[quote=@Andrew Blade] Right, the reason it's easier to buy a gun is because guns are a right, cars are a privilege. I'm very disappointed that you feel that way, but to each their own. What change do you propose being made in the aftermath of these shootings? Everyone keeps talking about how "nothing is being done" but no one has any actual practical propositions that would work. Straw purchases, ie, your friend buying the gun for you, is illegal. So yes, that's all it takes for you to get a gun if you are mentally ill. But murder is also illegal, and all it takes for that is for me to slit someone's throat, or wrap my arms around their throat and squeeze until they stop moving. There's literally nothing stopping me, except my own values and the repercussions for what happens after. If someone wants to murder a bunch of people, what do you think we should do in order to prevent that? You talk about buying a gun being extremely easy, and you're right, it is "easy" if you're a law-abiding citizen. A thorough background check is conducted, and some people have to wait several days for the results of the check to come back. Anyone with a purchase permit or a concealed carry permit has already been subjected to a thorough background check as well. If you don't have any legal issues preventing you from buying a gun, then yes, it is easy, though it takes about 6 pages of paperwork to transfer the firearm in addition to the background check, not to mention the price of firearms being pretty high, depending on what you want to buy. If I timed it, and a person came in knowing what they wanted, having all the proper permits, did not exhibit signs of substance abuse, aggressive behavior, or mental instability, they could buy a gun in probably fifteen minutes. But that means that they have to have a clean background, proper ID, and the necessary funds. For the average criminal, those are not easy. As for why not insurance for gun owners, again, it's a right, not a privilege. The reason it's a right is so that what happened in Germany in the 1940's can't happen here. The same thing with North Korea, and Venezuela, and any other totalitarian regime. An armed citizenry is extremely difficult to impose injustice upon. And "must buy insurance for my health" is also a huge bullshit issue I have as well, but they repealed that part of the affordable care act, so it doesn't matter any more. You shouldn't HAVE to buy anything just to be alive- but that's going down another stupid road. [/quote] Well, you're right in that aspect; the government can't disrupt its citizens' lives if they're armed. But for what it's worth, I doubt the U.S. would even get near that point even without the legality of guns. I was born in a third world country so I know what it's like to get pushed around, and I don't wish it on people, but like I said, the odds are in our favor. But just to be extra careful, as it's the argument here, let's keep guns legal, but make it a privilege (not a right) for people to own one. You can still buy a gun provided you meet all the requirements. That'll take care of the insurance issue. Also, I say every weapon comes with a mandatory biometric trigger guard, so only the owner may use it and no one else. A bit costly, sure, but it'd be an effective measure. If the individual doesn't want to end up in a scenario where they get threatened into unlocking the gun for someone else to use, then they should keep it locked up in a safe and refrain from bragging about their stash to their crazy friends. I may be overlooking something, but I think it'd be a good idea. Also, I feel this way simply because I see more incidents of a bad guy with a gun or a good guy with a gun accidentally shooting their friend/family member than I see a good guy with a gun effectively defending themselves or someone else. So the bad outweighs the good. And by no means do I follow any one specific media source as to be biased, and likewise, my friends list on FB is about half and half on the political scale, so I see both sides of the argument (I'm an independent myself).