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2. Alex M. Sullivan- 27 years old, celebrating his birthday with the premiere of The Dark Knight Rises.
3. John T. Larimer- 27 years old, just joined the Navy in 2011.
4. Jessica Ghawi-24 years old, who blogged about recently surviving a shooting in Toronto.
5.Matt Mcquin-27 years old. Saved his girlfriend by protecting her from the shooting.
6. Veronica Moser-Sullivan-6 years old. Too young to ever have been taken from this world.
7.Jonathan Blunk-26 years old. Protected his friend Jansen Young from being shot. Served 3 tours in the Persian Gulf, and North Arabian Sea between 2004-2009.
8. Micayla Medek-23 years old. A young college student, her parents had to wait to find out if she was okay, later to find out she had been killed in the shooting.
9. Rebecca Wingo-32 years old. A hardworking girl, making her way through community college to earn her degree.
10.Gordon Cowden-51 years old. The oldest victim of the shooting, was a loving family man who took his two teenage children to the late night premiere of the movie.
11. Alexander Teves-24 years old. Hardworking man, who just earned his Masters Degree, and at one point “had grown his hair over 10 inches to donate it to Locks for love.” said the family. He also pushed his girlfriend to the floor when the shooting happened and died in the process of protecting her.
12. Jesse E. Childress-29 year old. Served in the Air Force, was a loving friend and family man."
Not to mention the beating of this dead horse.
Before I get flamed, yes, I get it. 2nd amendment, right to self defense, etc. But this law was written back when the US was barely a country and guns were in their infancy. Now that we have high powered, easily concealable weapons, is changing some laws such a bad idea?
*Edit. The guy who did this had no mental health history. He was a very intelligent med school student so I doubt he had any trouble whatsoever getting a legally licensed weapon.
Let's try not to make life even harder than it already is for mentally ill people by taking away their right to own a weapon that could very possibly save their lives or save them from great harm, after all "More than one quarter of persons with SMI had been victims of a violent crime in the past year, a rate more than 11 times higher than the general population rates."
Yes, there are a few specific disorders which are inherently linked with violence, however it should relieve you to know that, under Federal Law, "Any person who has been 'adjudicated as a mental defective' or 'committed to a mental institution' is prohibited under Federal Law from shipping, transporting, receiving, or possessing any firearm or ammunition." Which is the legislation already in place for these specific set of mental illnesses.
Also, I should point out that, gun laws have changed many times since the 2nd amendment was written.
EDIT: But please, we really shouldn't turn this post into a gun control debate.
As for self defense,I've always had a couple of issues with this argument. If someone tries to shoot you chances are it'll be BEFORE you draw your weapon, from behind, in the dark, or at long range. In the case of a break-in it may help, but only if you can get your gun fast enough, and assuming the intruder isn't armed. Then if you have a gunsafe (as some people do, to keeps the kids from finding it) Then it's even more hassle.
All this aside, would making it harder to get a gun really so bad? The way I see it, I have to go through quite the process just to get a driver's license, and there's a reason. Cars are potentially dangerous, so you have to make sure the person is responsible/sane enough to drive well. Would it be so bad to apply the same logic to guns?
I know you didn't want to get an argument about guns going, but I felt like I needed to clarify my position on this. I'm not for banning guns, I'd just like to see them regulated more effectively. Sorry for the novel.
As for self defense, yes, if someone wants to kill you and has the element of surprise on their side, they'll likely succeed even if they do not have a gun. However, for other types of violent crime such as robbery, it is not unreasonable to think that the person being robbed would be able to save their property, their life, or another's life through use of a gun.
You do not have to go through a rigorous process to obtain a drivers license at all, unless you are under 18. When I got my first license at 19, all I did was take an online course for $70 and submitted the test results to the DMV. Didn't have to take a driving test with someone in the car, nor had I ever taken any classes prior to that online course. I did not even have a temporary permit before being issued my first license.
Currently, our gun laws are set up the same way. It is adults only(18+ or 21+ depending on gun type and state). You take a test, they do a background check, and you can then possess a gun. Some states require additional steps such as a safety demonstration for certain types of guns. There are extra steps to getting a concealed carry license.
That easy? For our driving tests we need to take a written learners permit test, then have 6 months of having a permit (3 if you want to shell out 600-800$ for driver's ed) Then you have to pass a driving test (50$ each) with no less than 45 demerit points and they cut you no slack at all. I honestly had no idea it was so easy to drive in the US, your gun laws are starting to make sense all of a sudden. XD
As for Gun laws here in Canada, you aren't even allowed to legally own anything full-auto of concealable. (But acquiring basic hunting shotguns/rifles is easy enough as long as you're 18 and without a criminal record.) This is where some of my frustration comes from, it's be easier for me to get a gun in my province than a driver's license. I've never needed a gun in my life, but I can think of several occasions where being able to drive is a godsend.
I know that it tends to vary state by state (bit of a brain fart earlier) I'm just used to laws like this being nationwide with where I live and all.
Remember guns are tools that people use. The people kill other people. Guns just make it easier.
All regulation has ever done and ever will do it regulate guns from the law abiding people. Criminals don't care about the law, only the good people do.
For self defense all i have to say is you must be able to defend yourself. Please see the following link;
http://www.clipcartel.com/Old-Man-Chases-Robbers-Out-Of-Cafe-With-Gun-video.4338.html
/> I sleep with a AUG A3 with a beta mag under my bed. On my wife's side of the bed is a 12 gauge shotgun. I hope GOD takes pity on the guy who makes the mistake of breaking into our home, we won't.