I participate on Quora.com, including responding to many questions about firearms- some sincere, some trollish, some I swear were generated by bots. As a result I have written many responses which are near-essay length on various firearms and Second-Amendment questions. I thought I would repost them here, along with links to the original posts, for any comments you might have. Feel free to copy anything you think is worthy of reposting elsewhere.
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ORIGINAL QUESTION: Can I get a pro-gun conservative's sincere views on how to decrease school shootings in the US? Can it really be done with introducing lenient gun laws?
MY RESPONSE:
First of all, give up the idea that declaring a school a “gun-free zone” somehow magically makes it safe. If that worked you could prevent bank robberies by declaring banks gun-free zones. Almost all spree shootings are premeditated, in that the shooter took the time to plan and bring a firearm with them. No one who is planning to commit assault and murder gives a fig about whether they’re breaking gun laws in the bargain.
Second, stop opposing capital punishment. Some people really have forfeited the social contract to the point where they should be considered irredeemable and put down like rabid dogs. School shooters qualify. And the death penalty should be swift and certain, not something that a handful of people receive after years of delays and appeals.
Third, make felonies committed with a firearm mandatory hard time. No plea bargains. If you need room in the prisons, stop jailing people for simple possession or low-level street dealing. Make violent offenders a priority for incarceration.
Fourth, learn to tell the difference between minors who are genuinely disturbed and in need of help, versus suspending children under “zero tolerance” (a.k.a. zero intelligence) policies for such b.s. things as pointing a finger at another child and going pew-pew.
Fifth, stop glorifying the commission of massacres in movies and video games.
Sixth, revive the archaic social custom of expecting people to be responsible, and expecting minors to either show responsibility themselves or be obedient to those responsible for them. Have transgressions have real consequences, including outright punishment.
Seventh, give up the idea that you can raise children to be pacifists by trying to condition them to be instinctively afraid of and repulsed by firearms. Demystify firearms and teach children that they are neither inanimate vectors of violence and death, nor talismans of power that will automatically confer respect and awe. That guns do exactly what the people holding them tell them to.
Last and not least, if we’re going to live in a society where guns are common, have the places where we keep our children be at least as well-protected as the places we keep our money. On-the-spot immediate response is the best possible defense against the criminal use of guns.