LISTENING TO NPR as I was on the road this morning I was told the Democrats in Congress have an idea to solve the gun problem in the U.S.
If only those Republicans in the Senate and White House won’t sabotage it.
WHAT IS THE DEMS PLAN?
They want to disarm anyone who “poses a threat” to others.
On the surface — at first blush — that seems an excellent idea, one that the senators and the president should give serious consideration.
I hope they will give the Dems’ plan “serious consideration” since it would lead to almost constant abuse.
PROBLEM NO. 1 WHAT defines “posing a threat”? Waving a gun in a public area is a threat; almost everyone will agree on that. But is saying “I’m gong to shoot/kill you” a real threat. It could be. Then again, it might not be.
PROBLEM NO. 2 WHO can make a complaint? The issue here is a bad neighbor who wants to make trouble for someone calls the police and reports that “my neighbor poses a threat to my well being.”
The cops respond and must make a decision: Is the neighbor’s complaint valid; what did the other person say or do to cause the neighbor to call the cops? Does the complaint fall within the guidelines set forth by some government body?
Assuming the cops determine that the person poses a threat to the neighbor and they take the person into custody, who rules on the matter? Which leads to . . .
PROBLEM NO. 3 Can the courts handle the additional case load of both real and just vicious complaints? The courts are crowded enough.
If the court DOES find the neighbor’s complaint is justified, how will the person be punished? A small fine, a few days in the municipal lock-up, six months at the county farm, or a stint at a state or federal penitentiary? How many new facilities will be needed?
POSE A THREAT is a knee-jerk reaction that sounds good but one that the Democrats have not thought out.
If I have a sidearm in a gun safe in my home, am I posing a threat to my neighbors?
Hardly.
I drive my car into a county with a high murder rate. My gun is concealed per my concealed carry license. Am I posing a threat to people on the street?
Not with the gun
I have a gun tucked under my shirt at worship services. Am I a threat to other worshipers?
Hardly.
I AM a threat to anyone who would attack me or my family and that is intentional. That’s why I have the sidearm and the concealed carry license.
TRUE STORY An elderly (~90) woman lives in the subdivision. She saw two very small (2 and 3 year old) children fishing with their father at one of the on-site ponds. Thy were not on her property.
According to all reports, she came out of her home, screaming at the man and his children, threatening to kill the children and waving a gun to do just that. Fortunately the father, who had a concealed carry license, drew his sidearm and the woman wisely retreated back into her house.
The cops were called. They took the woman into custody and collected her weapons (plural). They apparently did not “Baker Act” the woman (send her for a 72 hour psychiatric evaluation), Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for such situations.
Had she been “Baker Acted,” she would have to surrender all her firearms and she would have been prevented from legally buying replacements. The final chapter of this drama has yet to be written, but she now is infamous throughout the subdivision.
I AGREE with the Democrats that “something” must be done to reduce violent crimes. Not just gun-related crime but ALL violent crimes — people are murdered with knives, axes, and other blades; they are murdered with vehicles; some are murdered by poison, and others are garroted to death.
Check out shooting statistics in places where guns are either prohibited or highly restricted. They should be zero or near zero. But they are not. They are not because anyone who wants a gun — sidearm or assault rifle — can find a seller someplace.
On the other hand, I am told that since Texas allowed open carry (where guns are worn openly), the rate of gun-related crime has dropped 50%. I have not confirmed this.
BOTTOM LINE The Democrats knee jerk reaction deserves consideration; the idea of taking guns away from people who threaten others is a start, but such a law is fraught with pitfalls that need to be resolved.
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