Hollywood; video games; the breakdown of the institution of marriage and concomitant weakening (if not total destruction) of the traditional family structure and parental authority have led to an angry, fearful, society filled with people who feel powerless against their government and each other. The solution for many is to emulate their TV, movie and video game “heroes” who use violence to solve personal problems.  For far too many of our fellow citizens guns have become a proverbial “10-foot pole” to keep the bad stuff at bay and to express their feelings of powerlessness, low self-image and self-esteem.

 Combine this with a longstanding government policy that believes force is the way to get and keep other countries in line – a means to pound our version of freedom and democracy down the throats of cultures 3,000 years older than ours – and then we wonder where our kids get the idea that guns are the way to address life.

 Six simple points:

1.  While mandatory sentencing in general is a bad idea, mandatory sentencing for use of a deadly weapon is a good idea.

2.  Commit a crime with a gun, and you get the death penalty or life in prison without the chance of parole.

3.  Participate but not as a shooter in a premeditated crime, or be a driver in a fatal drive-by shooting, where someone other than you uses a gun, and get up to life in prison with the possibility of parole. If the shooting victim lives: 15 years to life-without-parole depending on the degree of permanent injury. If you are just a passenger, get out of the vehicle and walk home or face 1- 5 years as an accessory. This should make a lot of potential criminals “honorary crime fighters” and prompt them to choose their friends wisely.

4.  Get caught with an unlicensed gun: first time 6 months, no early out. We will assume you have learned your lesson so, get caught again and go to prison for 1 year, no early out. Get caught again, or if you have prior felonies, go directly to jail for a minimum of 5 years.  No early out.

5.  Get caught in a vehicle with someone with an unlicensed gun: 30 days in jail (if we can enforce a seatbelt law, we can enforce this). This will recruit more self-policing “citizen deputies” to help dissuade gun crime; especially drive-by shootings.

6.  If someone uses your gun in a crime and you cannot prove that it was stolen from a secure place, go to jail for a minimum of 1 year.  No, we don’t care if ruins your or your family’s life. You obviously didn’t care about what it did to the victim and their family.