floatsinwater

I think the term "gun rights" is very misleading, at least in the US where the second amendment guarantees the right to bear arms. The real issue IMO is that most gun owners are responsible, but it only takes a small population of idiots to cause a lot of damage. The key issues of gun control aren't debated because the extremists on both sides drag the fight into a gun BAN, which inevitably ends in a stalemate because of (you guessed it) the 2nd amendment. When a healthy discussion devolves into "no no no no don't touch my guns" and "just get rid of all of 'em because you don't need 'em," nothing ever gets done. What we SHOULD be discussing in my opinion are things like: 1) efficacy of background checks with data to support claims 2) improving and regulating gun safety education 3) improving tracking/registration of guns sales 4) punitive measures for sellers that allow guns ending up in gangs due to negligence BUT I don't think there will be change anytime soon. It only takes 1 idiot for sht to hit the fan and the debate devolves to playground antics. IMO our short term goals would be (3) and (4) because the gangs are getting their guns from *somewhere. The notorious "fast and furious" debacle proves how ineffective our current tracking system is.