Gutless politicians and legislators have a lot of blood on their hands

This week we had another round of senseless killings in this country.  We are the only country in the world that has hundreds of mass killings each year and nothing changes.....that borders on the definition of insanity.  And in fact, it is the insanity and cowardness of the politicians in this country who respond with thoughts and prayers............if you change nothing, how is the outcome going to be different? 

I own guns and they are for hunting game.  They were purchased legally and that is not saying much in this country.  A handful of $20 bills will get you set up with a gun and ammo, and no one knows any different.  The current state of affairs allows for hunting people with assault rifles, which are traditionally used by armies to do the dirty work of the gutless politicians that will be skewered in this rant. The AK47, which is a Russian designed weapon, started the assault weapon craze in the late 1940's and most recent development of these weapons has produced relatively affordable weapons with only one purpose--dead people to support your twisted hatred.   Today, the US built assault rifles are sold everywhere and are quite easy to obtain.   Purchase 500 rounds of ammo and you are in the mass killing business, it is entirely too easy to pull off one of these events, way too easy. 

How do we fix this mess???   I am not the biggest fan of more government, but we have no better choice here.

• First, tell the NRA to jump in the lake and keep their blood money. This is really important, they are the propaganda wing of the second amendment one issue zealots. They are selling fear and we must keep them out of the news and their lobbyists must also be neutralized with their sack of money.  They will have little to do with the solution to this mess. 
• A new government agency needs to be created if we are to keep guns available.  If we decide to eliminate guns entirely--that is very easy to do.  Follow the actions taken in Australia and the UK in recent years.  That option is very remote, it would be basically a civil war and this country would be crippled for years as it recovered. Not my preferred mode of action. 
• This new agency would be in charge of any gun transaction, any ammo sale, and a license would be required to make a gun or ammo transaction, even a family or private sale.  Private sales and family transactions are massive loopholes currently.   Heavy handed?  yes, it is, but it would allow for people to still enjoy owning guns for the right reason--hunting or shooting sports.  By the way, any gun designed for military use ( semi and fully automatic weapons) would be classified as a Class III weapon.  Currently, Class III weapons are legal to own and are fully automatic weapons.  But, getting a Class III weapon is very expensive and you need to pass a lot of scrutiny and background checks with the BATF.  Not many people get these weapons because it is really that expensive. Class III weapons are rarely used in crimes, they are too valuable to lose.    Why lose a $20,000 weapon due to a crime? 
• So how would this new Federal agency work?   If you travel internationally, you had to get a passport from the Federal State Department to use to enter and leave this country.  Your personal information is contained in the passport computer base and you are basically tracked in and out of the country. Act up and the passport is revoked, a very simple process.  A similar web based system needs to created for gun ownership.  You must get a Gun Ownership License to purchase guns and ammo.  Sales must be transacted through an authorized dealer, no more personal or family sales or gifts.  Getting the license would be a lengthy and cumbersome process and that is important.  Make absolutely sure of the mental makeup of the people trying to get a license.  Another part of the licensing process would be a medical follow up in subsequent years.  Medical records and the use of certain medications would automatically suspend your license and this would also force you to sell your guns and ammo.  Certain crimes would also trigger a license suspension or revocation.  Truck drivers, pilots and many other professionals all need to pass annual physicals to keep their licenses.  Make sure the mental part is also included in the routine follow up work. 
• Any transaction is entered into the system to keep track of your amount of purchases and sales.  If you are accumulating too many bullets or guns, the local authorities would come around to a visit to see what you were doing.  This would be a proactive approach that would be key to success, don't wait for dead bodies, check out the computer is telling you. Keeping track of all purchases would allow the tracking of where all the ammo was headed.  The police really need to get on board with this approach. 

Are there loop holes in this approach?  Yes,  there are many, but I think it is the only way to get a start towards a more safe world in the USA. Two things could be done today to make a lot of this craziness go away very quickly.  Background checks on any gun or ammo sale and reclassifying all military-type weapons as Class III weapons.  Background checks could slow up some of the crazies and making all the assault weapons Class III would make them too valuable and expensive to own--let alone risk in a crime. And you need to go through the BATF process to get them registered and licensed to your ownership.  If we make ownership more difficult and raise the cost to a level that is very difficult to overcome, we are on the right path to a safer world.  

Guns are way too cheap and easy to obtain in the US currently.  There are ways to get this killing under control, but the politicians have got to get the courage to do the right thing, flip off the NRA and get the gun control legislation passed. Too many dead people for no good reason--do your jobs now!