I would agree that the proximal issue is how easy it is to illegally obtain guns, but I think the solution to that is just reduce the availability of guns for those who don’t need them, are on the fence about buying, won’t take the responsibility seriously, etc. I think the problem is how overly normalized gun ownership is, and how unseriously it’s taken. The solution just has to be more barriers to entry to ensure the people getting them are (on average) more serious about safety and responsibility. I also agree about the handguns thing.
I wholeheartedly agree, to a point. I don’t think it’s good to stipulate a “need”, and I have no problem with gun ownership being normalized, but you hit the nail on the head with the lack of seriousness. As darkly hilarious as it is, the fact that I’ve visited someone’s home where they literally just had a loaded handgun in a fruit bowl on the kitchen table was frankly disgusting to me, and certainly highlights how many people will buy a firearm but just really don’t understand the responsibility, and it gives a lot of responsible gun owners a really bad image.
I make it a huge point to take people shooting, show them how to handle firearms responsibly, and try to get some education out there so they can not only handle themselves, but potentially call out irresponsible firearms behavior they may see and teach others.
I would agree that the proximal issue is how easy it is to illegally obtain guns, but I think the solution to that is just reduce the availability of guns for those who don’t need them, are on the fence about buying, won’t take the responsibility seriously, etc. I think the problem is how overly normalized gun ownership is, and how unseriously it’s taken. The solution just has to be more barriers to entry to ensure the people getting them are (on average) more serious about safety and responsibility. I also agree about the handguns thing.
I wholeheartedly agree, to a point. I don’t think it’s good to stipulate a “need”, and I have no problem with gun ownership being normalized, but you hit the nail on the head with the lack of seriousness. As darkly hilarious as it is, the fact that I’ve visited someone’s home where they literally just had a loaded handgun in a fruit bowl on the kitchen table was frankly disgusting to me, and certainly highlights how many people will buy a firearm but just really don’t understand the responsibility, and it gives a lot of responsible gun owners a really bad image.
I make it a huge point to take people shooting, show them how to handle firearms responsibly, and try to get some education out there so they can not only handle themselves, but potentially call out irresponsible firearms behavior they may see and teach others.