From Mr. LeBarge - and some alternative thoughts below in [[ ]]:
We have some nuts or some bad folks going into schools, theatres, places of
worships, etc. shooting up people using a gun which they were LEGALLY able to
obtain.
[[Completely agree that there are nuts who obtain guns and use them for ill
purposes. However they are not all legally obtained. The vast majority of
criminals obtains guns illegally. Those with mental health problems, often
undetected, are more difficult to identify and may possibly obtain guns
legally. ]]
This is a LEGITIMATE concerns for schools including the schools under the
purview of the Town Government. What don't help is when we have the NRA type
who cry 2ND AMENDMENT RIGHTS, however our 2ND AMENDMENT RIGHTS are not
absolute.
Even the NRA will campaign by playing hard ball with those political leaders
who try to do the right thing to pass meaningful, effective legislation that
would keep weapons out of the hands of those who should not have them to begin
with.
[[NRA types, as you call them, are in-fact in favor of keeping guns from those
who should not possess them. They push legislation every year, and push
Congress and States to enforce laws currently on the books to keep criminals
and those mentally incapable of handling guns from obtaining them. What the
NRA lobbies against is preventing someone from legally possessing a firearm
without due process]]
Where do the Mexican cartels get them from? Answer: America where they can get
someone to legally obtain those weapons and then pass them to the Mexican
cartels.
[[This assertion, repeated frequently by the media, is untrue. Most weapons
retrieved from Cartel shootings are not identifiable because they are produced
without serial numbers in their country of origin. ALL US manufactured
firearms have serial numbers. While some people do use so-called
straw-purchasers to buy firearms in lower SW US states, this is in-fact illegal
by Federal Law and gun stores are trained to identify this and report these
activities to the DOJ (specifically BATFE). It is fairly uncommon - except
during the first 2 years of the Obama Administration when they ran a program
called Fast and Furious specifically designed to let US made weapons 'walk'
across the border into Mexico. This program ended after the death of a US
Border Patrol Agent in 2010.]]
Unfortunately, this problem can NOT be fixed at the local level, but could
possibly be fixed at the State level and DEFINITELY be fixed at the Federal
level. At the local level, we can enforce laws currently on the books in this
regard.
[[The last point is the most important - and I agree fully - we should focus on
enforcing the laws currently on the books. We have significant and strong gun
laws in MA and they should be enforced. BUT - we cannot legislate ourselves
into safety. A person determined to do harm in a church, school, residence, or
even during a marathon - will find a way to do harm.]]