DEMOCRATIC PARTY PLATFORM 2008 ON GUN CONTROL

[Meiko]

21. I haven't seen any

politicians on either side of the fence propose any kind of gun legislation. They are all afraid of it. Reinstating the AWB is not going to do anything. Private sales at gun shows should be regulated but if you are going to do that you will also need to regulate private sales all over the country and regulating the sale of private property can be a slippery slope. I would be in favor of improving our background check system but what do we need to improve exactly, how are we going to do it, who is going to be responsible and how much is it going to cost.

Banning weapons based solely for cosmetic reasons is not going to hack it and when are we going to stop repeating "terrorists are buying guns at gun shows" CMON! The background check system we have now works pretty well but a felon is not going to walk into a gun store and attempt to buy a gun, they are going to pick up a newspaper or the gun will go from hand to hand through the buddy system, we actually think that felons don't have friends. There have been several newspaper outlets in the past who have discontinued the listing of firearms, but it is still common in many rural areas to buy and sell guns through the newspaper. You can even find guns at yard sales, all perfectly legal.

Does anyone really know how many guns we have in this country? I know one thing I would like to see stopped and that is the recycling of police confiscated firearms back into the market. I know it goes on because I have attended gun shows in Arizona where LE guns are bought and sold, and there are lots of them. I am not sure how widespread the practice is but all confiscated guns should be destroyed. It may be just a drop in the bucket but it would take some guns off the market. Some local police agencies currently use the money in their budgets.

This is a multifaceted problem,you aren't going to solve it with one stroke of the brush. I know you guys out there are a smart bunch. What are your suggestions to solving the problems we have with guns?