Thanks for reading and/or listening. If you haven’t already, go ahead and hit that subscribe button. It is totally free to subscribe. Social media posts only make it to approximately 10% of your followers, so this is my way of communicating with you more directly. I hope you enjoy.
Welcome to The Bloch,
For the sports fans out there, bare with me while all the action happens. I will discuss what is going on in March Madness and with the NBA trades on an episode next week.
Today I’m going to cover a serious topic that is in the news again this week: of course I’m talking about guns. After a shooting in Colorado this week, President Biden is calling for an assault weapons ban to try to deal with this issue once and for all. After a long, heated conversation with some friends on this the other day, I know this is a hugely controversial issue. For that reason I am going to do my best in this episode to break down why I think it shouldn’t be so controversial, and what I think we need to do about it as a nation going forward.
First a little background on me. I grew up in Georgia, which, for those who don’t know, is a state which likes its’ guns. Growing up I had friends whose dads had cases with a number of guns in them, always locked away, and they would go hunting a few times a year and bust the guns out of the case. My immediate family never had guns in the house - my dad was never really into it. We do have an old relic rifle, God only knows if it even shoots. Over a decade ago I moved to California, and so the thought of maybe buying a gun one day kind of stayed with my old life in Georgia.
But over the years I have reconsidered as I have gotten older, and with more mass shootings happening and the way they are reported, it almost feels like you need one to protect yourself or you are the fool. So I don’t own a gun, and I have no immediate plan to do so, but I certainly haven’t ruled it out. Now that that is established, moving on.
A big problem with the gun debate in America is the fact that the gun debate doesn’t exist in America. The two sides come at the discussion from such opposing viewpoints, that there seems to be little room for compromise. Let me show you what I mean. A common right wing argument might sound something like this: There are already hundreds of millions of guns in America and we have the 2nd Amendment. Any laws that restrict my right to own guns are unconstitutional. The only thing that kills a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. Guns don’t kill people, mental health is the problem. The guns are already semi-automatic, what do you want us to do, go back to 6-shooter pistols? What if we have a tyrannical government? Not taking my guns. Ha!.
A common left wing argument might sound something like this: These mass shootings are so horrific, I am outraged that our government hasn’t done anything to stop these people from getting these guns. Who even needs these military guns anyway? Did you know these assault rifles can basically automatically shoot 40 bullets at once? There is no legitimate use for these weapons and they should all be banned. Either of those sound familiar?
What might not sound familiar is what is coming next. An honest, quick breakdown of what we maybe could agree on to do about guns if our politicians actually sat down and talked about it.
The first thing we need to acknowledge is that many of the laws that should be considered on a national scale have already been done at the state level. I’m talking about background checks, closing the gun show loophole, and limits on magazine capacity. We also need to acknowledge that for the most part these laws are unsuccessful at preventing the mass shootings. We also need to acknowledge that we are unable to count how many shootings are indeed prevented by the laws in place.
Universal background checks are an obvious step we need to take, but I think we should go a step further. You have to have training and be licensed to drive, and you also have to be insured. Why do none of these protections exist for gun sales? I would even go so far as to say the deadlier the gun you want to buy, the deeper the psychiatric analysis you should have to go through to make sure you are of sound mind when you buy these guns.
Next we need to acknowledge that if you go to buy an AR-15 aka “America’s rifle” at a gun store in a bunch of states, the starter pack they will sell you will potentially include 3 magazines: one that can hold 20 bullets and two that can hold 40! I’ve shot an assault rifle before and I’ll tell you - 40 bullets in a magazine is more than plenty for any reasonable civilian use, including target practice! Even during target practice 10 bullets is plenty when you use a handgun.
Next we need to acknowledge that any restrictions you implement on magazine size, you must consider all of the places those magazines exist: currently on store shelves, currently being manufactured, already in peoples arsenal, and ones that are yet to be manufactured. You will likely need nuanced policy for all of these different spaces. For example, you could have a grandfather clause in a lower magazine law allowing people who already own larger magazines to continue to do so.
This one is controversial, but I think we should discuss the style of the guns and the psychology of selling military-style weapons to civilians. When the mass shooters use those guns, my guess is they are visualizing themselves in Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto, and I imagine that style gun helps them do it.
Next, why don’t we have a buyback program already in place? Australia had success with this and it doesn’t seem controversial to buy back guns from people who are willing to get rid of them. Cities and states can implement this too. I hear about some of these on small scale in California, but I don’t hear about it happening much elsewhere.
Lastly, in the words of Chris Rock, “we don’t need gun control, we need bullet control!” Maybe a higher tax on ammunition and a limit on how much ammunition you are allowed to carry at once would be a good start!
The simple conclusion is we can do better. Much better. We can protect the right to keep and bare arms and protect more of our innocent friends and family who don’t deserve to be shot when they are trying to buy some groceries. We can do better. I hope our politicians are listening.
Until next time.
Bloch
MARKET SNAPSHOT
WORK WITH BRIAN
I run Elbay Endeavors, a consulting company which helps individuals and entrepreneurs expand their wealth and businesses. We have programs for everyone from rising investors to fortune 500 companies. No matter where you are on your financial or entrepreneurial journey, we’re here to help you get to the next level. Get Started.
Schedule a FREE 30-minute consultation with me.
Download our FREE guide to get started expanding your wealth and businesses today.
Connect with Brian: LinkedIn. Instagram. Facebook. Email.
HELPFUL LINKS
Trading and Investing
E*TRADE. Open your zero-commission brokerage account or IRA today. Get a cash reward when you fund your brokerage account.
TradingView. Use best-in-class charting software to help you plan your trades and investments. Get $30 off when you sign up for a new plan.
Benzinga Pro. See what is moving in the market today. Track news, alerts, and see why stocks are moving in real time. Don’t miss your next parabolic trade.
MarketFy. Great trade ideas. See what trades the experts are recommending and share your ideas with the community.
Crypto
Coinbase. The best place to get started with crypto. Buy and sell top currencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polkadot and more. Claim $10 in Bitcoin when you buy or sell your first $100 of crypto.
BlockFi. Do more with your crypto. Earn interest on crypto deposits, use crypto as collateral for a loan, or sign up for the BlockFi Bitcoin Rewards credit card to earn 1.5% cash back in Bitcoin on all purchases.
Ledger. Store your crypto securely in cold storage. Your private keys, your crypto.
Capital
Quickbooks. Manage your books with no hassle and get setup in minutes. Get 50% off the first three months of your subscription.
SoFi. Take control of your finances. Claim your $300 welcome bonus when you refinance a student loan or take out a SoFi personal loan.
Philanthropy
Banzai! Free financial literacy courses for your or your loved ones. It is never too early and never too late to start learning about money.
One Tree Planted. Plant trees with my beloved reforestation partner. One tree planted for every dollar donated. Serving areas of the world which need it most.
Kiva. Make loans that change lives. Kiva brings finance capabilities to developing countries around the world, using micro-lending to provide financial services.
Water.org. Give the gift of life by donating water. Water.org works to provide clean water and sanitation to the hundreds of millions of people around the world who lack this basic human need. Only $25 donation can provide clean water for a family for a lifetime.
Children’s Miracle Network. Children's Miracle Network raises funds and awareness for 170 member hospitals that provide 32 million treatments each year to kids across the U.S. and Canada. Donations stay local to fund critical treatments and care.
Relaxing
Chill Systems. Unplug from the digital world and enjoy the moment with a cold beverage. Cold drinks, no ice. Chilling Simplified. Save Time, Money, & the Environment. As Seen on Shark Tank. Get 20% off with code Elbay20.
Additional helpful links to stay informed on Investing & Trading, Sports, News, Science, Technology, & Entertainment.
If you haven’t already, hit that subscribe button. It is totally free to subscribe, and all my clients get the first year paid subscription free with any package purchased. With the paid subscription you’ll get investment research tips in real time to help you expand your wealth. I do the research so you don’t have to. The annual subscription costs less than a 22𝇍 a day, you really can’t afford to be without it.
Hoping for Reasonable Conversation on Guns