(August 14, 2012 at 12:28 pm)Minimalist Wrote: So therefore we do nothing while the shootings continue? Because we can not magically solve the problem with one simple action we stand around with our thumbs up our asses whining? Sorry. That's not very impressive.
I don't recall saying we should do nothing. As a matter of fact, I recall saying that we are going to need to do a whole lot more than nothing, and that we ought to recognize that our problems run deep, a lot deeper than will be fixed by focusing on a one-dimensional solution. Should we address gun control in the US? Yes, absolutely.
We should try to understand what measures are likely to be effective. I'm in favor of effective control, but recognize that it requires the expenditure of enormous political capital to accomplish, and thus should target what will be effective.
The AW ban was a fucking joke in terms of effectiveness in reducing violence, and if you recall what happened in 1994 partially as a result of that (the Democrats lost control of both houses of Congress)... was that the best expenditure of political capital? I think not. How many lives were saved as a result of that ill-conceived law? Probably exactly zero. When they lost both houses of Congress, for how many years was the Democratic party's agenda stalled? I could very reasonably argue that it's still stalled today, 18 years later.
For how many years was health care reform a dead issue in congress because the right had a hammerlock on the vote? How many lives did that cost?
