change is good!

[wellarmedsmurf]

Well, that didn't take long.

As president, Barack Obama would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information, and give police officers across the nation the tools they need to solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade. Obama and Biden also favor commonsense

Comments

[bride2bee24]

Ok, so I may be a dummy, but it seems to me that giving law enforcement the ability to track down the illegal guns traded would be smarter than sweeping gun control laws aimed at making it harder to obtain guns, which pro-gun people always say doesn't do anything but make it harder for law-abiding citizens to protect themselves.

What do you suggest is the best way to keep guns out of the hands of criminals while making sure law-abiding citizens can enjoy their second amendment right?

[wellarmedsmurf]

you're making the mistake of believing the talking point PR, and not what these things really mean. police already have the ability to trace down guns used in a crime; the Tiahrt amendment means they can only request that information with some measure of evidence for an actual investigation and people can't just use the database for a fishing expedition...much like one can't just look through mental health or tax records hoping to find a lead

[bride2bee24]

The right question is how do we prevent violent crime at all.I think improving education and fighting poverty would be a start. Crime is way more complicated than "bad guy gets gun, bad guy uses gun." There's all sorts of things that play into it, socioeconomic factors, educational factors, mental health care, biology, upbringing, etc. There's a root to the problem, just like terrorism. When people grow up in shitty conditions and are indoctrinated with hate and insane ideologies, is it any wonder they grow up to commit violent acts against others? I dunno, I think there's a lot to be said for programs (be it non-profit, religious, or governmental) that aim at early intervention for children who are clearly at risk to commit violent crimes if their situation doesn't improve. And then if that doesn't work, I'm a fan of making sure violent offenders aren't given a chance to do it again (ie, if you break into someone's home and rape them, you aren't out on parole in 2 years). It'd be nice if we could sterilize some pieces of shit who

[3fgburner]

Note that that's 21 years after Roe V Wade. Fewer unwanted kids being born. (paraphrasing from Freakonomics)

[wellarmedsmurf]

All true...but its easier to take the cop out like Obama did. Clinton's crime bill actually did a lot more than the ban, which might have helped the violent
crime rate as well. (though personally I agree with 3fgburner).

though another interesting point...in 1994 there were significantly more "assault weapons on the street" than ever before since manufacturers ramped up production to get as many out as they could before the ban hit. which kind of proves "assault weapons" were never a problem in the first place if crime started dropping when they were at their highest point. ;)