# Guns: A one year wait period. Would that deter the crazies? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 20, 2012, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-a-one-year-wait-period-would-that-deter-the-crazies/644651 "2012-12-20T18:35:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-a-one-year-wait-period-would-that-deter-the-crazies/644651/1 "2012-12-20T18:35:41Z")
I realize there’s little chance of this happening but I’d prefer this thread not turn into a debate about over all gun control. I’d like to keep the topic strictly on keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill. Do you think a one year wait period would be an effective deterrent? I understand that a person’s decent into madness is a long winding road. But still, there’s that breaking point. A point where the would be shooter thinks to himself: “MUST KILL NOW!!” I don’t think there has ever been a killer who thought: “MUST KILL. I’ll buy the guns, wait an entire year and then go on a killing spree.” I know there’s lots of ways a killer can get his hands on weapons. I’m just wondering if at least _this_ avenue would be effective. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-a-one-year-wait-period-would-that-deter-the-crazies/644651/2 "2012-12-20T18:43:46Z")
Like you said there are lots of ways. A year waiting period would just make more peolple access those “lots of ways” and IMO the result would be more and more illegal guns in the long run. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-a-one-year-wait-period-would-that-deter-the-crazies/644651/3 "2012-12-20T18:45:24Z")
Doubt it. They’d just steal the guns from someone who already had them, like the CT nutbag did. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-a-one-year-wait-period-would-that-deter-the-crazies/644651/4 "2012-12-20T21:59:07Z")
It also does not address the issue of someone who buys a gun years before they “lose it”. FWIW I know of people (I am one) who waited over a year for a built-to-spec AR-15 when the AWB first expired. Never much cared about owning one until they told me couldn’t. This is probably not something the “We need to do something” crowd considers. Pretty much anything you do will amp up demand for whatever is still available, either to-be-banned stock before the ban takes effect, or whatever is still legal before they ban that too. Tightening gun regulations is likely to increase the number of guns “out there” rather than the effect imagined. Think I am full of it? People were hoarding twinkies weren’t they! ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-a-one-year-wait-period-would-that-deter-the-crazies/644651/5 "2012-12-20T22:54:53Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Doubt it. They’d just steal the guns from someone who already had them, like the CT nutbag did. I would think the one year wait period would decrease the number of guns in circulation wouldn’t it? Lots of law abiding people might be interested in guns, but decide not to get them, or not to get as many because the one year wait would be a hassle. So this means that there’d be less guns in circulation. The crazy people who want to go cause havoc immediately could still try to steal a gun. But if there are less guns around, then there are less guns for the crazies to steal. I don’t know how much of a difference this would make since there are already a lot of guns out there, and even with a waiting period longer than a year people would still buy guns. And I’m not saying that it should necessarily be done. But it could make a difference. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-a-one-year-wait-period-would-that-deter-the-crazies/644651/6 "2012-12-20T23:05:26Z")
No, it wouldn’t deter the crazies. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-a-one-year-wait-period-would-that-deter-the-crazies/644651/7 "2012-12-21T02:16:13Z")
If someone was bent on a murder-suicide rampage, I cannot imagine them worrying about getting ‘legal’ registered guns. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-a-one-year-wait-period-would-that-deter-the-crazies/644651/8 "2012-12-21T02:26:33Z")
I don’t think it would deter the crazies. Nor am I particularly convinced that a one year wait period would reduce the number of guns out there because sane people who are only mildly interested in guns would be deterred by it. I’m not actually all that opposed to stricter gun control–I just don’t think that stricter gun control is an effective way to reduce spree shootings. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guns-a-one-year-wait-period-would-that-deter-the-crazies/644651/9 "2012-12-21T02:37:03Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > I realize there’s little chance of this happening but I’d prefer this thread not turn into a debate about over all gun control. > > I’d like to keep the topic strictly on keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill. > Do you think a one year wait period would be an effective deterrent? > > I understand that a person’s decent into madness is a long winding road. But still, there’s that breaking point. A point where the would be shooter thinks to himself: “MUST KILL NOW!!” I don’t think there has ever been a killer who thought: “MUST KILL. I’ll buy the guns, wait an entire year and then go on a killing spree.” > > I know there’s lots of ways a killer can get his hands on weapons. I’m just wondering if at least _this_ avenue would be effective. no waiting period in existence would have prevented Lanza from doing what he did, because he didn’t buy the guns he used.