Guns and butter minus the butter

Economic theory aside the initial intention of the second amendment was to permit common folk to be able to hunt for food, protect themselves from wild animals and provide for an armed force when necessary. Deer hunters are few and far between these days. It's rare to see a wild animal in most cities or towns and our military has progressed way beyond muzzle loaders and will be more than willing to provide you with the latest hardware should you choose to join.  I'm sure our founding fathers could never have guessed the sheer increase of our population or how far we've come in our killing capabilities. Back then it took several minutes to properly load a weapon, enough time to consider the consequences maybe?

But guns really aren't the problem. It's the fact that no one will own up to the fact that some people shouldn't own a gun. We would never think of giving a toddler a gun yet even people with mental issues have that right. And arming everybody will not solve the problem. How do you know if the guy in the coffee shop with a 45 strapped to his belt really knows how to shoot it? And who'd want to attend a movie knowing that even half the audience was packing? So training is the first issue. There are no training requirements which is silly for something that can kill. We have stiffer requirements for some power actuated tools than for guns. It makes no sense.

With our population density I see no need what so ever to own an assault rifle. They may be fun play toys for the gun crowd but they'd be better off limited to some type of amusement park set up for that activity. No sport in taking down a deer with an AK-47 either.

And now for the bad news. With budget cuts the types of people committing these crimes are about to flood our streets. Mental hospitals are about to unleash a bunch of people along with those who were in drug treatment programs. I seriously doubt our emergency rooms will be able to handle the increase in both mental cases and the victims of their actions. A movie theater a mall and a school are just the beginnings. This will get worse. Responsibility, training, a good gun cabinet and some tightening of the laws might go a long way to preventing at least a few future tragedies.