Han wrote:
Mark & Juanita wrote in
:

Han wrote:

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in
news:4P%Xk.1638$us6.1484 @nwrddc01.gnilink.net:

Subject

As this is being typed the news is coming in that gunman have
entered a Toys-R-Us store in Palm Desert, Ca (about 100 miles
east
of downtown L/A), and are shooting up the place.

Too early for casualty reports.

The mess in India continues.

What the hell is this world coming to?

Lew

I believe that in order to be allowed to have a firearm, one
should
have to pass examinations in firearm safety,
Kind of like the literacy tests in the south?

No, ability to use the instrument desired in a manner that is safe
to
the user and others.

You've missed the point. If one has to pass examinations then the
examinations can be used in a discriminatory or unreasonably
restrictive manner--in parts of the US they were used to prevent
minorities from voting--the tests were designed in such a manner that
the scoring was a judgment call, and in the judgment of the scorers no
black person was literate no matter what answere he gave while any
white person was literate even if he couldn't read. In parts of the
US there have been requirements for such examinations to be taken in
order to be allowed to own a firearm. The tests were given very
rarely in unexpected places with no prior announcement and the number
of applicants allowed at any given session was very small--in effect
the only people who were allowed to own firearms were those who had
enough political influence to be informed by word of mouth.

I have no objection to people having guns if
they are used and stored in a safe manner. Well, I still think it
would be a little too easy for an "accident", but US law says
apparently that you are allowed a firearm.

Accidental shootings in the US are quite rare. More people die in
bicycle accidents than in firearms accidents, but we place no
restriction on the ownership of bicycles (and we should--an amazing
number of bicyclists don't seem to be aware that they are expected to
obey traffic laws).

mental stability, and have never
been convicted of any crime or tresspass with violent overtones,
including sale of a firearm to unauthorized person(s).

It's already illegal for anyone who has been judged incompetent,
been convicted of a felony (including sale of a firearm to
unauthorized persons) to possess a firearm.


Anyone who fails
any such exam should be entered onto a blacklist.

Have you heard of the National Instant Background Check? Before
purchasing a firearm, that database is consulted and if any of the
conditions stated above, plus a few more such as outstanding
restraining orders, arrest (not necessarily conviction) for
domestic
violence, and several others are encountered, the sale is refused.

Yes, I have heard of the NIBC. Also, that it is easily circumvented
in some states/cases. That's why I think a license is a good thing.

Oh, how is it "easily circumvented"? The only manners I am aware of
by which it has been "circumvented" are straw man sales, which are
felonious crimes, and private party transactions which are not
regulated mainly because Congress knows damn well that trying to
regulate them has about as much likelihood of success as an attempt to
herd cats.

A requirement for a license would not prevent either class of sale.

Further, according to the US Constitution and to the US Supreme Court,
the ownership of firearms is a right, it is not a privilege, and so is
no more subject to licensing than is free speech.

The right to bear arms should not be extended to those not
qualifying.


Wouldn't it be better if California had more liberal carry laws in
which the gunmen (already committing an illegal act) didn't know
who
might be armed and put a stop to their mayhem?

No, I don't think we should have multiple participants in a
shootout.
This case is a good example. Do you really want 10 other people to
pull out handguns and start shooting at each other in a crowded
department store?

Many states in the US have "must issue" carry permit laws that state
that anyone who applies for a carry permit must be issued one unless
he is a convicted felon or otherwise prohibited from owning a firearm.
Can you give us an example of _one_ incident in which as a result "10
other people pulled out handguns and started shooting at each other"?

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)