First they came for the guns of the murderers,
but I didn't speak out because I wasn't a murderer.
Then they came for guns of the rapists,
but I didn't speak out because I wasn't a rapist.
Then they came for the guns of the wife beaters,
but I didn't speak out because I wasn't a wife beater.
Then they came for the guns of the psychopaths and
psychotics,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a psychopath or
psychotic.
They never came for my guns,
because I’m a law-abiding citizen.
Once the pool of illegal guns dried up,
and it became harder for criminals and violent mentally ill
people to get guns,
the crime rate dropped,
because those idiots tried to break into my house with just
a knife,
and I shot those motherfuckers.
While I believe, deeply, that all of the above is true, I also maintain that the only thing that is going to stop or drastically reduce the number of violent crimes like Tucson, Newtown, and Aurora is the creation of a mental health system to identify, detain, and treat people who are violently mentally ill.
We also need better treatments, both behavioral and pharmaceutical, for violence. If we can treat depression with pharmaceuticals, treating aggression is most likely possible.
If pharmaceutical companies were given the right financial incentive, like mandatory medication for all incarcerated violent felons, I'll bet clinical trials would start next week, because I suspect that some medications that have already been approved would be effective.
So, yes, I believe that mandatory, universal background checks will keep some guns out of the hands of some violent people.
Then, we need to reduce the violence.