They are. And have been since 1997.MWmetalhead wrote: ↑Fri May 27, 2022 7:16 amThose with domestic violence convictions should be prohibited from owning or using firearms.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_ ... er_Gun_Ban
32 states have some version of a child access prevention law, 20 of which impose criminal liability on the parents, 11 of those of which apply criminal liability to the parent EVEN IF the child never uses the gun. Worth nothing is that Texas is one of those 11 states. Lot of good this law did to prevent this shooting.MWmetalhead wrote: ↑Fri May 27, 2022 7:16 amAdults with guns in the home should be held criminally responsible for criminal actions carried out by minors who live in the home with such weapons if they are left unlocked.
If there's probable cause to believe that someone may be mentally unstable, that is one thing, but I disagree with a blanket application of this to everybody. Citizens have the RIGHT to keep and bear arms. Constitutional rights are not contingent upon proving one's worthiness to exercise them.MWmetalhead wrote: ↑Fri May 27, 2022 7:16 amExtensive mental health exams should be conducted as a condition of firearms purchase.
It is also debatable whether such a proposal would violate the 4th Amendment. We already have case law that establishes that "The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution requires that before an officer can lawfully seize a person for mental evaluation, the officer must have probable cause to believe that the person is suffering from mental illness and that the mental illness makes the person a serious danger to himself/herself or to others." https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-libra ... o%20others.
Translation: You can't force someone to submit to a mental examination unless you have probable cause to believe he/she is mentally unstable. And if you're willing to force such an examination for a person to exercise his/her 2nd Amendment right, you must also be willing to at least allow it to be legal to force someone to submit to such an examination in order to exercise ANY Constitutional right. Would you be ok, with, say a law that requires every member of the press submit to a mental health exam before being allowed to publish anything? How about before an individual can enter a church?
