Just go to an adjoining state and buy it there...………...

No, it's not the gun. It is the ease of acquiring one by simply driving over the state line, buying one legally there, and bringing it back home.

ANYONE with a fake ID can get a gun at a gun show. No background check required, no proof that you know how to use it, no license necessary.

Firearms are too easy for ANYONE to get. The government needs to provide more accountability to both the buyer and the seller.

Regarding killing people with a car or a truck filled with fertilizer and fuel (to whoever posted that) none of those three things are made exclusively for the purpose of killing anyone (or anything). Fertilizer's function is to help things GROW. Deisel is a fuel that is designed to - fuel things. Cars are designed to get people from point A to point B. Guns are designed to shoot things and people. Semi-automatic rifles are designed to shoot -and- kill lots of people in a short period of time.

That is the reason why guns exist in the first place.

A license to drive a car is what you get after proving you know how to drive the car. A license to own a firearm is what you get after proving you - want to own a firearm.

There needs to be more control, more accountability, more checks and balances. Right now it's just too easy for any crackpot to walk into a gun show, buy a gun, leave, and shoot up a store.

Mental illness is certainly a component. The trouble is, we give people access to mass killing machines - how else would you describe these semi-automatic military weapons? - when they fill out paper work and it is decided that they are OK to own one today.

But what happens when they flip out 2 years from now and they own a powerful semi-automatic weapon? Nobody has ever explained how you check on their continued mental balance after they bought the weapon.

The problem is who will decide whether a person who wants to buy a gun is or is not a "crackpot"?

Well let's see. If they've been regular visitors to the local drug rehab center courtesy of a court order, it's a pretty good guess that they probably shouldn't own a firearm. If they have an existing, active diagnosis of borderline personality disorder with delusional tendencies, I'm thinking maybe nix on the AR-15. If she was hospitalized in the last year for attempted suicide - don't issue a license, don't sell the gun.

While this information isn't public knowledge unless it's the result of a court order, it is in a database. Any time a patient poses a threat to anyone including themselves, that information is put into a database.

The seller doesn't even need to know WHY they're being told not to sell the gun. They only need to know "this person has a red flag on her request."

Others have touched on the "violence problem" and mental illness. Actually this is where we need to be looking. Why is the suicide rate rising? Why do people not value life and choose violence as the answer? I remember a teenager being killed over a quarter when I was in junior high school. A quarter! Instead of fixating on the method, we need to understand the why.

Oh and by the way, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that almost 30 people PER DAY are killed as a result of drunk driving crashes (link). Cars may not have been designed primarily to kill, but they are certainly effective at doing it WHEN USED ILLEGALLY.

I have no answers, but God has been removed from many things in life the maybe that plays into it?

So, if a person has a mental issue and wants to seek treatment, do they need to jeopardize their right to buy a gun? If so, then I think that some people might just choose to not seek the treatment they need.

Texas has an open carry policy. It does not require background checks for firearm purchases. You can buy a semi-automatic weapon in any gun shop in Texas, and Walmart sells guns in El Paso. Lots of guns all over the place in Texas, including El Paso. No license necessary, it is not required in Texas. You only need a conceal license for handguns, but no license at all for open carry. Not a single person attempted to stop the shooter.

I would not disagree with this statement. Do I think it is the only answer? No, but I think it might be a contributory cause. Unfortunately, in my opinion, if we continue to look at the how instead of the why, we won't move closer to finding the answers.

Background checks for firearm purchase from a licensed dealer are required by FEDERAL law, so no, you can't buy a firearm from a licensed dealer without one in Texas.

Do you just make this stuff up as you go along? Open carry has nothing to do with purchasing a gun and background checks. Even TX has to follow Federal law..

Background Checks and Federal Firearm Laws Quick Reference
 

Here is a link to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (link)

And here too is the Federal Firearm Laws Quick Reference sheet (link)

The Federal Gun Control regulations are in Title 18 of the United States Code Chapter 44.

Too many psychos out there. They may be only one in 10,000 but that is 100 in a million.

No you can't. For someone that likes facts and figures, links........you
just don't know.
Steve