GUNS DON'T KILL PEOPLE, OR DO THEY?

[Maggot]

I have to admit I'm happy about the latest developments.

I support the proposed universal background checks, stricter requirements on state and local authorities to feed info into the NICS database, and harsher punishments for straw purchasers (as were used in the case NY firefighter ambush and Columbine cases). I think those can help keep the guns out of some of the wrong hands (these means of stricter controls are forecasted to be passed via "executive action or order" rather than Congress). The Virginia Tech shooter had been declared mentally ill by a state judge, but wasn't in the database and was therefore able to legally buy his gun.

I would like to see a public awareness campaign launched; that could do the most good, in my opinion. We don't know about Lanza yet but Gifford's shooter, the Columbine shooters, and almost all other mass murderers who've been studied had drawn out plans and details which they shared or hinted about to others, but others didn't know what to do or didn't take it seriously enough. Create and plaster the warning signs and reporting protocols all over the internet, university campuses, etc...

In Columbine, a friend who'd been threatened by one of the killers reported it to his mother who informed LE. LE checked social media and verified the threats, drafted a search affidavit for the killer's house (where detailed journals and plans of the massacre were located), but the affidavit was never filed. There's enough known about these kinds of killers and their patterns that it could go a long way if members of the public were informed on what to look for and how to report it, and if there were consistent guidelines for law enforcement follow-up. It could mean more LE staffing, but if the goal is to reduce violence/deaths at the hands of mass murderers, I hope that new control proposals include a focus on awareness and prevention. Haven't read anything suggesting that Biden or Feinstein have proposed such a campaign, but I hope it's part of their plans.

ETA: I also think that certified teachers should be able to conceal carry on campus, if they choose.

I wish even ¹⁄₃ of our legislators thought that way.