Friday, April 20, 2018

The Great Debate: Solutions Part 2

We live in a time where technology continues to astound and amaze us with constant advances.  It seems there's nothing that can't be done.  With this in mind, I would think it should be rather elementary (for those techies who do this sort of thing) to have a means by which background checks could be almost foolproof.

Now, there are already background checks for all licensed dealers to make sure potential customers aren't criminals or insane people.  And from what I understand, it might not be the case that a customer's info is stored so that his purchases are recorded for future use...except, perhaps, by the actual dealer should he be questioned about whether or not Joe Blow bought a piece from him.  That is, the dealer is protected in this way because it establishes as well that he followed the protocols. 

I have to say that I am not very well educated on just what the procedures are to the extent that I could present them here.  Should I decide I wish to purchase a piece, I'll find out at the time.  I just know that procedures are in place.

But as control freaks demand "tighter" background checks...or whatever the heck it is they're demanding...I offer the following:

We know there is facial recognition software and for all who make their living selling firearms, access to a system that stores photos of criminals and the insane should be as immediate as possible.  If the government is to be involved in deciding who should not have guns, the government should have a system in place for this purpose.  It should be accessible by all branches of law enforcement, from the local cops up to the federal level, including Homeland Security, the FBI (of course), the CIA, the DOJ and any other law enforcement department.

The thought here is that should a person seek to purchase a firearm of any kind, a state issued picture ID (I know...an outrage, isn't it?) must be presented (which it is now) and the picture on it could be scanned at the dealership because the dealer has access to the system that collects the info.  Should the person seeking a firearm turn out to be a criminal or an insane person, the dealer will know immediately and refuse the sale.  At the same time, law enforcement is alerted that the criminal/loonie is attempting to purchase a firearm. 

Conversely, if one has no criminal record or hasn't been certified as crazy, the sale can go through without anyone but the dealer knowing about the person's desire to purchase a gun.  Because there is no reason why a law abiding citizen need inform anyone in government about his ownership of any weapon.  It's a "none of your business" reality with regard to the government. 

I also think they should be able to have on file fingerprints or possibly DNA samples (not that gun dealers would need to draw blood or anything, but simply to have all that info about a criminal readily available in the same place).  There are fingerprint scanners in use in a variety of businesses and government facilities for security purposes, and I doubt it would too much trouble to adapt that tech for the purpose of screening out bad actors from purchasing weapons.

If those who should not possess firearms are prevented from buying from legitimate sources, there would only be the black market which is already problematic...as well as illegal.  Of course, there's theft, too, but the point here is that the focus turns from scrutinizing the law-abiding to blocking the unsavory and the certifiable...which is where the focus should always have been in the first place.

As to exactly who should have their info stored for this purpose can be worked out.  Naturally those convicted of violent crimes would be among them, as would those certified as dangerous due to their mental issues.  Non-violent misdemeanors and non-violent psych patients might be excluded.  The concern here is not to permanently deny those who won't forever be a threat, but again, that can be worked out.  The point here is that this addresses the issue of keeping guns out of the hands of those who would use them for ill.  Any techies out there who see this as an impossible task?

13 comments:

Craig said...

If I remember correctly one of the semi recent “mass shooters” should not have been able to purchase a gun, but his information wasn’t submitted to be put in the system.

I’d add that the states, the military, and any other source for information bearing on ones ability to pass a background check be required to report within 7 days of acquisition of the information. With stiff penalties if they don’t.

Marshal Art said...

Actually, that's why I led off in a previous post about adults doing their jobs. No "common sense" law or regulation means squat if adults drop the ball.

Craig said...

Got you.

blamin said...

Was cleaning out old emails and ran across a link to your site. I was more than pleasantly surprised to see you're still fighting the good fight! On the other hand I wasn't surprised to see the contortions some of your detractors go through. One would suspect they're life time employees of Rold Gold. I look forward to reacquainting myself with your deeply thoughtful "perusings"!

Marshal Art said...

Great to hear from you Blamin! I certainly recall your handle. Would love to have you rejoin the circus. Always good to have another perspective. So many have fallen away from blogging, but I have a lot of free time in the wee hours due to my work schedule. So few on my blog roll are still active. Too bad. But once again, welcome back. At least whenever you have the urge.

Marshal Art said...

I don't deal in excuses, false priest. What are yours for not meeting the challenge put to you on March 26, 2018 at 4:44 PM? I'm guessing it's no more than abject cowardice and a total lack of integrity. That's about your speed.

Craig said...

Sounds like it was an incel problem. He was trying to excetise his self determination in order to express his love for a young woman who spurned and publicly humiliated him. He deserved our pity.

Marshal Art said...

Deletion is my best response to you for ignoring your obligation to answer the challenge put to you on March 26, 2018 at 4:44 PM. Nothing else you say is of any value, importance or relevance to anything. Yours is a dark and deceitful soul.

Marshal Art said...

It's incredible that anyone could be so idiotic as to suppose I lack concern for victims of mass shootings after three posts on the subject of solutions to the mass shooting/school shooting issue. One must be talking out his feo to suggest such a thing.

Craig said...

Because actually contemplating solutions that might work instead of simplistic, vague, magical ideas is by its very nature lacking in concern.

Marshal Art said...

Had to delete an entire conversation because the feo-for-brains hasn't the honor and integrity to answer the challenge put to him on March 26, 2018 at 4:44 PM. Worse, he soils my comment thread with more baseless assertions and outright lies about the intentions, motivations and character of myself and other visitors...which is incredible projection on his part given his low character and intellect.

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

I was going to ignore him, but his asinine statement needed a rebuttal in my opinion.

Marshal Art said...

No, Glenn. feo has nothing but asinine statements, none of which are worthy of response beyond deletion. This will never change because he's a reprobate pagan who has never acted like the Christian he laughingly expects rational people to believe he is, despite the very unChristian behavior he's demonstrated in damned near every comment he's posted here since his very first visit. Thus, I'd prefer that no one respond to anything he posts, unless he finally chooses to answer to the challenge put to him in the manner he is obliged to answer. He won't, because he's feo and thus too much the pathetic false priest, so the only legitimate response or rebuttal will continue to be deletion. As such, I recommend that anyone who sees a comment from feo regard it as they would the foul air that emanates from a dairy farm and move on.