I wrote this back in 2021 but never finished it - because no one is listening.....
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The Rittenhouse verdict was yesterday. The case was filled with technicalities, one of the most important ones was the barrel size of the gun he had. I spent 18 months on a Federal Grand Jury, and we indicted many people BECASE they possessed a gun or carried over state lines. However, for some reason in Wisconsin, this was not looked at as illegal. A technicality - this was not a rifle used for hunting, it was a 30 round "assault" weapon. If the case had been tried in Illinois, the gun would have been illegal, but just across state line.....
Now some may question my calling it an "assault" rifle. Well I work with cars. We gave economy cars, crossovers, SUV's and we have muscle cars. If I parked 454 Chevelle next to a 6 cylinder Nova from the 70's, I don't think you would have a problem telling one from another. Just as if you put a hunting rifle next to AR15, would the average person, who has watched many movies in their lifetime, have a hard time pointing out which was which. Here is the first answer to the person's question "I don't know what to do". Write to your legislators, make sure they understand that technical things matter and how the laws are written makes a difference. Sometimes just patching a law makes things worse, sometimes they have to be completely rewritten. They have to be technically up to date and reviewed. In general we can talk about the spirit of the law, but in a trial the spirit takes a back seat to the words.
The second thing is a little more nuanced, but just as important. If you asked any Police Chief or Law Enforcement official, if in the middle of a Protest that turned violent, if he would want armed, untrained civilians interjected into that situation, I would expect the answer to be no. That person would only make the situation more dangerous and the job of the police more difficult. So there should be laws against vigilante involvement. This is different than protecting your property. If Mr. Rittenhouse was on a single property he had a personal connection to, or was being paid to guard that property, then it would be different. If he was in a bank during a holdup and was legally authorized to own a gun, that should be a different situation. But we have laws against inciting a riot, and what he did was different that equipping a fireman with a flam thrower. So here is your second thing.
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We continue to fight about IF anything can be done and nothing gets done.
Several cliche's come to mind:
If you do (or don't) do the same thing over and over again, and expect a different result, that is the definition of Insanity.
The longest journey starts with the first step.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, give a man a gun and you will live in fear the rest of your life.
Sorry, just made that last one up.
What to do?
First, realize we live in the 21st century, not the 1700s
Second, realize that we have more guns than people.
Third - there is no thing as an illegal gun. No gun manufacturer is dealing in the black market. Criminals get guns either through straw buyers, legal buyers who traffic guns or stolen guns.
Fourth - understand that Americans have a wild west mentality that anything and everything can be solved with a gun.
So what can we do? Here are some things that maybe we can agree on or maybe discuss.
A. Not everyone is responsible to have a gun. Youth, emotionally unstable and untrained people come to mind.
B. We need a national system or stricter laws as too many crimes are caused by guns trafficked across state lines.
C. We need waiting times and better background checks. No gun without training and observation.
D. Gun owners should have insurance.
E. Penalties for mishandling of guns should be stiffer. Having a gun stolen is not an accident - it is carelessness. Having someone unqualified to have access to your gun is criminal.
F. Certain guns should not be available for the general populace.
No problem is solved without effort and sometimes mistakes. The longer we wait, the more the problem will grow and the longer it will last.
Unfortunately, I feel nothing will happen until everyone is touched with a tragedy.
Reading Material
National Firearms Commerce and Trafficking Assessment (NFCTA): Crime Guns - Volume Two
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