Gun Soup for the Soul

GUN SOUP FOR THE SOUL

Gun fever is approaching madness with gun enthusiasts fighting to buy any type of weapon the talk radio hosts scares them into buying before the White House strips away their right to possess them. This past December President Obama announced the formation of a task force to come up with proposals that will address gun violence in the wake of the tragic mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, which will be led by Vice President Joe Biden. You can check out the full details in + Tommy Christopher's column for mediaite.com.  Since then there have been a deluge of articles, news reports, and commentary suggesting how the nation as a whole can accomplish the seemingly impossible task of arriving at a consensus that is agreeable to all.

The funny thing is...everyone seems to be suffering from “Congressittis.”  That's where nobody seems to be listening to anybody else.  When I was in Culinary class and there was a disagreement on the prep team as to the order of item prep my Instructor would make us circle round a soup pot and stare into it until we came up with a concensus.  We got quicker and quicker at coming up with a consensus, so, on this gun issue, why not try looking at it all in a soup pot?  If you do you'll soon find that some ingredients (such as a ban on assault weapons) are not really necessary.  Why not?  Because much like a good soup the base stock dictates the overall flavor and is what makes the other ingredients work together.  Take as a base stock in this gun soup the common desire that we all share of no more mass murders.  Now a lot of  people like carrots in their soup while others don't.  But, the deliciousness of the overall soup will make a carrot hater keep ordering it, since, all they're going to do is eat around the carrots anyway.  The same rules can apply with smart gun ownership policies as well.  I suggest the following recipe to fix the gun violence problem we face as a nation and I hope you find it tasty.  The instructions and the reasons for each ingredient follow the recipe.
     
RECIPE FOR GUN SOUP (serve with a side of garnish)

Base Stock:
Public Interest
Homeland Security Department
NSA
State Police

Ingredients:
VA Psychiatrists
Digital Mental Health Exam
Federal Gun Owner ID
Volunteer Veterans

INSTRUCTIONS
The inclusion of the Public Interest bares no explanation.  The reasoning behind the others is that in order to make our soup tasty to all we must make it agreeable to the masses.  To do that our soup must not only be tasty, but, affordable as well.  Affordability falls under cost and cost in this recipe is the garnish, which, is discussed at the end.  Hence we begin with Homeland Security administrating the  program through the NSA on a national level.  The NSA would then localize it by bringing in the State Police who would have the authority to do on-site inspections, as needed, for the ingredients that come next.
Because of the VA Psychiatrist’s experience with people who refuse to shoot other people; people who are not afraid to do their duty on the battle field; and, people who are just too gung-ho trigger happy, they are needed to compile the most comprehensive (and yet abbreviated!) digital mental health exam ever built.  This exam would be used to gauge the person to person violence potential of any applicant for gun ownership, determine the gun safety education level and personal responsibility level of an applicant,  .  The VA Psychiatrist is also needed because no civilian Psychiatrist could afford the insurance that would be required to guard against claims if  someone slips by the test, gets a gun, and goes on a shooting spree.  Now, here's the “carrot” in the soup.  Once an applicant is approved they would need to go to the local DPS office and purchase a Federal Gun Owner (G.O.) ID.  This G.O. ID would have to be renewed every four years and to do so the “GOID” holder would have to pass a continuing education “GOID” renewal exam.  This part is as crucial to implement as salt is to soup.  Take for instance a gun owner who upon achieving a “GOID” and thus, a gun, was at the time living in a gun safe environment.  Meaning there were no mentally challenged in residence.  However, as things sometimes happen, now the “GOID” holder has a mentally challenged person living with them.  Ordinarily, no one would be notified.  However, with a “GOID” would come the responsibility of notifying the State Police of the possible danger that now exists within the situation.  This may seem like a burden, and okay, so it is, but, responsibility breeds burden as yeast raises rolls and to be a gun owner is to be responsible.  Further, I don't know about you, but, if my neighbor invites me to dinner I'd kinda like to know whats on the menu the same as I would like to know that my gun owning neighbor has a mentally challenged person residing with them.  Plus, this “GOID” is itself a mighty protector to the holder in that, first, by complying with it's requirements the holder would be indemnified against lawsuit in most cases.  A second way a “GOID” is a protector is that when a gun is sold person to person it would be incumbent upon the recipient to obtain a “GOID” thereby relieving the holder of any further responsibility other than reporting the sale.   Our final ingredient are the Volunteer Veterans.  Volunteer Veterans are the stabilizers in our soup and as such have a critical role to play.   These volunteers will use their expertise in that often unheralded self control, where, weapons, anger, and temptation meet in the darkest parts of the mind. The veterans would be comprised of retired Military, Police, and other protective Agencies personnel.  The role they play is to be at the end of a phone line established to “talk down” any caller who is feels like they need an outlet before an act of violence.  They would also be available for family, friends, or employers of anyone who seems to be acting out of character, as in, an alarming manner.  They would be the frontline, so to speak, and in them we could rely, for, forever have they demonstrated an unrelenting desire to protect and serve.

GARNISH
The garnish for our gun soup are the funds generated from the cost to the applicant of the exam and the G.O. ID.  While nobody enjoys paying more for something, where, before there were no extra fees, it remains the fact that to be a gun owner in this day and age comes with some form of sacrifice. Therefore let those who would bear arms bare them, but, let them also proudly bear the burdens that come attached, and in so doing, enjoy the soup.