LogFAQs > #926128595

Restrictions on guns specifically? In addition to the above post:
- Mandatory waiting period (3-7 days) before purchasing a firearm. I would argue that this is one of the most important things we can implement because waiting periods for gun purchases have reduced suicide rates by 51% in the areas with such regulations. Statistics aside, I have known people whose lives would have been saved by such a law.

- Ammunition caps/restrictions on what kinds of ammunition can be owned. One could also restrict where ammo can be stored; I've seen that done in some countries.

For a few other points:

1.7 million American children live in households with unsecured, pre-loaded firearms. There are no universal child safety laws in the USA when it comes to firearms and that, if nothing else, HAS to change.

46% fewer women are shot to death in states with background checks. 48% fewer police deaths occur in states with background checks.

There are virtually no restrictions at all on online purchases of firearms and ammunition.

Unrelated to guns, three other things we can do are:

1. expand mental health care so that more people can get therapy. Easiest way to do this is to implement universal health care, removing the financial barriers to getting help for your mental state. Uh, this is particularly important because people who are unwell also typically struggle financially for several reasons, so any sort of $ barrier to care is going to cause problems.

2. educate the population on how to recognize signs of radicalization, intent to commit crimes, or suicidal ideation, and what resources there are out there to help them.

3. invest in community programs to combat alienation from society, thereby indirectly combating one of the causes of radicalization.

I could probably think up some other stuff, but... one of the big problems with gun laws is that a lot of areas do have pretty smart regulations in place designed to prevent suicide, accidental deaths, etc... but they are undermined by surrounding stands not sharing those restrictions, so all someone has to do is drive a little ways. At the very least, background checks, storage laws, waiting periods, and internet purchasing restrictions should be enacted across the board. Would save a lot of lives.
---

Hi