Near Future & Gun Control

Nothing brings about a flood of poorly constructed analogies like a gun control debate. 

rednekk98 wrote: It really might be time for a national license.

We need national ID cards, for everyone. GPS technology is cheap enough and small enough. Caught without it, should result in a stiff penalty. All felons should be chipped.

My problem with gun control arguments from the left is that they tend to view the 2nd amendment as expendable because it doesn't fit their worldview. I think that, guns themselves aside, this is a dangerous way to view the Constitution.

I think my other issue is that both sides argue this issue wrong. It doesn't matter WHY civilians NEED guns....it's a constitutional right. When you find yourself trying to justify your rights you've already put yourself on the defensive.

I think that gun owners are frustrated because we're having our rights dictated to us by people who have no idea what they're talking about. Phrases like "Americans don't need weapons that fire 30 rounds at once" bring to mind the old standby criticism of old white Republican men telling women how to use their bodies.

I don't want some politician who hears "AR-15" and thinks "minigun" writing my gun regulations. It's maddening.

BARREL BREAK wrote:   stratoaxe wrote: Phrases like "Americans don't need weapons that fire 30 rounds at once" bring to mind the old standby criticism of old white Republican men telling women how to use their bodies. What an absolutely ridiculous thing to say.

Well, if vaginas automatically fight rape and pregnancy from it, there's no need for wimmin to have guns because they're concerned about rape.


Edited by rednekk98 - 20 December 2012 at 5:24pm

Not sure why the government should get to have an itemized list of everything I buy because of a mentally ill sociopath shot up a school.

That nutcase in China did how much damage to children with a knife? Should we make people register with the federal government before buying steak knives too?

agentwhale007 wrote: The people have initial responded to the shooting in Connecticut by rushing out and buying firearms just in case are not people I really want to be friends with, or really associate with.

Why? It's pretty much agreed upon that there is about to be a poorly thought out, unfairly restrictive knee-jerk response implemented. Why shouldn't law abiding citizens make their purchases before the government punishes them for something they didn't do?

Edited by usafpilot07 - 20 December 2012 at 5:40pm

None of the kids in China were killed (this time) and center fire rifle rounds are exceptionally freaking lethal. If a psycho uses a knife instead of a gun, he's going to be a less effective killing machine.

These people are clearly killing machines, the guy apparently was insensitive to emotional or even physical pain. I've run into a few people who are incapable of feeling physical pain, and that seriously changes a big part of the equation as far as restraining them goes. This kid could have had his arm shattered and could still have been focused enough to try to stab someone with the shards. He was some sort of abhorrent mutant, and while results of this investigation are a long ways out, from the reports he was left alone for days with unsecured firearms, several of which were illegal for him to possess (handguns, possibly the rifle, not sure on how CTs AR laws work), and probably had an inclination that his mother was trying to have him removed from the house. It would be interesting to know what his altercation at the school was about the day before, but it sounds like most of the people who would know are dead. This guy, like almost all of the others, used firearms that they should not have been allowed to access. This guy was too young to have a handgun and possibly the rifle, the guy in Oregon "stole" his rifle from a friend (probably a straw buy, no background check) the VA Tech guy was crazy, and the CO guy was crazy and threatening, and these guys didn't end up in the system. The theater shooter's threats against a counselor are probably not even going to be admissible in court due to HIPPA. There are no effective ways to get these people listed as prohibited possessors, when they do pop up on the radar it often isn't reported to NICS, and the only way to get them help against their will is wait until they can be jailed for something.

Gun ownership is still a right protected by the constitution. What about the first amendment? Mentally ill people hear the history channel ranting about the Mayan apocalypse and kill themselves. I'm not sure our rights should be dictated by the most evil and insane members of society, but I am willing to make sure they have limited access to items that pose potential public danger.

Phone won't let me edit : that applies to drinking too.

BARREL BREAK wrote:   stratoaxe wrote: Phrases like "Americans don't need weapons that fire 30 rounds at once" bring to mind the old standby criticism of old white Republican men telling women how to use their bodies. What an absolutely ridiculous thing to say.

Why? Both are groups completely ignorant of the subject of their lawmaking.

If you're going to regulate something you should at least have knowledge of it.

Edited by stratoaxe - 20 December 2012 at 6:32pm

rednekk wrote: Gun ownership is still a right protected by the constitution. What about the first amendment? Mentally ill people hear the history channel ranting about the Mayan apocalypse and kill themselves. I'm not sure our rights should be dictated by the most evil and insane members of society, but I am willing to make sure they have limited access to items that pose potential public danger.

This is the exact point I was trying to make.

Freedom of speech is an absolutely dangerous right. How many revolutions and deaths are started by a single person's persuasion?

The point is you control guns in the sane way you do speech-with limits.

But one needs to at least have a working knowledge of something to regulate it. The AWB will ignore the guns predominately used for murder in our country-cheap handguns.

Want to cut crime without touching the Constitution? Tax the crap out of guns.