Banning guns isn’t an option because of the 2nd Amendment.
Repealing the 2nd Amendment isn’t an option because you need 290 votes in the house, 67 votes in the Senate and 38 States to ratify the change.
Confiscating 400 million guns? Do you really trust the GOP to go house to house taking guns away?
Look, it just happened this morning so we don’t know EVERYTHING yet. The Chief of Police has said the shooter had no criminal record and bought the guns legally, assuming they had no mental health history that would have barred them, what do you want the GOP to do?
Agreed, which we don’t do either. In the case of this most recent shooting though, the shooter was of age, had no criminal record, and bought the guns legally… sooo… ? How do you prevent that?
Unless something comes up, as it has with other shooters, that she had some sort of mental breakdown that didn’t get reported to the background check system, there is no way to prevent it.
His background has more red flags than a mayday parade, but because none of it went through a court and a judge, none of it appeared on his background report and he was able to buy guns legally.
“At this time, a school resource officer suggested[24] he undergo an involuntary psychiatric examination under the provisions of the Baker Act. Two guidance counselors agreed, but a mental institution did not.[25] State investigators reported he had depression, autism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and had a history of attempting suicide. However, psychologist Frederick M. Kravitz later testified that Cruz was never diagnosed with autism.[26] In their assessment, the investigators concluded he was “at low risk of harming himself or others”.[27] He had previously received mental health treatment, but had not received treatment in the year leading up to the shooting.[8]”
Maybe implement a voluntary gun buyback program and tighten up gun laws like Australia? Might not have prevented this case, but it’s better than the old “we’ve tried nothing and we’re all out of ideas” approach.
Why? The prices offered are generally so low all they attract are ancient, unused firearms.
If you look at Australia’s plan, they made most guns illegal and requested they be turned in which still only removed some 20% of available guns from the market, some 650,000 guns.
To get a similar result, the US would need to run the program with the same level of effectiveness 123 times.
Even then, 20% of Americas 400 million guns would be 80 million, we don’t have the logistics to collect and dispose of 80 million ANYTHING, much less guns.
Removing 20% of Americas guns would still leave 320 million guns out there. America is not Australia.
Thanks for the info. I know we’re in a league of our own, but the numbers are interesting and sobering.
Maybe we should consider going in the opposite direction? Require gun safety and firearms training in elementary, middle, and high school; implement first time gun buyer programs for qualifying low income Americans; ban all concealed carry permits; allow firearms in your carry-on at the airport.
I’m being facetious, but California’s Mulford Act shows Republicans can pass gun control laws if they’re terrified that their outgroups are also armed. Though I’m sure a similar law today would be entirely partisan and only apply to their opposition or something. As a sidenote, I do think everyone should have at least a basic education in gun safety.
I’d love to see training programs, not just on safety but basic maintenance, cleaning, field stripping, that sort of thing.
There are millions of guns that simply are not safe to use and their owners have NO CLUE.
I admit, I was one of them. When my father and grandfather passed away, I inherited their guns. I took my grandfathers deer rifle to a local armorer to get it checked out because I wasn’t qualified to do it.
Turned out, that particular make and model (Remington 721) had a known problem with the trigger that could cause it to misfire without touching the trigger.
Serious question:
What do you want the GOP to do?
Banning guns isn’t an option because of the 2nd Amendment.
Repealing the 2nd Amendment isn’t an option because you need 290 votes in the house, 67 votes in the Senate and 38 States to ratify the change.
Confiscating 400 million guns? Do you really trust the GOP to go house to house taking guns away?
Look, it just happened this morning so we don’t know EVERYTHING yet. The Chief of Police has said the shooter had no criminal record and bought the guns legally, assuming they had no mental health history that would have barred them, what do you want the GOP to do?
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/27/us/robin-westman-minneapolis-church-shooting-suspect
“A search of state court records showed no criminal history for Westman, but some traffic citations in 2021.”
https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-church-shooter-guns-permits/601462465
“Church shooter legally purchased rifle, pistol and shotgun”
If you leave it up to the GOP I guarantee their reaction will be to declare LGBTQ+ a mental illness and bar them from gun ownership based on that.
Why is it always straight to banning guns and “taking 400 million guns” when people say “what do you expect them to do?”
Gun control doesn’t mean taking away all guns, it means making sure that the people that have them are properly trained and responsible.
Agreed, which we don’t do either. In the case of this most recent shooting though, the shooter was of age, had no criminal record, and bought the guns legally… sooo… ? How do you prevent that?
Unless something comes up, as it has with other shooters, that she had some sort of mental breakdown that didn’t get reported to the background check system, there is no way to prevent it.
Look at the Parkland shooter:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolas_Cruz
His background has more red flags than a mayday parade, but because none of it went through a court and a judge, none of it appeared on his background report and he was able to buy guns legally.
“At this time, a school resource officer suggested[24] he undergo an involuntary psychiatric examination under the provisions of the Baker Act. Two guidance counselors agreed, but a mental institution did not.[25] State investigators reported he had depression, autism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and had a history of attempting suicide. However, psychologist Frederick M. Kravitz later testified that Cruz was never diagnosed with autism.[26] In their assessment, the investigators concluded he was “at low risk of harming himself or others”.[27] He had previously received mental health treatment, but had not received treatment in the year leading up to the shooting.[8]”
You prevent that by funding mental health services and promoting a culture that encourages people to get help
+ mandatory reporting. People who need help the most wont seek it on their own.
They will just ignore it with some LGBTQ nonsense or immigration crap. All they do is deflect.
Maybe implement a voluntary gun buyback program and tighten up gun laws like Australia? Might not have prevented this case, but it’s better than the old “we’ve tried nothing and we’re all out of ideas” approach.
Gun buybacks don’t work.
https://journalistsresource.org/health/gun-buybacks-what-the-research-says/
Why? The prices offered are generally so low all they attract are ancient, unused firearms.
If you look at Australia’s plan, they made most guns illegal and requested they be turned in which still only removed some 20% of available guns from the market, some 650,000 guns.
https://www.rand.org/research/gun-policy/analysis/essays/1996-national-firearms-agreement.html
To get a similar result, the US would need to run the program with the same level of effectiveness 123 times.
Even then, 20% of Americas 400 million guns would be 80 million, we don’t have the logistics to collect and dispose of 80 million ANYTHING, much less guns.
Removing 20% of Americas guns would still leave 320 million guns out there. America is not Australia.
Thanks for the info. I know we’re in a league of our own, but the numbers are interesting and sobering.
Maybe we should consider going in the opposite direction? Require gun safety and firearms training in elementary, middle, and high school; implement first time gun buyer programs for qualifying low income Americans; ban all concealed carry permits; allow firearms in your carry-on at the airport.
I’m being facetious, but California’s Mulford Act shows Republicans can pass gun control laws if they’re terrified that their outgroups are also armed. Though I’m sure a similar law today would be entirely partisan and only apply to their opposition or something. As a sidenote, I do think everyone should have at least a basic education in gun safety.
I’d love to see training programs, not just on safety but basic maintenance, cleaning, field stripping, that sort of thing.
There are millions of guns that simply are not safe to use and their owners have NO CLUE.
I admit, I was one of them. When my father and grandfather passed away, I inherited their guns. I took my grandfathers deer rifle to a local armorer to get it checked out because I wasn’t qualified to do it.
Turned out, that particular make and model (Remington 721) had a known problem with the trigger that could cause it to misfire without touching the trigger.
https://youtu.be/NlzoMqtDUxs#t=3m57s
They cleaned it up and replaced the trigger mechanism, should be good for another 70 years.