How Obama will Lower Gun Crime

[TPaine7]

I just finished watching Obama in the forum. I was (and have been) impressed with his desire to inspire Americans to service.

I believe that one of the strongest factors driving crime is that we are--to far to great a degree--a nation of independent loners. Too many Americans have too few friends, too little sense of community, too little accountability.

Places where everyone knows everyone else's business can be stifling, true, but there is another side to that coin. People who know and care for you can have a much stronger influence on your behavior than any law. If a child has a huge extended family, she not only has a lot of love and support, she has less opportunities to get into "private" trouble. Of course, this is even more important for young testosterone laden males (there's no denying the fact that they commit the most violent crimes).

I especially like Obama's plan to pay $4,000 per year for community service. This will mean that inner city and poor youth will have more a shot at college. It's much easier to stay on the straight and narrow when there is an actual path to honest respectability.

If Obama inspires America to a new era of community mindedness, he will have a serious impact on crime. That will mean that less people will chose to purchase new guns, and less will choose to carry concealed. It may mean that America's concern with gun rights will wane. So be it.

In the best possible scenario, Obama will succeed in increasing community, lowering crime, and strengthening America, and while America will be less concerned with gun rights, the Supreme Court will set the right to "keep and bear arms" on an ironclad footing. That would be the best of both worlds.

As wrong, inconsistent, and unconstitutional as Obama's stated views are on the Second Amendment he is planning to attack violent crime, including gun crime, at its root. If he succeeds at this (and fails in any anti-gun adventures) he will be a truly great president.

[virginia mountainman]

1. K&R! NT

[jody]

2. I support Obama's goal but I do wonder how he will get volunteers for a program that will

require decades of unpaid service given the recent failed attempt in Philadelphia to get "10,000 MEN to act in a proactive manner by going into designated communities and deterring unwanted and illegal behavior."

IMO programs like the one attempted in Philadelphia has many of the properties of an "unarmed militia" to enforce domestic law as authorized in most state constitutions, e.g. Illinois and Pennsylvania

Has Chicago succeeded with a volunteer program to reduce crime?

I'm tired of avoiding the obvious; violent crime in large, densely populated areas with homicide rates around 15/100k versus homicide rates of around 3/100k in sparsely populated areas is domestic terrorism.

Why aren't we using our resources to fight homegrown terrorism that IMO threatens the safety and economic health of society much more than an ill defined al-Qaeda in the Middle-East.

When listening to political candidates I'm constantly reminded that "When all is said and done, more is said than done."

ON EDIT ADD:
Mea culpa TPaine7, in retrospect I've strayed far afield from your OP but I'll leave my post as is because it captures my thoughts on this day, 12 September 2008.

Sorry for what could be construed as hijacking your thread, that was not my intent.

Have a great day, :hi:

[iverglas]

6. what the HELL has this got to do with anything?

the recent failed attempt in Philadelphia to get "10,000 MEN to act in a proactive manner by going into designated communities and deterring unwanted and illegal behavior."

Oh look. It's African-American men failing. And it's jody posting about it.

Was this a GOVERNMENT program that included PAYING the participants? No? Didn't think so.

http://obamain08.wordpress.com/2008/02/26/change-in-america-by-obama-in-08/

(Oh look! a pro-Obama website! They DO exist after all!)

Require 100 Hours of Service in College: Obama will establish a new American Opportunity Tax Credit that is worth $4,000 a year in exchange for 100 hours of public service a year.

("Require"? I don't know whether that's accurate. If it is, I would oppose it. I take it to mean "require" if someone wants the $4,000. So the poor get to work for their postsecondary education while the rich don't have to, but at least they might get one.)



I'm tired of avoiding the obvious; violent crime in large, densely populated areas with homicide rates around 15/100k versus homicide rates of around 3/100k in sparsely populated areas is domestic terrorism.

Why aren't we using our resources to fight homegrown terrorism that IMO threatens the safety and economic health of society much more than an ill defined al-Qaeda in the Middle-East.

Maybe jody has a proposal to make, since he doesn't seem to like Obama's.

Or maybe jody just wanted to insinuate something about African-Americans ... oops, I mean urban -Americans ... again.

Besides. I thought all those, uh, urban homicides were just undesirables killing one another off ...



typo fixed

[jody]

3. K&R n/t

[iiibbb]

4. Addressing the socioeconomic issues is definitely the best first step

[spin]

5. Attacking the root causes of viiolence is admirable...

This is a good example of the "change" that Obama talks about.

Feel good legislation such as the Assault Weapons Ban solves nothing and costs Democrats elections.

I have great hope that this man will actually try to solve problems rather than merely promote the failed ideas of the past.

[jeepnstein]

7. I like!

You can either swat at mosquitoes or drain the swamp. It takes vision to look to fixing a problem instead of just making everyone miserable.