Hello There.

The problem isn't that people are allowed to own, possess guns. The problem is in the minds of the people. Guns are simply a tool that some people use to carry out their desires to harm others. Taking guns away from people doesn't take the desire away from those wishing to do harm to others. It just means that those with criminal intent will acquire a gun anyway or if not a gun then some other weapon. The key here IMHO is to work toward changing the mindset of the person. Change the person and the existence of guns becomes irrelevant. The problem with that is that it is way too easy to blame a thing instead of putting the blame where it belongs. People are responsible for their actions. Not the tool that they choose to use to carry out their actions. Changing the mindset of the people is by no means an easy task. It would be the hardest but I think the best solution. IÆm sorry to say but I have a hard time getting my head around the idea of killing people being the solution to any problem save for being a last resort to protecting/defending oneÆs family. Some say that America is so violent because we have so many guns in the US. Gun ownership in this country has actually been on the decline in recent decades. Also notably the US cities with the stricter gun laws does not mean less gun related deaths. Often times just the opposite is the case. I am not suggesting that we should not have gun laws. It would only be responsible to have gun laws that keep guns out of the hands of those that have mental or emotional issues. Also the proper education regarding the safe handling and operation is a must.
I have owned a number of firearms for many years. Other than target shooting and hunting I don't use them a lot. I have gotten rid of most of the long guns since I can no longer effectively hunt. (Can't handle walking through the woods any more) I don't have a problem with stricter gun laws limiting ownership to people who are mentally, emotionally, and legally capable of ownership. But I cannot accept the concept that banning gun ownership will fix the problem. Gun laws regardless of how strict do not take guns out of the hands of criminals.

Jeff

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