by flintlok » Wed Jan 08, 2020 1:27 am
There are about 20,000 gun laws in the US. There may be local, state, and federal regulations governing the purchase of firearms. In some jurisdictions certain guns are banned or so restricted they might as well be banned. Massachusetts laws are convoluted such that the state has a list of prohibited guns and the state attorney general office has another list of banned guns that once was a secret. Overall, there is at a minimum at the Federal level and mandatory background check. It's called the National Instant Check System or NICS where the purchaser's information is submitted to the FBI for a criminal records check. If there are any red flags then the sale is denied. As you can imagine there are loads of people with similar names and often the sales are delayed to sort out any discrepancy. It's not simply a matter of handing a gun across the counter. Any gun dealer who violates these laws risks the seizure of their business assets and imprisonment. There is some relief for individuals transferring guns to each other however if you provide guns to convicted felons then you're on the hook for a potential 10 year prison sentence and fines. Loads of states have safe storage laws and if your guns are easily accessible you can be held responsible for their misuse. In the 1950's you could buy guns through the mail with no background checks any other disqualifying checks and the crime rate was low. After Kennedy assassination loads of laws were passed. There have been tons of regulations and restrictions since then but the crime rates have never been as low as in the 1950's. Lots of the crime rates are a result of the drug wars. Generally crime rate fluctuate independently of gun laws. There have been a few cases where the police have endorsed carrying guns and provided training and the crime rates have dropped. One of the gun clubs that I belong to was once a wooded area noted for finding stolen and torched cars. It was wooded public land. We approached the local city and managed to have land leased to us to operate a gun club. The following year the local area stolen car rate dropped 20%. We did see thieves on the range occasionally but they were discouraged and immediately left when they saw loads of happy riflemen with good sights. The UK media likes to represent the gun issue in the US as the wild west. In Rhode Island our crime rate is slightly higher then the crime rate in the UK. Your daughter's belief that anyone can buy a gun in the US is simply incorrect.
The faster I go, the older I get.
"I am with you Flintsy ." SidebySide
Flintlok, I think you're dead right....."The Dogge"
" when an American comes on the forum .....and then gets a bit upperty ..."
token yank