GUNS DON'T KILL PEOPLE, OR DO THEY?

[HairOfTheDog]

Hair, to me gun control and addressing mental health issues are two separate issues.

Regulating the sale, use and ownership of guns is "gun control".
Those with documented mental illnesses cannot purchase a gun; it's part of "gun control" already. That regulation is not keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally/emotionally unstable in some cases because so many are not treated or documented as "mentally ill". Imo, it's an integral part of the gun control discussion, when it comes to school spree killing especially.

Extending the background check criteria might help keep guns out of reach of the unstable, but should their family members be denied protection or their rights because of another's instability? Would it even make a difference since so many mental illnesses are undocumented? I've volleyed this one around in my mind and ultimately think that attempting to regulate gun ownership qualifications further beyond the purchaser him or herself would likely just add more cost and delay to the ownership process without any real benefit (and could be an infringement on some people's rights). JMO.

'What's the need for semi-automatic weapons in our society?'

You attempted (above) to address it and I thank you. You basically said it's 'the idea that a home-owner will want to have them because they want to be as well-armed as criminals entering their home.'

I'm not going to diminish your opinion, but I will respectfully disagree.

I didn't attempt to address it. It's not my opinion that homeowners need assault weapons for adequate self defense; it was clearly labeled as a re-iteration of an opinion expressed by others that I simply understood.

FTR, I don't think homeowners need assault weapons for home protection, but I don't care if they have them if they are legally owned, kept out of reach of children, and not accessible via the qualified owners to any criminals or mentally unstable/violent individuals. That last part is very hard to ensure and that's a big problem for me, as previously stated.