RE: USA and Gun control
July 12, 2015 at 8:43 am
(This post was last modified: July 12, 2015 at 9:08 am by The Grand Nudger.)
We've already given our government control and authority aplenty to make looong lists of things we can and can't do, can and can't have. They're fucking dismal at it, and with each addition to the list the liberty our government is supposed to exist to pursue and maintain for us is diminished. Banning guns would likely prevent a great many accidental deaths and injuries -by gun-, those same people might find another creative way to hurt themselves, of course, but it wouldn't be guns -as much-. It's unlikely to stop people from committing violent crime and hurting each other. So whats the score of banning guns, what do we achieve, and whats the effect?
Idiots will find it more difficult (but not impossible) to shoot themselves or their neighbors.
Criminals will find themselves in precisely the same situation they're already in - they don;t seem to be having -too- much trouble hurting people as is.
Liberty would be eroded, the power of the state increased.
I'm not sure that a small gain in #1 is worth the hit to #3, and there must certainly be another way to achieve #1 - #2 is a wash, the guns used in committing violent crimes are almost uniformly illegal -already-. If we add licensing and -enforcement- to our existing gun laws (where not already applicable) then I can;t imagine what the issue might be. The issue now, is that our existing gun laws simply aren't enforced, or aren't uniform (and how would a ban matter at all if we aren;t interested in enforcement in the first place?). We don't prosecute the man who sold the hot gun to the drug dealer, but we could, and should. We don't prosecute the man who sends a "freedom missile" (thanks Min) into his neighbors living room - even though we do prosecute the same man who puts his car in the neighbors living room. I don;t get it at all, no more than I get the ban idea. Our government and our laws don't exist to act against, and aren't capable of legislation regarding pre-crime. If something happens involving a gun, we should prosecute to the fullest extent of the law, but we do actually have to wait until someone's done something wrong until we can put them under the spotlight. Banning my .22 puts me under the finger of Uncle Sam for my crimes against aluminum cans and squirrels, using the justification of what other criminals/incompetents have done in other places, to other people - with no real expectation that I would do the same. It's fucking un-american...lol.
We'll need a better reason for a ban of my personal property, imo, much better than "other bad people elsewhere did shitty things" or "we're trying to prevent crimes that have not yet happened by legislating against you, a non-criminal, today"..............don't get me wrong, it may even work, and that's probably what makes it so alluring, but that doesn't change that the notion is fundamentally an abrogation of liberty and freedom, fundamentally an inversion of the purpose of our system of law. I've said it before...we'll probably end up banning guns in the US, eventually. I just want to think that when we do, people understand what it is we've done, and how much of a disappointment both we, and our governments) would become on that count. So, we've got a problem with gun violence in the US, if the solution that both we and our government arrive upon is to add a few inches to the height of the concertina here in our Prison States, I'm not going to see that ban as any sort of victory.
Idiots will find it more difficult (but not impossible) to shoot themselves or their neighbors.
Criminals will find themselves in precisely the same situation they're already in - they don;t seem to be having -too- much trouble hurting people as is.
Liberty would be eroded, the power of the state increased.
I'm not sure that a small gain in #1 is worth the hit to #3, and there must certainly be another way to achieve #1 - #2 is a wash, the guns used in committing violent crimes are almost uniformly illegal -already-. If we add licensing and -enforcement- to our existing gun laws (where not already applicable) then I can;t imagine what the issue might be. The issue now, is that our existing gun laws simply aren't enforced, or aren't uniform (and how would a ban matter at all if we aren;t interested in enforcement in the first place?). We don't prosecute the man who sold the hot gun to the drug dealer, but we could, and should. We don't prosecute the man who sends a "freedom missile" (thanks Min) into his neighbors living room - even though we do prosecute the same man who puts his car in the neighbors living room. I don;t get it at all, no more than I get the ban idea. Our government and our laws don't exist to act against, and aren't capable of legislation regarding pre-crime. If something happens involving a gun, we should prosecute to the fullest extent of the law, but we do actually have to wait until someone's done something wrong until we can put them under the spotlight. Banning my .22 puts me under the finger of Uncle Sam for my crimes against aluminum cans and squirrels, using the justification of what other criminals/incompetents have done in other places, to other people - with no real expectation that I would do the same. It's fucking un-american...lol.
We'll need a better reason for a ban of my personal property, imo, much better than "other bad people elsewhere did shitty things" or "we're trying to prevent crimes that have not yet happened by legislating against you, a non-criminal, today"..............don't get me wrong, it may even work, and that's probably what makes it so alluring, but that doesn't change that the notion is fundamentally an abrogation of liberty and freedom, fundamentally an inversion of the purpose of our system of law. I've said it before...we'll probably end up banning guns in the US, eventually. I just want to think that when we do, people understand what it is we've done, and how much of a disappointment both we, and our governments) would become on that count. So, we've got a problem with gun violence in the US, if the solution that both we and our government arrive upon is to add a few inches to the height of the concertina here in our Prison States, I'm not going to see that ban as any sort of victory.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
