Poll
Is it time to create stricter Gun Control Laws?
In the wake of the horrible Arizona shooting that claimed 6 lives and 13 other injuries, including brain-injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D), is it time to finally restrict gun ownership? The gun that was used held a 31-bullet clip (or, 33 rounds ), something banned in 6 states. Does anyone need that many bullets to stop a burglar? One thing is frightfully clear, the greatest number of shootings, per capita, occur in states with the weakest gun laws, according to the CDC.  Arizona is #5 on this list, but the list is from 2004, when gun laws were stronger. The NY Times says: "Like most states, Arizona does not regulate the use of large-capacity
ammunition magazines, like the one used in Saturday's shooting. A
federal ban expired in 2004, and only a handful of states now limit
magazines to a maximum of 10 rounds, in most cases." The Second Amendment (one version, anyway ) reads: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free
State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be
infringed." For the uninitiated, it's worth watching this short clip to see just how fast a Glock 19 fires bullets: What does this mean to you? What should it mean today? How do we stop from being one of the most dangerous countries on Earth? *** UPDATE **** Several people have called to my attention that the Glock shown in the video is a full automatic and the one used in the Tuscon shooting was a semi-automatic. OK, while I don't profess to be an expert on guns, it is important to note that Loughner was "interrupted" in his shooting spree only when he reloaded. That is, when he had to change his 30, 31, or 33 round (yes, sources I've seen can't even seem to agree on the number of rounds available in an extended clip) magazine. Presumably, he was able to fire rapidly enough that he could not be safely interrupted until he had to reload. So, I'm not sure there is a distinction with a meaningful difference between automatic and semi-automatic, in practice. Still, since it does look different than the video I uploaded, here is another much longer video that shows all kinds of Glock models. You can judge for yourself. I also added a new choice to the poll based on requests - to ban all guns for everyone. A bit late to change the results, but please feel free to comment.
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Scott Baker is a Managing Editor & The Economics Editor at Opednews, and a former blogger for Huffington Post, Daily Kos, and Global Economic Intersection.
His anthology of updated Opednews articles "America is Not Broke" was published by Tayen Lane Publishing (March, 2015) and may be found here:
http://www.americaisnotbroke.net/
Scott is a former and current President of Common Ground-NY (http://commongroundnyc.org/), a Geoist/Georgist activist group. He has written dozens of (more... )