In order to bring some

[billh58]

objectivity and clarification to the gun control "war" on DU, I would like to offer the following video of a Bill Maher segment and a discussion between Sam Harris and Cory Booker concerning gun control. Both sides make compelling arguments, but seem to be in agreement on the need for addressing the immediate causes of gun violence in our streets. It is around 11 minutes, but I believe that it will be time well spent.

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Reduction of gun violence is also the goal of this safe haven Group, as is presenting facts from reputable sources without the inevitable extremist background noise and NRA "talking points" which do absolutely nothing but fan the flames of derision and vitriol.

Denial that the American gun lobby is primarily an extremist right-wing movement is to deny what is readily apparent when looking at various levels of government and their political makeup where the most extreme elements of neoconservatism have used the Second Amendment as an excuse to sell more guns, while reducing gun ownership responsibilities.

Banning of certain lethal weapons is already an established practice and has been found to be Constitutional. A general ban on firearms is not a viable solution to gun violence, but curtailing their easy availability by certain elements of our society is a worthwhile goal. Additional measures could include some forms of licensing, registration, and tracking.

[flamin lib]

1. k&r

[u

[flamin lib]

2. I liked that exchange.

As background, I own rather a lot of guns. Only one designed after 1890. I bought one for each of my grand children for when they turn 18 if they are interested in such things. A neighbor's child comes here after school and the first thing I did was tell them that there were guns in the house and showed them the gun safe bolted to the wall, the ammunition stored in locked boxes and the keys to both stored in a remote part of the house.

Baning by description is pretty useless. Hell, paint it purple and it ain't an assault weapon anymore.

Guns don't Kill people, people kill people--with guns. Background checks on all people buying guns. Training for all people buying guns. Mandatory storage requirements for all people owning guns. Mandatory casualty insurance for all people owning guns (don't have it myself as nobody issues it currently).

Control who owns guns. Drunken wife beaters don't need to own guns.

[billh58]

3. You are among the

majority of responsible American gun owners, and thankfully a Democrat. The right-wing Second Amendment absolutist gun lobby is a very vocal minority of extremists who, unfortunately, have the political power (ALEC/NRA/Koch Brothers) to intimidate politicians and sway elections in their favor. They practice this un-American form of political abuse under the guise of both the Second Amendment and "personhood."

I believe that if we can separate the neoconservatives from the gun violence issue, we could easily reach an agreement on steps which will address the problem of too many guns showing up in the wrong hands. The devil is in the details...