GUNS DON'T KILL PEOPLE, OR DO THEY?

[HairOfTheDog]

Do we extend background checks to include family members? It almost seems necessary. Does that infringe on someone's 'rights'? I don't know, but if you know that you have someone at home who's not mentally stable, I say 'tough' to your ability to legally purchase firearms.

I don't think it makes sense to extend the background checks beyond the purchaser. How can (or should) the fed track the backgrounds of family members, friends, lovers, renters, etc...? Only the gun owner can control who has access to his/her gun.

The general public, except for a few teachers that knew him during the past 4 or 5 years, would not have known how disturbed he was.

And, except for the landscaper, the plumber, the babysitter, and the barber.

Again, the spree killers of the past few years are not acquiring their firearms illegally (for the most part). Lanza wouldn't have known how to get a weapon on the black market. Hell, he never left his house.

I don't know if Lanza never left his house, but yeah, the new control proposals wouldn't have kept him from getting his mom's guns; they would only have kept him from getting certain kinds of guns if his mom had purchased hers post-ban.

-The Virginia Tech shooter bought his gun legally because he wasn't in the federal NICS database even though he was declared mentally ill by the state.

-Gabby Gifford's shooter got his gun legally, even though he was kicked out of school for being unstable and threatening (had not been declared mentally ill).

-Columbine killers were underage so they illegally used straw purchasers who bought the guns at a gun show, IIRC. The straw purchaser(s) were given immunity to testify rather than being prosecuted.

-The shooter in the NY firefighter ambush was a felon so he illegally used his neighbor to buy his guns. The neighbor is being prosecuted for acting as a straw purchaser in this case; the right message to send to the public.

So, the current proposals to essentially strengthen the administration/enforcement of existing laws, along with the new requirement for background checks for some non-dealer transactions, could help minimize mass murders. I agree with you that greater awareness and follow-up by the community/LE and more responsible gun ownership are big factors towards prevention as well.