Opuscula Obama's got it right About guns - almost

 

President Sneaky finally - finally got something almost right.

That is, I agree with his premise, but not his practice.

By the way, I am a gun owner and have a concealed carry license, but I just passed on an opportunity to join the NRA. (I'm a geezer but I didn't join AARP.)

Obungler is proposing to use executive orders to control gun sales. :

First thought: He is doing something Congress should have done years ago.

Second thought: Does the federal government have the right to trample on the States' prerogatives (with a national law - from POTUS or Congress)?

The president wants to require a five-day waiting period to buy a fire arm.

According to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence,the following states have waiting periods before a firearm is delivered to the buyer:

State	Wait Period	Comments
California	10 days	All guns
DC	10 days	All guns
Florida	3 days	Handguns
Hawaii	14 days	All guns
Illinois	See below	See below
	24 hours	Long guns (rifle, shotguns)
	72 hours	Handguns
Iowa	3 days	Handguns
Maryland	7 days)	Handguns
Minnesota	7 days	Hand guns & assault weapons
New Jersey	7 days	Handguns
Rhode Island	7 days	All guns

THE PROBLEM

The problem with waiting periods is they apply only to gun dealers.

If someone has a gun I want, say a Rossi Model R97206 .357 magnum with 6" barrel, and I connect with the owner outside of a gun store or gun show, we can make the transaction sans waiting period and background check. This, and simply stealing guns, is how criminals and juvenile-soon-to-be-criminals acquire weapons.

It is the misuse of firearms by criminals and criminals-in-the-making - murders in increasing numbers and drive-by assaults becoming commonplace - that prompt Obama's executive order threat.

In Florida, the background check to purchase a handgun is weak. The buyer fills in a seller-provided State form giving basic personal information and assures that the buyer complies with state law.

The information goes to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) where the information is reviewed and should be checked. No fingerprints, no mug shots; just the buyer's word.

Acquiring a concealed carry license (permit) is a more serious process. In addition to answering the usual questions applications must be fingerprinted by a law enforcement agency (city police, county sheriff). The prints are checked by the FDLE against an FBI database. The process can take two to three months.

I failed to hear the tv talking heads mention anything about restricting assault rifles, the AK-47s and AR-15s that seem to fall into the hands of drive-by shooters.

There is nothing wrong with an AK-47, AR-15/M-16, Uzi, or any other "assault" weapon providing it is not, and cannot be, converted to, a fully automatic weapon. I'm not certain the AK-47's 7.62*39mm or the AR-15's 5.56*44mm NATO round are suitable for big game hunting (although the AR-15 can be acquired in "big game" calibers), but does any hunter need a 30-round magazine (clip) to stop a deer? (If the hunter is THAT bad a shot I don’t want to be anywhere near the shooter.)

A number of states ban "assault" weapons and a few ban high-capacity magazines..

The knock on fully automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines, in my mind, applies equally to pistols and long-guns (rifles and shotguns).

While I hate to admit that Obama did ANYTHING right in his years in office, I have to give him a A-for-effort but an I for incomplete since his proposed executive order falls short in many respects.

I don't know of any way to absolutely preclude person-to-person gun sales (or to prevent gun thefts) nor am I sure that gun control should be a federal issue; the federal government already has usurped states' authority in too many ways.