[VegasGuy]

We've had two shootings in the last seven days. The first one because a 16 year old kid wanted "to scare them," resulting in the death of a 15 year old that was apparently a good kid with good grades. A week later there was another near a school over an unknown argument.

I still say that we need an automatic 25 years added to whatever felony sentence the perp gets when a firearm is used. In other words, if they get 5 years for attempted murder, they get 5 + 25. These little twerps were never taught respect for life or firearms.

It's better to lock them up because they cannot be rehabilitated. I'd be happy to pay the extra taxes for prisons -- a lot of extra taxes. I get so tired of this "it wasn't pre-meditated" and "it was only attempted murder" lawyer double talk. They had a gun, they bought bullets, they put bullets in the gun, they picked a target, they pointed it, they pulled the trigger. How is that not premeditated, even when the gun fires "accidentally?" The fact that some surgeon was able to save the person's life speaks nothing towards the intention of the perp. It only speaks towards the skill of the EMT's, or the surgeon, or the fact the emergency room wasn't overwhelmed at that particular time.

How is it that the state can convict an accomplice for murder just because he was part of the crime when the other person pulled the trigger, but the person who pulled the trigger cannot be convicted for murder because the surgeon was able to save the victim's life? Why should the perp get a break because he has bad aim or because the surgeon has superior skills? That's just stupid and it's time we all spoke up about it and made a change.

 

[VegasGuy]

25 years sound excessive imo this would also include crimes that involved a gun but even without being discharged.. rob a corner store.. prehaps you flash the gun, maybe its' not even loaded you automaticly get 25+ years?

man that is harsh because chances are they will die in prison.


the punishment should fit the crime but i think this is to much.

I can appreciate your perspective about the punishment fitting the crime. But I want to change the focus from guns being the problem to where the problem really is -- the criminal who uses a gun. My perspective is that it is only a matter of time until a bad guy who uses a gun will injure or kill an innocent victim. He may only flash it today, but what will happen tomorrow? He may not kill someone today because the surgeon saved the victim's life, but why let the bad guy serve less time so he can get out sooner and create another victim?

If we catch a bad guy using a gun, even though he did not shoot someone today, let's lock him up now before he does. Like playing Russian Roulette, it is only a matter of time before the bad guy will pull the trigger with serious or fatal consequences. Why wait? How many bites at the apple do we give the guy? Let's save someone from becoming a victim while we still have the chance to, before it happens.

So yes, my solution is harsh. That is my intention -- to make using a firearm in the commission of a felony so harsh the bad guys don't do it, and if they do they go away for a long time. My solution calls for a new way of thinking about crime prevention. A bad guy who uses a gun has demonstrated he is a deadly threat to society. Let's not give him multiple chances to leave a trail of victims before he finally make good on his threat.

 

[VegasGuy]

your fooling your self.. you wont, no i take that back.. can't possibly pay for that kind of prison system.

To be sure, it would be very expensive in the beginning. But I am looking at the entire cost society pays for stolen property, medical care and lost lives. It might be a whole lot cheaper than you think if you look at the long term, larger picture. You need to factor in the immediate savings to society coupled with the HUGE deterrence factor.

If parents are not going to teach their kids respect for firearms, then society must. The 16 year old shooter is a perfect example of the point I am trying to make. His father is a convicted felon with his own history of weapons violations. Obviously, the kid learned from his father and now another innocent is dead. The shooter's driver was picked up in August on a weapon charge. For the full story, read these:

http://www.lvrj.com/news/15834037.html
http://www.lvrj.com/news/15833982.html

The shooter was dealt a bad lot in life. It is too late to fix him. He has already killed at the young age of 16. But with harsh laws against the people who use guns in the commission of a felony, it is not too late to save the next innocent victim.

 

[VegasGuy]

Not trying to out-do St. Loius, but there was another school shooting yesterday. That makes three in 11 days:

http://www.lvrj.com/news/15976232.html

"Gonzalez said he believed the shooting was sparked by another fight "a couple of days ago" at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant. Monday's fight and shooting probably were in retaliation for the earlier incident, he said."

In my life it never would have dawned on me to hear the words shooting, fight and Chuck E. Cheese in the same sentence. I'll say it again, if parents will not teach their kids respect for firearms, then society must do it with severe and harsh penalties at the first occurrence of gun usage. Let's make the gun user the problem, which it is, and not the gun itself.