Guns in schools

[minx]

A long read, but a very interesting one


www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/10/10/guns-schools-us-increased-prevention-violence/

Two things stand out:

1) The majority of these seizures were made because a kid went to an adult they trusted at the school and they were taken seriously.
2) The majority of these seizures don't seem to be reported in any way where someone is truly accountable.

The article does note that there is an increase in stolen guns, rather than guns taken from mom or dad.  But it also seems that no one is held accountable for the gun itself at all.

If the gun belonged to anyone related to the kid, then they should also be facing charges - at a minimum, child endangerment.
Not really sure what to do about the cases where the kid stole the gun from someone's car though.  I'd like to say that if the car is unlocked, then you have part of the blame, but that's really opening a can of worms, that I think should probably stay shut for right now.

But it seems that the number 1 deterrent is to have adults in charge at the school who take reports seriously.  And also to create a culture at the school where kids feel comfortable telling teachers or administrators when something is wrong.
Would be nice if we actually put some money into schools and stopped focusing on shit like CRT, Don't Say Gay, and book banning to help that happen.

And yes, a lot of it starts at home, and if parents took their jobs more seriously we might not be having this discussion.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

I wonder where I've heard that before?

Will have to read the article later if it will let me. One of our former FUGgers Mike used to repeat that "rights come with risks and responsibilities" to which I would add that responsibility minimizes risk.

Guns are, like it or not, are ingrained forever into our society. Yet there is little if any effort on the part of the government (since it's doing the "regulating") to educate on the safe handling and use of them. It's almost like religion.

[k9krap]

Almost? It IS a religion. They send out Christmas cards with their guns prominently displayed!

[minx]

Yeah, people on the left don't want to accept this, but the country will always be awash in guns. No way to close that barn door now.

So what needs to be done is regulation and enforcement.

Starting with registration. If you purchase a gun, you should be handed a title that's registered by the state (much like a car). Registration database will only be accessible by law enforcement, and only if the gun has been used in a crime or reported stolen. If used in a crime, police can have full access to ownership and dealer information. If stolen, they can put a note against the serial number noting that the gun was stolen.

- That way if a gun is used in a crime, it may be faster for law enforcement to trace it, especially for stolen guns.

Next a criminal responsibility law. If a gun registered to you is used in a crime, then you will be held as an accessory for that crime. Exceptions will be made if the gun was reported as stolen in the 24 hours prior to the crime.
- I'm not thinking that this would result in jail time necessarily, but definitely a sentence that results in you being banned from owning a gun and confiscation of any existing guns that you own.

Next the law that will make everyone howl - mandatory gun training and education in ALL schools, public or private. And yeah, it would start in Kindergarten.
- Just basic gun safety here. In K, kids can learn not to play with guns, and the difference between a real gun and a play one. Not to EVER point the gun at someone, no matter what.
- As kids get older, more nuance can be added. But the purpose of the classes will not be to say that guns are inherently evil, but teaching about gun safety and the laws regarding gun use.

And finally, truly enforcing the laws on the books already. Not allowing plea deals if a gun was used during the crime. Charging parents with child endangerment if their kid accidentally (or deliberately) uses a gun in the house to shoot someone. Things like that.

Lots of guns on the street aren't smuggled in from other countries - people recruit others to purchase guns and sell them on the street (or give them to someone to sell on the street) - tighten things up to make it harder to do that. People bitched at Northam's one handgun a month law, but it was designed to prevent people from doing this. Hard to make a lot of money if you can only get one gun at a time to sell on the street.