullet every time you pull the trigger, then you essentially also own a rapid fire weapon.

[Mariana]

8. Please provide links to stories about incidents

in which people successfully defended themselves against multiple armed attackers with a rapid fire weapon.

[Calculating]

9. Google the following

Oklahoma man defends home against three teen home Invaders with ar15

[lagomorph777]

15. You've made my point - why the FUCK do teens (or anybody) have access to AR15???

How many #NRAROUBLES have you taken?

[Alea]

19. wait. wut? Did you google it? We also had a huge thread on it

with hundreds of replies and most replies were in agreement that the guy did the right thing. Even non gun owners didn't have a problem with what he did. There were a few that felt sorry for the poor masked, armed with knives and brass knuckles teens, but 95 percent or more were ok with it.

[lagomorph777]

47. Welcome to DU.

I don't feel sorry for any armed thug who suffers consequences from their actions.

But you are trying to divert from the actual issue, which is that guns are far too easy to obtain, which causes these situations in the first place.

Enjoy your #NRAROUBLES

[LanternWaste]

13. Shark attacks in North Dakota are not a common scenario either

Shark attacks in North Dakota are not a common scenario either. Yet there were two in the 20th century. So "it does happen..." for all the irrelevance of the that little bumper-sticker.

[petronius]

29. North Dakota shark attacks? Are you making that up or did it really happen (in

an aquarium or something)?

Please give me a link, so I can finally say--for the first time in over a decade--that I read something new or learned something on a DU gun thread!

[lagomorph777]

14. Good lord that's ridiculous.

The only reason there would ever be multiple armed attackers is that GUNS ARE TOO FUCKING EASY TO GET!

[DBoon]

26. or perhaps a charging rhinoceros

It *could* happen

[XRubicon]

27. Yes... and we decide what an assault rifle is.

Like pornography you know it when you see it.

[uponit7771]

40. Wow, another semantics position ... who wouldah thunk it :rolleyes:

[NickB79]

37. Just ban sales and transfer of high capacity magazines

Canada allows the ownership of assault weapons, but they don't have a problem with mass shootings.

Why? Possibly because rifle magazines can only hold 5 rounds max to be legal.

[In_The_Wind]

42. Sounds like Canada found a better solution.

Thank you for that information.

[Amishman]

41. We couldn't get it done when we controlled the government, it ain't happening now

A bill to raise the purchase age, and nothing more, could possibly get passed. Tell Feinstein to leave her poison pill amendments at home.

Passing a bill to ban anything is about as likely as Elon Musk launching tRump's orange ass into the sun. Fun to think about but it just ain't happening.

[Igel]

46. Given the damage to self and others,

end the sale of alcohol to everyone.

Then again, we tried that and it rather spectacularly failed.

Moreover, it wouldn't require a Constitutional convention. Or the kind of redefining of words that would allow "freedom" to mean "what's permitted and not objectionable" so that "freedom of the press" means "all the news somebody else thinks fit to print" and "freedom of speech" means "what every group finds not objectionable."

It's a slippery slope, that kind of redefining. Now, I hate slippery slope arguments. The most cogent discussion of them that I've read said that they usually fail because at some point there's a gut reaction or something else putting up a blockade on the slope that stops the slipping. However, legal arguments tended to avoid that because they're abstract.

Now, I found that last bit un-reassuring, because in many cases judges look at the inevitable logical conclusion and say "nuh-uh." Then SCOTUS sometimes confirms this. However, I fear that even more because the replacement of legal logic with a kind of legal "gut" leads to all sorts of caprice and whim, the leaps and contortions of which make Paganini's 24 seem trite and simplistic.

Best not to go that way. That way there be dragons.

[yallerdawg]

4. "Being necessary to the security of a free State" we should assume...

anyone who wants to buy a gun is mentally disturbed - and THAT is when the time-consuming, thorough background checks begin.

Like the time it takes getting security clearance in the White House.

[Alea]

10. Wow, no one here so far thinks the OP idea has merrit?

It's ban them all or nothing? No wonder we can't get anything done.

It's extremely hard to get any form of gun control regardless of party in power. It seems like what OP proposes is something both parties would easily go for. It's also the simplest , best first step I've seen proposed. It perfectly fits the "common sense" gun laws subject line but yet gets scoffed at.

[Calculating]

12. Thanks

Combine this idea with universal background checks and we might at least minimize the gun deaths in this country. Alternatively people can keep screaming about banning guns and ensure nothing gets done.

[oneshooter]

16. At 18 I went into the USMC.

I was STILL 18 when I was issued a M16a1 rifle. Should recruits be made to wait until they are 21 to complete their training?

[Alea]

24. The OP is about ownership

You and I were issued a M16, M4 in my case. Except on deployments, they were sitting in the arms room 99.99 percent of the time, and we didn't own them. No one is suggesting that someone below 21 should never fire a gun. There's nothing wrong with fathers shooting with sons and daughters, military before you're 21, and other shooting sports where teens shoot with adult supervision. That doesn't mean that having to be 21 years old to buy a gun is a bad idea.

[imanamerican63]

22. Banning military style weapons are the way to keep these...

mass shootings from happen. Age has nothing to do with who can own these weapons.

[DBoon]

28. both parties won't agree to it

but every reasonable person would, which is key

Yes I am saying one of our political parties is completely unreasonable

[LexVegas]

11. Ban guns. nt

[fescuerescue]

18. I think it should be 35 or 30

Except in case of national emergency such as the US being invaded.

[imanamerican63]

20. But, at age 18, you can join the military?

Raising the age is not the answer to problems. The only way is ban these military style weapons altogether!

This is like the raising of the legal age to drink and buy alcohol! Kids will still get access to what ever they want! Which is a huge problem too, along with all the products that have an age law.

[DavidDvorkin]

21. 121.

[dembotoz]

23. in wisconsin you can take your toddler hunting...clearly 21 will not pass here

[XRubicon]

25. Because no one over 21 ever committed mass murder with a semi automatic rifle

Rigghhht.

We are coming for your guns!

[Nevernose]

30. The kid in Florida was able to buy his guns at the store

As do a sizeable portion of school shooters. There’s a very good chance that, were guns not so readily available to a 19 year old, at least 17 people would be alive today.

[XRubicon]

32. Yes you are right, but we should include all ages in a ban of assault weapons

My point was we should ban for all ages not just under 21.

[Nevernose]

35. Sorry

My bad. I suppose we should compromise and do both.

[XRubicon]

36. No problem we agree.

[Binkie The Clown]

31. Young gunmen most often took their father's gun to commit their murders.

I'm sure their fathers were over 21.

[TNLib]

33. I've only know a couple of people with an AR15

One has a severe ADHD child and a bipolar wife neither are currently being treated. The gun owner is a right wing nutter, believing in crazy conspiracy theories. He has been chronically unemployed for several years and I suspect also has mental health issues. They live in a house that looks like something out of the show hoarders.

The other person that owned one, I was told also had mental health issues. But I'm uncertain if he actually does. But he definitely seemed to be obsessed with guns.

I personally don't know why any mentally healthy person would own an AR15.

[Nevernose]

38. My brother-in-law has several

ARs and handguns scattered all over the house, within easy reach of the kids, for “protection.”

There are 3000 people in his town; my in-laws collectively know every single one of them. There hasn’t been a murder since the Carter administration. But he needs to be able to access an AR15 within three seconds from anywhere in home.

[Nevernose]

34. You know why you dont see a lot of fully automatic weapons anymore?

Because gun bans work, at least if done correctly.

And if it were up to me, not only would the age for ownership be raised to 21, but you wouldn’t even be allowed to touch one until you were 15, licensed, and under direct parental supervision at all times — just like a car.

Both of these things can be achieved, at least in many states, by ballot initiatives.

[TenHouseCats]

39. Nah, my suggestion is better:

Let's just arm everyone in our schools. Not just teachers and administration, but all staff.

More importantly, it's time to arm ALL students. I'm thinking, at around third grade?

Not only would it make our children safe, but the NRA and the GOP would love it: just think about all the money to be made in designing child-sized guns that constantly needed upgrades as kids grew. And all the new jobs that would be created. Then there are the dues the NRA might collect.

Arggggh!

(Can't get the lovely sarcasm smilie to show up.)

[onethatcares]

44. grape vines do think alike.

the devices could be like "smart phones" and need mandatory upgrading every year.

Bro, you're on to something big.

Peace out.

[onethatcares]

43. A f....ing Men

and require an insurance policy to cover the weapons use.

[XRubicon]

45. My kids are dead but thank god the shooter had insurance...

[alarimer]

48. Nope

Ban it altogether, for everyone. Fuck guns and gun apologists.