There are a lot of gun laws on the books. For example, gun dealers are required to have federal licenses. Buyers are required to be of a certain age and must undergo background checks. In Florida, though, the age limits are even higher, with no one under the age of 21 being able to buy a firearm lawfully at all while federal law only restricts handgun sales at that age–18-year-olds can buy long guns under federal regulations, though, while they can’t under Florida law.
Why talk about Florida’s age restrictions? Well, because a lot of people want them nationwide. They claim that younger adults can’t be trusted with guns, so we should restrict them.
Now, my take is that some young adults can’t be trusted with guns, but you can’t punish everyone for the sins of a few. Especially because the ones you have to worry about aren’t really going to worry about the law anyway.
And with that, you get situations like this one, which is also why I’m talking about Florida.
A teenage boy is accused of shooting and killing a 19-year-old in broad daylight following a botched gun deal outside a Dollar General in Florida – with cops arresting the juvenile more than year after the fatal scuffle.
Kydris Jackson, 14, was charged with second-degree murder after the victim, Griffin Smith, was found riddled with bullets inside his Dodge Ram pickup moments after he purchased a firearm from the then 13-year-old gunman on Dec. 2, 2023, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said.
Police said the victim met Jackson at the Dollar General on Marion Oaks Boulevard to purchase the gun when the alleged perp attempted to swindle him for more money after the pair agreed to a $350 payment, according to court docs obtained by local outlets.
Following the deal-gone-wrong, the teen suspect fired off multiple shots at the victim as he attempted to drive away, according to cops, who later found 14 rifle shells near the fatal scene.
Now, let’s keep in mind that 19-year-olds aren’t buying their own firearms at all and no one in their right mind is going to conduct a lawful, face-to-face transfer with a 13-year-old–just how old Jackson was at the time of the incident–it’s safe to say that there are no amount of gun control laws that would stop this from happening again. Since that’s the opposite of what happened, that makes it even more ridiculous to think that gun laws would somehow accomplish something.
However, that won’t stop many people from simply ignoring stories like this entirely. Instead, they’ll trot out their own sad tails and pretend those are representative of the whole, knowing full well that many people are driven by emotions more than logic. They bank on it.
But this is the kind of story that should also be pushed. Criminals, both young and old, aren’t criminals because they follow the law to the letter. Oh no, they do quite the opposite.
This was an illegal gun deal from the start, as it seems, and a child was the one who pulled the trigger. What’s more, it also involved trying to “swindle” the victim. He was clearly not a good kid by any metric.
Gun control doesn’t work. It’s never going to work.
It’s well past time to give it up.
Read the full article here
