Also require fingerprint locks keyed to person who secured gun permit and ban sale of guns except through licensed dealers who require permit. Also adopt Israeli reqt that permit be renewed every six mos and ban sale of automatic and semi-automatic guns. We ban nuclear and chemical weapons even though they are technically arms. Best Connie

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On Dec 17, 2012, at 2:58 PM, "Maurer,Virginia G" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Well, we're lawyers here. What kind of solution protects both the 2nd amendment and the security and welfare of our people? I can think of lots of proposals, but here is one I have not heard (although undoubtedly I am the 20,000th person to think of this since there really are not any new ideas in the world): Criminalize failure to secure firearms from known incompetents who use them to kill people without justification. Make them accessories to murder. Let them rot in prison.
> 
> Now, of course, none of that would punish Mrs. Lanza, whose illusion that owning such weapons would protect her life actually caused her death. But she knew she had these weapons in her house. She knew she had a schizophrenic 20 year old living in the house. If she could envision the personal consequences to herself of going to prison for not effectively securing those weapons, would she have taken action that probably would have saved her life?
> 
> Well, we know that the use of the criminal sanction to deter behavior is only imperfectly effective, but criminalization might cause most people to think more deeply about how they secure their weapons and also notice the social approbation attached to irresponsible behavior. And, as with many other crimes, most responsible people would already have taken the action the law was designed to promote.
> 
> In short, make the gun owners take personal responsibility for their behavior or negligence. 
> 
> Next argument: What about knives? Well, there are paring knives and there are Samarai swords. Yes, leaving a collection of Samarai swords on the walls in reach of small children or the insane is similarly negligent and people should take responsibility for that decision, too. That is, the standard of behavior should be commensurate with the risk of injury as a reasonable person would assess it. I guess that is criminalizing gross negligence.
> 
> Oh, and of course civil damages.
> 
> Anybody have thoughts on that? It secures the right to bear arms and makes people take responsibility for their own behavior. 
> 
> Most likely, however, it is not enough. 
> 
> Ginny 
> 
>