nobody is ever going to feel at ease so it’s simple ban guns.

I can not stress enough how unsettling it was to come home after being away for 5 years to hundreds of "NO GUNS ALLOWED" signs on businesses and buildings all over my quiet little town that I grew up in. 

And the worst part is that those stickers didn't do a damn thing to make me feel safer about being there because all you needed was one fucking "MUH RIGHTS" asshole to come in with anger issues, a trump tank top and a "Powerful need to express himself" to be quite possibly dead. 

The quickest and best solution right now is to get certain things governed at a country/federal level - Driving, Guns, Healthcare, Schools, Infrastructure, Public Services - and then allow the states to amend certain things to better suit their needs. 

A large portion of America's problems stem from the wild differences between states, which actually means the freedoms that same gun toting hypothetical murderer may be banging on about are actually whats keeping him from getting: The mental help he needs, Medical care in general, An actual good paying job, A nice place to live etc etc. 

At this point, in the US, I think it's more about how society function with guns than any sort of restriction. Banning any sort of weapons at this point is pointless. There are too many assorted weapons out there for control to be effective or worthwhile. Banning automatic weapons or small handguns, like in Canada for example, is not going to remove the ones already in peoples' possession. And it does not deal with the deeper issue of downright selfishness. 

As witnessed many times during the pandemic, a lot of people feel their individual rights trump those of society and other individuals. I feel the same about those who take weapons and shoot groups of people, they are selfish. Their right to have a weapon and roam freely (subsequently using that weapon) trumps that of their targets to be safe at school, the grocery store, movie theatre, concert etc. And the perpetrator's right to "bear arms" and act freely, trumps that of the lives of others. Somehow, as a society, people need to find empathy and compassion for their fellow human beings. The right to safety and living long, happy and healthy lives needs to be paramount. How will that happen? I have no idea. This is not a US problem solely, although the access to guns makes the problem worse. I see it every day, in my non-gun carrying country as well. People just do not give a fuck about others and it gets worse all the time. If people truly cared about other's, the bullying that pushes *some* of these people to act the way they do would stop. Mental health issues would not be intensified by societal  "norms". And the circle of hurt people hurt people might end. Idealistic view, I know. Not realistic, I also know.

There is obviously a problem with gun violence, but I do think it is rather difficult to craft laws in the US specifically without them being struck down in court. It is also very hard to wind back the clock considering how many weapons are out there,but with that said, if I was behind the wheel I would likely do the following in a strategy somewhat similar to taxing tobacco in encouraging behavior -

Install a massive tax rate on handguns and semi-automatic rifles (handguns would for instance now have a sticker price of perhaps $7,500+ initially, and these transactions would of course require an ID.)

These tax rates can be offset entirely and weapons would come down to a normal price by performing the following activities:

- Submitting to a mental health evaluation and criminal background check
- Showing a demonstrative knowledge of firearms, firearm safety and responsbility similar to a DMV exam. This particular point will require a routine renewal (a few years) to be eligible to continue receiving tax benefits.
- Demonstrating secure storage
- Submitting to a waiting period (at least a week or two)
- Ammunition would be taxed at a higher rate.

High capacity magazines and modifications that would allow for faster firing would be ideally banned but if found to be legal would be similarly taxed at an incredibly high rate that would make it out of reach for most, and fines would be aggressively enforced for people who attempt to circumvent this structure.  Financial incentives could also exist for manufacturers to ensure compliance (e.g. they could choose not sell the guns to dealers who allow for people to buy the guns even at full tax in exchange for some kind of incentive structure)

This is all also assuming much more funding in mental health funding and community support programs that focus on people's well being.  

My wife brought up a simple point for guns; not to restrict access of owning them, but to legally own said gun you need a license and have had been trained in using said gun before you can use it. I haven't gone too much into depth on the inner knickknacks of it all, but I'd say a license and having been trained in whatever guns you own would be one thing.

For the number of guns in the United States, banning them won't do anything more than just create a shitton more criminals out of the few responsible gun owners. Can't get rid of the ones already in possession. We just need to actually get to work on giving out mental health benefits to people, notice signs when they are there, and have congress start fucking doing small bills at a time than these massive 150-page bills with random shit in there that people will obviously vote no on.

Some states have a periodic safety inspection for vehicles and/or emissions testing to ensure the vehicles on the roads are not falling apart and causing accidents.

Obviously, having a periodic safety inspection for people making sure they are functional enough to carry weapons is a no-no for way too many reasons.

I do feel however that having a mandatory technical inspection of privately owned weapons could weed out a lot of bad actors and would also be a very lucrative business.

Carrying without a valid inspection certificate would result in your weapon getting confiscated and sent to the inspection agency, you'd then have to go pick it up and provide the same paperwork you would when buying from a registered dealer (as per state regulations).

Yes that would make it more expensive to own firearms, especially lots of them, but the state making something more expensive is nothing new.

Imagine though that in Texas they'd finally be able to keep those pesky electric bills down though if they had to pay per gun lol 

I’m not sure if this is true still, but there are actually more guns per capita in Canada with less murders. That was the case about 20 years ago, anyway.

On top of restricting who can get guns, they also restrict the type of guns you are able to purchase. No automatic rifles, no pistols. Hell, not even bulletproof vests. 
 

I’ve never really been a big gun guy.

this is a really difficult one for me because, as I'm from the UK, the very thought of being able to own a firearm is completly allien to me.

But I would have thought common sense would prevail when it comes to people with serious mental health issues and a history of violence should be red flagged.

But then is that unconstitutional?

It really is a difficult one to answser.

I would however, question why anyone would want to own an automatic weeapon, I mean there really is no need.

I don’t think it’s the type of person that’s going to help the situation - but I guess we can try.

definitely anyone convicted of violent crimes, likely people with meantal illess. People with ties to organized crime, people with addictions etc etc.

inreally think that the US needs to look at the type of guns they are allowed to sell more than anything, and really limit the amount that are out there.