Now wait just a dog gone minute here. I saw Clinton, the other day, giving a speech about new gun legislation he was proposing ( like we need any new laws while they seem not be enforcing the ones we have ) and I was both perplexed and outraged. It seemed like, in this proposal, he was trying to shift a minor's responsibility for gun related crimes to the gun's actual owner ( what ever happened to taking repsonsibility for one's actions or the actions of their own children ) ?

New Gun Laws?

Last time I looked: 1) Minor possession of a firearm is a crime. 2) Carrying a loaded gun on your person or in a car is a crime ( unless the individual has a license ). 3) Discharging a firearm within your city limits is a crime. 4) Shooting at someone or their property is a crime. 5) Stolen firearms are illegal ( possessing, buying, selling, or stealing them ). 6) Minors can't buy ammunition. 7) Bringing any type of weapon to school is a crime. 8) Breaking into a home, place of business, or vehicle is a crime. 9) Using a firearm in committing a crime is an aditional charge. 10) Contributing to the delinquency of a minor is a crime ( this should cover the older gang members ). Did I forget any? Does this seem like we need any more new laws to cover additional situations? Clinton's wonderful new idea is to make the lawful gun owner held responsible for what a minor does with a gun he or she took from them. The gun owner had to pass a back ground check in order to buy the firearm ( thus, proving they were not a criminal ). Now they want to " criminalize " the gun owner because a real criminal took his lawfully purchased property? Is it only me, or does it seem fairly obvious that there is something wrong with that line of " reasoning " ?

" Put trigger locks on all guns "; someone may cry out. Don't you think the thief has access to a hammer or pliers? The criminal isn't going to care if he defaces your expensive collector's item in order to make it function. Excuse me mister intruder, let me remove this trigger lock so I can protect myself...Let's have a new dose of restictive gun laws that give the advantage to the criminal or criminalize the law abiding citizen!

Take Responsibility?

So the minor took mom or dad's gun ( technically still a violation of many of the above laws ) and committed a crime. Isn't the adult parent or guardian still held responsible for what his or her minor wards do? If this is not the case; then when did they change it, and why? This whole new round of gun law debate really seems to be shifting the responsibility from the minor or his parent(s) to the lawful gun owner. The parents of these gang kids always chant " he was such a good kid ". Well, get your head(s) out of the sand folks, it was YOUR FAULT; not, my fault, the victim's fault, the teacher's fault, the gun owner's fault, the gun store's fault, the gun manufacturer's fault, the ammunition manufacturer's fault or the gun's fault. If your teenager has an accident or runs over someone with the family car; is it the fault of the: manufacturer of the car, the gas station, the tire manufacturer, the key maker, or the auto dealership? Wake up...

How Did Society Get To This Point?

When I was a kid, there were no gangs and you got punished for such heinous crimes as throwing an egg at someone's house. Now, gangs are rampant and kids shoot bullets at your house. The liberals are quite fond of addressing social issues, so why don't they address why the kids join the gangs and rob houses to get the guns; instead of concentrating on the inanimate object ( the firearm ) ? I guess it serves their socialistic agenda to avoid individual responsibility and to use this " social unrest " as an excuse to have the government invade our personal lives ( and property ) even more than it already has tried to do. I say, look to the family ( or the demise of it ) for the answer! The percentage of single parent families and kids born out of wedlock has gone up from around 10% in the 60s to almost 40% in the 90s. This sure sounds like there would be no mom and dad around to provide children a " morality " role model. Sheesh, I may have joined a gang myself in order to get the feeling of " family " were this the case back then!

- Bongo ( more kids are killed by kids driving cars, than by kids using guns )