Executive Order background checks

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by Rockport24

Yeah when the murders continue in Chicago after all of these new "orders" maybe then Obama will realize that it wasn't the guns that were the problem...

Here's one thing that I struggle with: it seems indisputable that suicides are more prevalent in areas with the most guns. We need to address this mental health issue somehow and the amount of deaths by guns would go down significantly simply because of the suicide factor. Here's a bit of research on the suicide thing: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/hicrc/fi...rship-and-use/

As Ross mentioned though, this mental health thing can go very wrong if done incorrectly. For example, if you were treated for any mental health issue are you excluded from buying a gun? Where does it end?

"the amount of deaths by guns would go down significantly simply because of the suicide factor."

Interesting. I would have thought (and I would have been wrong) that suicide has nothing to do with availability of guns, since there are so many other ways to commit suicide, and many of those are preferable to me over gun.

"We need to address this mental health issue somehow"

I think w eknow how - we need to adopt the rules we used to have, which made it easier to commit someone before they hurt themselves or others. We know how to do that, we just don't have the stomach. Which is fine - if we want to give these people the freedom to walk freely, that means we are agreeing to accept the fact that a small number of them will do horrendous things.