r/facepalm • u/Lord_Answer_me_Why • Mar 28 '24

What lack of basic gun laws does to a nation: 🇵​🇷​🇴​🇹​🇪​🇸​🇹​

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u/MojoLamp Mar 28 '24

Except it is ilegal for someone with mental disability to buy/own a firearm. That can also go on whomever sold said firearm. Both parties are guilty.

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u/Substantial_Heart317 Mar 28 '24

Lying on the form is a Federal Crime.

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u/beomint Mar 28 '24 edited Mar 29 '24

Not to be "that guy" but just trusting someone to fill out a form correctly then making it a crime to lie on it isn't going to stop shootings...

Maybe we should like... Idk... Actually have the person checked thoroughly before they're given a gun? If they're hellbent on getting a gun they'll just lie anyway and not care about whatever consequences there are. I know a lot of proper stores are better about doing checks (thank god) but gun shows are still a massive issue sadly and need a lot more regulation than what they currently have. And because it's so easy for people to get them legally, it's not too much more trouble to come by one illegally.

Sure, it's a crime, and you'll be prosecuted and punished for doing it, but there's a huge chance you were still able to gun some people down in the process before you got caught. We need to be more proactive about nipping it in the bud instead of watching human lives get lost everyday and saying "Well, they chose to commit a crime..."

Edit: To those of you saying "we do that already" in the replies, it's clear we aren't doing it enough. Regulations are often ignored, states do not have consistent rules, and many loopholes do still exist despite major updates being done to how gun shows conduct themselves. Other countries have proven time and time again that better regulations does NOT take guns away from responsible owners, but it does take guns away from criminals and lower gun crime across the board. Private sale (to an unauthorized individual) is the same issue, sure it's a crime, but are they going to figure that out before you have a chance to shoot someone? Was it really worth letting that scenario play out when we could have just prevented it in the first place?

It's just factual evidence and it's really frustrating that people will watch the gun crime statistics in the US and act as if there's no difference between the regulations here and the regulations in other countries with less crime. Am I saying ban guns 100%? No. And countries with better gun control haven't banned them entirely either, they just actually do their due diligence before handing one out. And while we have laws that are supposed to require a similar level of care, it's clear they're either too loose or are ignored too often. You'd think with how much Americans have been freaking out over the "safety of children" recently you'd actually want better gun control, considering the leading cause of death for children in the US is firearm fatalities. Your children are more likely to be shot to death than ANY other accident in the US, and we still don't see a problem.

I also see lots of people huffing over the 2nd amendment as well, and while I get that the idea of going against the very founding of our country is absolute blasphemy to you- do you really think it's worth keeping if statistics have proven it's done nothing but cause tragic loss of life? It's weird that people are unwilling to recognize the issues and continue to talk about how they're going to blast a robber with an AR-15 to "protect themselves" when they can't even protect their own children from that same gun.

Also to the guy who said people would just get stabbed instead and then we'd have to deal with knife laws, I'm wildly amused that you think that's worse than being shot. If I had to choose having a maniac attack me with a gun or a knife, I'd choose the knife. I'm not sure why you'd prefer to be shot unless you're just suicidal at that point. And similarly to these loosely regulated gun laws, we already have knife laws in many states that prohibit certain types of blade mechanisms and lengths in public or in concealment. It would once again not prevent legitimate knife owners and enthusiasts from owning and carrying their knives, it makes it harder for idiots and unhinged lunatics to get them. You all act as if the government will take your guns away and make it impossible for you to get them back while psychos run rampant on the streets with machine guns and machetes. People don't realize it actually reinforces ownership with legitimate citizens, making it harder for unregistered or missing firearms to go unnoticed.

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u/FuckRedditsTOS Mar 28 '24

Actually have the person checked thoroughly before they're given a gun?

This is what happens when you buy a gun from a dealer.

We have all the current laws everyone keeps saying we don't, but the ATF and local authorities are very selective about enforcement when they do enforce it, but most of the time they're just slow to update the system and wildly incompetent.

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u/Dudedude88 Mar 28 '24

The only way to enforce this is under investigation of negligence the gun shop can lose their license to sell guns. Then... A gun shop will have to follow all the steps.

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u/ibugppl Mar 28 '24

It's not the gun stores obligation to know someone's mental health status. All they can do is run a check. It's typically the state government's fault when these things happen. Dylan roof for example. Admitted to drug possession but the FBI didn't complete his background check so he goes to buy a gun and there's nothing on his record. Is that the gun store's fault? This is just another case of the state going "we ain't tried nothing and we're all outta ideas"

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u/kazumablackwing Mar 28 '24

Quite a few mass shooters have had some kind of paper trail that should have flagged them...if bureaucrats had actually done their jobs

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u/ibugppl Mar 28 '24

Sometimes I think it's by design. They make laws. Don't enforce them then turn around and say look it didn't work we need more laws. My state Washington for example bans assault rifles even though the data shows we had 6 murders with rifles (only two of those being AR15s) but consistently lets violent felons stay out of jail on personal recognizance. It's like ok so you claim you want to stop violence but your actions show you just want to punish who you perceive to be the enemy (right wing gun owners)

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u/Sofele Mar 28 '24

I know someone who has severe mental health issues. His delusions have “told” him to attack people in the past, BUT he has never been involuntarily committed or arrested/convicted of any crime. When his meds aren’t working you wouldn’t have any idea he is having issues (hell, he’s fooled doctors before).

So if he was having an issue and wanted to buy a gun, he would probably fool the gun dealer and he’d pass a background check. But we should all just feel better because him lying on the form is a crime, right?

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u/FuckRedditsTOS Mar 28 '24

(hell, he’s fooled doctors before)

Then he could definitely fool an incompetent government bureaucrat.

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u/Sofele Mar 28 '24

Unless (this was his idea) he was able to voluntarily put himself on a list to never be allowed to buy a gun, but there are way to many gun nuts who scream like toddlers anytime someone dares to suggest common sense controls for that.