Hickenlooper: Universal background checks for all gun sales

[justfollowingtheelections]

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/10/hickenloopers-state-of-th_n_2449243.html

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

I'd assume Colorado is one of the more pro-gun states.

[Vosem]

A good way to motivate the opposition, though the election is too far away and as is Hickenlooper is too popular for this to actually lead him to defeat. Especially considering for some reason Scott Gessler, who is not beloved, seems to be the front runner for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.

[King]

A good way to motivate the opposition

The shady anti-background check lobby?

[ajc0918]

A good way to motivate the opposition

The shady anti-background check lobby?

Wasn't there a poll that even NRA members want background checks? I don't see how this would be unpopular, in fact it seems common sense.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Not certain if that poll was of NRA members, it could have just been of gun owners, but I recall hearing of a poll like that.

[Vosem]

I for one support background checks, but I feel like it'd be easy for gun rights groups to declare a background check would be the first step down a slippery slope and whip up a convincing majority against them.

[Marokai Backbeat]

I for one support background checks, but I feel like it'd be easy for gun rights groups to declare a background check would be the first step down a slippery slope and whip up a convincing majority against them.

Which is why there's never any point to listening to right-wingers (and groups like the NRA) prattle on about how much they support background checks in the abstract. On the road from the hypothetical proposals to the actual proposals, they turn against them almost every time.

[fezzyfestoon]

It's pretty ridiculous that we haven't even gotten that far yet.

[Marokai Backbeat]

It's pretty ridiculous that we haven't even gotten that far yet.

The same could be said for many problems in America, fezzy.

[pbrower2a]

I'd assume Colorado is one of the more pro-gun states.

It used to be. But when the issue of gun control boils down to keeping nutcases and criminals from getting firearms, Colorado is likely close to the national average. Deer rifles for hunting has little opposition. Guns for a nut intent on a massacre or in the possession of urban street gangs to terrorize the poorer parts of town is another matter.

Why shouldn't guns be licensed? Automobiles are similarly deadly, and most states have drivers' licensing tests. Shouldn't people know enough to not cross a solid double line, that a red light means stop, that speed laws exist to make highway use safe, and that drunk driving is not only illegal but dangerous? Shouldn't people have to prove suitability for owning a firearm?

I have never owned or used a firearm, but I figure that I could pass a concealed-carry licensing exam easily. At that I know that certain firearms are illegal, that one must assume that all guns are loaded, and that pointing a gun at someone is prima facie assault with a deadly weapon.  I also recognize that alcohol and firearms are a dangerous combination.