It's been nine years.

[PTWB]

34. We're not going to pass gun control legislation unless we change our strategy.

We were all outraged by what happened at Sandy Hook. That we were unable to pass any meaningful gun control legislation in its wake should be evidence enough that we need to change our strategy.

I am a gun owner but I'm also a parent and a functioning member of (what used to be) a civil society. Many of our gun laws are antiquated and ineffective. There are laws from prohibition times that needlessly burden gun owners without adding to the general safety of society.

Revamping the antiquated, ineffective, and burdensome gun laws, while replacing them with effective and modern gun control, is the only real chance we have at passing legislation. Meaningful gun control reform needs to work with, not against, gun owners.

The last decade should be a playbook of what not to do. Don't threaten gun buy backs, all out bans, registries, or anything else that will 1. not pass and 2. reduce the chance of passing anything else. And fix the messaging. The right wingers screamed that Obama was going to take their guns but Trump was responsible for more gun control in 4 years than Obama was in 8. Shout it from the tree tops.

I suggest approaching the gun control issue from an entirely different vantage point. There are numerous things that the gun community wants and would be willing to negotiate to obtain. These things include national reciprocity for concealed carry licenses, a revamp of the antiquated NFA registration system and modernizing what types of weapons must be registered. Some of the requirements are completely arbitrary.

I feel strongly that were we to offer up some real compromises that improved quality of life for gun owners, we'd be able to pass universal background checks and some national standards for gun purchasing / concealed carry licensing, and we'd be compromising on things that would have zero impact to public safety. Seems like a win / win, unless the objective is to make gun owners enemies and not allies.

If we want gun control we're going to have to compromise. Simple as that.