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?
Usually one of the highest murder rate cities was in New Jersey. That state has very, very stringent controls on firearms and regularly interferes with legal interstate travel of people that own firearms. Chicago was up there, especially in sheer numbers of murders. The "repeal" of Chicago's gun laws happened in 2010 because of a specific Federal court case that went to the Supreme Court. That case was known as McDonald v. Chicago, and it applied the 2nd Amendment to the entire US. Ultimately that case led to Illinois adopting CCW laws for all, not just Chicago Aldermen and Law Enforcement.
In terms of sheer numbers, Chicago has been near the top (or at the top) of the list for a while.
I think you're probably aware that "sheer numbers" are not a particularly useful way of measuring the relative incidence of something. East St. Louis regularly has one of the highest if not the highest murder rates in the country, yet we're only talking about 17 to 25 murders a year in "sheer numbers" since we're talking about a relatively small population (about 26,000), does that mean East St. Louis is actually pretty safe?
Specializes in E/R, Med/Surg, PCU, Mom-Baby, ICU, more.
There are currently more than 50,000 firearms listed by private sellers on that site, they aren't exactly exceedingly rare.
Yes and law states that if a gun comes out of state it has to go through a FFL.
An unlicensed person who is not prohibited from receiving or possessing firearms may purchase a firearm from an out–of–State source, provided the transfer takes place through a Federal firearms licensee in his or her State of residence.
No one is trying to "take guns away from law abiding citizens," but we do want background checks. Nearly 70% of the public believe that background checks are necessary. At gun shows, private sales and sales over the Internet, there are no background checks. These sales must either be disallowed, or background checks should be mandatory for all private, gun show and Internet sales. At gun shows, the gun could be shipped to the buyer after the mandatory background check and the same rules would apply to private and Internet sales.
I am nearly 80 and I am not "protected by any armed guards," other than the local police in my area.
You've got your facts a little garbled. No gun sold over the internet is legally shipped directly to the purchaser. They are shipped to a local FFL holder of the buyer's choosing. It then becomes the responsibility of the receiving FFL to process the weapon as if it were a part of his own inventory. That means the buyer has to undergo a background check just like any retail buyer.
There are lots of guns sold every day on the internet. Every one of the buyers undergoes a background check... or he doesn't get the weapon.
As for private sales, only a moron sells to somebody he doesn't know well unless he runs the sale through a FFL holder. If the gun is used in a crime and is traced, it's traced right back to the seller. So an individual's only protection that a private buyer won't subsequently jam him up is to run the sale through a FFL. That creates a paper trail that proves you legally disposed of the weapon before the crime was committed.
Oh, and your "70% of the public believe background checks are necessary"? Try asking them this way: "Would you be in favor of universal background checks even if you knew they added expense to the buyer while at the same time, never apply to a criminal's purchase?" I think the answer might be very different. People think background checks will prevent crimes. How are they to do that when the vast majority criminals don't obtain their weapons via the retail route?
Specializes in E/R, Med/Surg, PCU, Mom-Baby, ICU, more.
Usually one of the highest murder rate cities was in New Jersey. That state has very, very stringent controls on firearms and regularly interferes with legal interstate travel of people that own firearms. Chicago was up there, especially in sheer numbers of murders. The "repeal" of Chicago's gun laws happened in 2010 because of a specific Federal court case that went to the Supreme Court. That case was known as McDonald v. Chicago, and it applied the 2nd Amendment to the entire US. Ultimately that case led to Illinois adopting CCW laws for all, not just Chicago Aldermen and Law Enforcement.
In terms of sheer numbers, Chicago has been near the top (or at the top) of the list for a while.
Baltimore is another example. Maryland has some insanely strict gun laws and despite that was 4th on the homicide list last year. This year they may end up being number 1 on the list because their homicide rate is already 48.97 per 100,000 with over 2 weeks to go until the years end.
Specializes in E/R, Med/Surg, PCU, Mom-Baby, ICU, more.
Someone not legally allowed to own a firearm isn't really all that limited because they still have about 1000 firearms for sale in their own state, and while it's certainly easier to buy in-state, it's hardly impossible to buy a gun from someone in another state, there are even ways to have it shipped by UPS or Fed Ex without triggering a background check, but again, just buying one of the hundreds available in your own state is the easiest choice.
AR-15's aren't actually illegal in California. "AR-15" is a pretty non-specific term since there are many AR-15 variants out there made by multiple manufacturers. Depending on the combination of features and AR-15 variant might be illegal, but there are also a large number of california-compliant AR-15 variants, mainly through the use of a "bullet-button" which simply replaces a finger-operate button to release the magazine with one that uses a bullet. There are currently 230 AR-15 variants for sale in California on the site.
Contacts are not really traceable, at least in any significant way. There is no record of the firearms serial number that is being sold, and the seller can provide a buyer with direct contact info which means the site has no idea who actually is purchasing the gun.
I agree that a responsible seller would voluntarily make sure they are selling to someone who can legally buy a gun, despite not being required to in many instances, which is why it shouldn't be any hardship to require that they do that since they are doing it anyway.
Non-FFL sellers can only sell a max of 5 guns per year. Only a fool would sell a gun without a bill of sale that proves the gun was transfered to another in case it is used in a crime in the future.
Tell us how the 14 hour weapon training that armed security guards in California receive superior to the 16-24 hours weapon training a CCW holder in California gets.
The difference seems pretty negligible. Especially if CCWs don't have to recertify fairly frequently.
Come on..... look at the statistics Americans and their love of guns (sense of insecurity obviously) cause untold damage to hundreds of lives of citizens cut short in their prime and yet you spend seven lines in relating to me that it's quite okay... and you call me 'ignorant' put away you guns and live life without them - very easy you know
Yes, you're ignorant to think that it's us in the nursing field or law abiding citizens that are the problem. I have many firearms and I have owned some for almost 20 years and they have never hurt anybody. Maybe we should all put are vehicles away and live life without them too? I've seen far more accidents with those than I have with firearms.
Trotting out the old cliches to counteract you use of guns - everyone on this planet knows that America has poor gun control and that senseless killings occur frequently - yet you argue and vent and will not listen - its all about money I expect, the gun lobby is more powerful than the President of the USA.
As a Texan I say please stop saying this. It's only a matter of time before a shooter takes it as a challange. A shooter who plans a mass shooting in Texas will expect to be shot back at and they'll be prepared; high strength body armor, powerful weapons, explosives, etc.
I want to gauge opinions based on our CURRENT situation after the shooting yesterday in San Bernadino, CA. 
MunoRN, RN
8,058 Posts
I think you're probably aware that "sheer numbers" are not a particularly useful way of measuring the relative incidence of something. East St. Louis regularly has one of the highest if not the highest murder rates in the country, yet we're only talking about 17 to 25 murders a year in "sheer numbers" since we're talking about a relatively small population (about 26,000), does that mean East St. Louis is actually pretty safe?