I've been a lurker for awhile, and I know that this post has been brought up 1-2 times in the last 2 years that I've been an RN. So... you grouchy old farts that would rather I'd revive an old post can just stuff a sock in it. I want to gauge opinions based on our CURRENT situation after the shooting yesterday in San Bernadino, CA.
Truth be told, One single caregiver with a concealed carry permit could have shut this couple down before they hit 14 fatalities.
I plan on getting my CC in January, but I know as an RN, should my handgun be discovered, I'll probably lose my license. It will stay in my car when I am at work. If someone wants to carry out mayhem at my workplace, we are ALL sitting ducks. It is not ok or fair. What are your thoughts?
Specializes in Med/Surg, OR, Peds, Patient Education.
Wow! You are seriously misinformed. That technology is unreliable, at least it is so far. No way I am going to trust my life to technology that is so frought with problems.
Then there is the matter of the 300+ million guns already put there.
Since the technology to have "smart guns," has been blocked by the NRA you do not know that it is "unreliable." In tests it is very reliable. However, gun manufacturers, backed by the NRA, do not want to install it. Congress, also, with many members taking money from the NRA, would never allow such a bill on the floor of congress.
You are right that there are all ready too many guns "out there."
Shouldn't we, as a nation, be ashamed that we are the only developed nation with 30,000 gun deaths, including suicides, homicides, and accidental shootings every year? Add to that fact, so far, this year, we have had one multiple shooting incident every single day, this is a travesty.
Well I can confirm it - America leads the world in senseless killings of its own... all down to its love of guns.... and hatred of its fellow man/woman
Specializes in E/R, Med/Surg, PCU, Mom-Baby, ICU, more.
Interesting how old those stats are. Anyway, if you dig down into where those inmates obtained their weapons, over 39% got them from friends or family who did not need an ffl. Doesn't that seem like a glaring loophole?
What loophole are you talking about? The Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA) which you just quoted makes it illegal to sell a gun to or give a gun to:
1. Persons who are convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, even if the person received a shorter sentence.
2. Persons who are fugitives from justice.
3. Persons who are unlawful users of and/or addicted to any controlled substance.
4. Persons who are adjudicated mental defective or involuntarily committed to a mental institution.
5. Persons who are aliens illegally/unlawfully in the United States and nonimmigrant aliens (with certain limited exceptions).
6. Persons who have been dishonorably discharged from the United States Armed Forces.
7. Persons who have renounced their United States citizenship.
8. Persons who are the subject of certain protection orders.
9. Persons who have been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
10. Persons who are under indictment (information) for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. If you sell to one of these people YOU are LIABLE. Same goes for the gun shows except some states have made a NICS mandatory. Once again anyone with a FFL is REQUIRED to do an NICS.
Specializes in E/R, Med/Surg, PCU, Mom-Baby, ICU, more.
I agree, Jose, "bad" people will obtain guns, by stealing them. The way around that conundrum would be to have all guns "smart guns." The technology is available to do this, but the NRA has blocked it every time. A "smart gun" can only be used by the registered owner as it is keyed to the owner's fingerprint.
.
Just how much would this technology add to the price of a gun? Costing $1,798 for a package of one iP1 smart gun, and one RFID smartwatch (which must be worn to operate the gun), Armatix's smart gun costs more than four times the cost of a Glock new G43.
How will a smart gun's sensitive electronics hold up under the regimen of cleaning and oiling necessary to keep a handgun in good working order? Could cellphone signals interfere with a smart gun's RFID signal, rendering it inoperable? And what if you forget the PIN code (which must be entered into the smartwatch to unlock the gun)?
One certain problem with the iP1 system is the fact that both the handgun and the smartwatch that unlocks it need batteries to operate. Should either of those batteries die at an inopportune moment, the iP1 would be useless -- an $1,800 "paperweight," unable to fire.
Specializes in E/R, Med/Surg, PCU, Mom-Baby, ICU, more.
Well I can confirm it - America leads the world in senseless killings of its own... all down to its love of guns.... and hatred of its fellow man/woman
If you bothered to check things out you would know that 120 other countries have an intentional homicide rate higher than the US. Quit posting your mis-truths.
If you bothered to check things out you would know that 120 other countries have an intentional homicide rate higher than the US. Quit posting your mis-truths.
I read up on this technology as per PMFB's post and it doesn't sound pret-a-porter yet, I agree.
However, why do you think you are so interesting to "them" that they will disable you?
I don't feel that I am personally interesting to "them". I think the ability to disable/track the firearms of every citizen with the click of a mouse is a power "they" should not have as it defeats the purpose of an armed citizenry.
A non-exhaustive list would include many characteristics that could each be scaled on a bell-curve graph of their frequency and aptitude in a given population: marksmanship, firearm safety awareness and experience, legal accountability, insurance coverage, sobriety, physical and emotional fitness, performance under pressure, etc. Then stack all of these characteristics onto a single person and plot the next bell-curve graph.
I assume that the few people on the sharp end of the right-hand side of the graph would be able to be an effective deterrent during the precious few seconds when an active shooter situation is unfolding. I do NOT assume that just because there are more 'civilians with guns' in a situation that the right-hand side of the curve is automatically going to be plump.
I also assume that people who use terms like "take them out", "good guy with a gun", "a hand gun may not be enough", and "I grew up around guns so they are no big deal" are either frequently faced with the situation where they are required to shoot at another person (and therefore not "civilians"), or they are well-meaning but untested in terms of killing or wounding an active shooter. I don't mind the bravado, but I do abhor the fear mongering. Not that you are a monger, per se.
Well, to lighten up the debate a little....ever since I started carrying an imaginary gun I have become so much more assertive. It has been working great for me. I point my imaginary gun at whomever is making me feel like I did something wrong (kind of my immediate fallback position when there is a disagreement) and honest to God am able to speak up for myself!
I can't even manage to find an easy way to carry my cell phone. I have dropped it and broken the screen 3 times in the past month! How in the world do CCW people manage to carry guns in a way they would have quick access?
All of the CCW holders that I know (and that's >100 people) carry their firearms using a holster or commercially designed device for the purpose of retaining the firearm upon the body and allowing the firearm to be positioned where it can be easily hidden yet accessed in less than 2 seconds. Criminals generally don't use holsters or they use a home-made device that doesn't really secure the firearm in place all that well. None of the cops I've ever talked to about this have ever found a criminal to use a quality holster for their firearm.
if even ONE person fired back, it may have changed their whole plan, possibly ran out killing fewer people. better than just lying there waiting for it.
I want to gauge opinions based on our CURRENT situation after the shooting yesterday in San Bernadino, CA. 
CHESSIE
177 Posts
Since the technology to have "smart guns," has been blocked by the NRA you do not know that it is "unreliable." In tests it is very reliable. However, gun manufacturers, backed by the NRA, do not want to install it. Congress, also, with many members taking money from the NRA, would never allow such a bill on the floor of congress.
You are right that there are all ready too many guns "out there."
Shouldn't we, as a nation, be ashamed that we are the only developed nation with 30,000 gun deaths, including suicides, homicides, and accidental shootings every year? Add to that fact, so far, this year, we have had one multiple shooting incident every single day, this is a travesty.