A few solutions to reducing gun violence.

[Heeeeers Johnny]

1) Harsher penalties for straw purchasers, and stricter enforcement of those laws.

2) Reporting stolen firearms after a set amount of time upon discovering ones firearms were stolen.

3) Harsher penalties for convicted felons found in possession of a firearm.

4) Additional prison time if that person possessed and/or used a firearm in the course of gang
involvement, and/or activity.

Why or why wouldn't you support any of those suggestions?

[BlackLivesMatter]

1. Most of the mass shootings occurred with people legally able to buy guns

I'll concede most shootings are not mass shootings, but going after straw purchasers is only going to do so much to reduce gun violence.

[pipoman]

12. Mass shootings are a small fraction of "gun violence"...

By far most murders are single victims usually killed by a person ineligible to own or possess a gun..

[lancer78]

2. One and two I agree with

three and four already exist. If the penalties become too harsh, they can be challenged by a "cruel and unusual punishment" challenge.

FYI, none of those four would have stopped a mass shooting as mass shooters acquire their guns legally.

[ManiacJoe]

10. #3 and #4 are always the first things traded away in plea bargains.

[Kelvin Mace]

3. Well, a few points

1) You have to catch them to punish them.

2) Not quite sure what you are doing here. Are you making it mandatory to report a stolen weapon with a certain time frame under penalty of prosecution? If so, again, pretty hard to prove.

3) There are already pretty harsh penalties for this.

4) What makes such activity any worse than possession of a firearm during the course of any other crime? Is it worse to be a gang member in possession of a firearm than a wife-beater in possession of a firearm?

[Lee-Lee]

4. One change to the first is mandated prosecution of those who straw purchase or try to buy illegally

Because prosecution rates for cases of straw purchases are horribly low with the BATF rarely actually doing it. I handed them a fully documented case wen I was a deputy and they never acted once they realized she didn't have any ties to bigger crime they could exploit her to investigate.

Hell, the girlfriend who bought the guns for Columbine was never prosecuted.

On top of that less than 1% of people who commit a Federal Felony attempting to buy a gun who get denied are prosecuted. And unless the denial was an error they committed perjury by signing the form swearing they had no disqualifying history before the background check call was made.

So a felon or person with restraining order or history of mental health problems commission a crime attempting to buy a gun and they are just sent back out on the street with no intervention, still wanting a gun.

In 2010 over 80,000 people were denied by the NICS system. Only 44 were prosecuted. The rest were prohibited persons known to have just commited an easily prosecuted crime, actively seeing firearms, let go free with no action.

[ManiacJoe]

11. The Columbine girlfriend and seller were both sent to jail for the illegal sale.

According to media reports.

[Eleanors38]

5. A better approach: Solutions to reducing violence.

[Fresh_Start]

6. No guns in the hands of people who are the subject of a restraining order

by their spouse or significant other.

[maxsolomon]

7. Harsher penalties aren't going to deter any gun violence

We're awash in a sea of firearms at this point. The only thing that will lower the level of violence is FEWER GUNS in the hands of the populace, and that's not occurring anytime soon.

Registration, Licensing, active Militia responsibilities as a condition of Licensing, onerous taxation of weapons and ammunition, and long, long, long waiting periods. We need lots and lots of Infringements.

It will take 40 years to change this culture. It took 40 years to change it to what we see today.

[forthemiddle]

8. 100% support

From this "gun humper"!

[mwrguy]

9. Those are a good start

I still want a gun-free society, but every incremental step helps.

[pipoman]

13. #4 is akin to crack cocaine carrying a more harsh penalty than powder...

There are ways for the government to prosecute gangs engaged in illegal activity. This suggestion would make killing while being a young black or mexican male more harsh than a whute kid based on who he associates with...