Should Omar Mateen have been legally allowed to buy a gun on June 10, 2016?

[Virginiá]

Does the FBI get notified when people who were under suspicion, or still under suspicion / on watchlist attempt to purchase firearms? At the very least they should be notified and the FBI should keep a close eye on them for a reasonable amount of time to make sure things like this don't happen. I'd like to think that there aren't so many current/former persons of interest trying to buy weapons that it isn't feasible to keep an eye on them for an indeterminate amount of time after the fact.

It just bothers me that the FBI had tips or suspicions of some of these shooters (past and present) and yet still ending up with this bs. I'd understand more if the shooters were completely random people never before suspected, but come on now.

[Virginiá]

The problem with all these threads and the ridiculous suggestions contained in them is no one is posting real verified data.

How many people are on these lists?  I mean if you have a list with 200,000 people on it then there simply isn't the manpower to set up a surveillance team every time one of the people on the list sneezes.  There are less than 14,000 special agents at the FBI and they also have other responsibilities.

Right. I don't know if you are referring to my post with that but I said only when they attempt to purchase a gun. I don't think there would be a large number of instances of that happening, but then again, I don't have the data to back up that assertion. I think it would be reasonable to have them notified so they can make decisions on who to look further into.

This stuff is going to happen no matter what we do, but I wish we could at least try some things instead of Congress just doing nothing every single time. They can even add sunsets to the bills to prevent one side from unfairly obstructing repeal if the ideas/programs don't work.

[Virginiá]

Btw, I live in a country with rather restrictive gun laws. To get a simple hunting rifle you need to undergo an extensive check and you must follow strict rules about keeping it in a safe place. And, needles to say, any gun-related violence here is rare.

There are a number of things we could do, but any time anyone brings up any sort of restriction, no matter how small, you get a outpouring of people bitching and pointing out any and every little reason of why such restrictions or ideas would be burdensome or just bad. Every. Freakin. Time.

As I've always maintained, I am only in favor of ideas that actually reduce violence, as opposed to ideas that help nothing and serve just to make people / interest groups feel better. But the resistance to meaningful reforms in this country is getting absurd. If I didn't know better, the ultimate goal on the right seems to be having guns as easy to purchase as candy. I'm getting a bit sick of this blind, across-the-board resistance to anything but deregulation. People should be willing to compromise if the ideas have a chance at making things better.

[Virginiá]

There is a gigantic gun show loop hole.  Anyone can buy a gun with no background check.  No way for the FBI to even know a sale has happened.

Also there is a very stringent time limit on background checks.  If the FBI doesn't deny a sale within 72 hours the purchaser can just get the gun by default.  There have been cases of the FBI eventually telling a gun store, no way, but too late, the gun buyer is already merrily on their way.

Yes, so maybe require buyers to pick up their gun at a store after a check has been done. Require people to wait for the check to be done before getting the gun, while the govt does what it has to to make the checks quick. These are the things I'm talking about. I'm sure any number of people out there, or even on this forum, would argue somehow these are bad things and come up with a list of excuses. I don't think it's too much to ask to do these things. At the end of the day, if they can pass a check, they can get their gun. It may take a little longer and they may have to drive to a store, but big freakin deal.

I'm so tired of this debate. One side wants to ban guns every time a major shooting happens, and the other wants to do nothing but deregulate further. Same thing every time. Right now it seems Democrats will take what they can get, while Republicans refuse to cede an inch on this.