By Patrick Robinson

The shootings in Las Vegas are only the most recent in a string of mass killings in this nation that incredibly seem to happen nearly every single day. If you’ve lost sight of this, grown jaded to the loss of innocent life  that’s testament to the way we’ve become in America. We hold up the “rights” of people even as they are being gunned down.

That I believe is a world gone mad. Extrapolated to the final degree, we should all have hand grenades, flame throwers, tanks, and military grade cannons since we have “rights.”

But we don’t. 

Why? Why not open up our gun shops to arm everyone indiscriminately? We won’t let 14 year olds get married, or drive a car, or vote or buy booze. But can they go shoot a gun? Can they possess a long gun? Can they sell, deliver or transfer (as in gift) a gun? Yes. 

Still, the much misinterpreted 2nd Amendment stands... itself a change to the original constitution, which we must understand is a living document, at least potentially subject to change. That’s why they are called amendments. There are 27 of them in case you forgot. The reason we have amendments is that we as a society come to points in our growth and development where change and adjustment are necessary.

So I think we need to seriously think about gun laws in this nation. 

But not perhaps in the way you might imagine.

It might not need an amendment or a change in your rights.

I believe we need a cooperative database (between gunshops, law enforcement, and security providers) that extrapolates between gun purchases and a universal "flagging" system. By that I mean if you see something "off" about someone, their name and info get submitted (ALONG WITH YOURS AS THE SUBMITTER)...

That first flag does nothing but provide a record. The correlation between gun ownership and a "flag" only puts a person in a low level category. No action taken, no investigation. STRICT controls would guard the privacy here and only make it available with a warrant. The second gun and a second flag raises the profile. People could have 50 guns, no worry. But put two personal flags on them and they go in a security database for all public places, hotels and other areas where people must use their name and ID. In effect they go on a security watchlist. People of good conscience won't fear submitting names but if you flag three people, a note is added to the database that the flagging could be incorrect. This kind of system could have prevented the San Bernadino killings in which people saw guns, thought something was up but said nothing. No system was in place. 

As much as you might mistrust government administered databases (rightfully so)... it's possible to give it judicial oversight, and legal review, with a public panel (and remedies) to keep it on the up and up. The government already maintains databases on gun sales, felons, suspicious financial transactions, and more. This would add another layer. I'm suggesting that through data mining techniques and what is called "big data" we can more readily identify those people who are more likely to be a threat.

Clearly something like this requires more thought and details (can people get off the list? could it be abused? What does it mean to be on the list? What are the criteria?) but it could go a long way to preventing those with something wrong with them, from acquiring guns and using them for violent and unlawful purposes.

There must be a way forward that recognizes reasonable “rights” and a reasonable expectation of personal safety.