On 8/9/2012 10:12 AM, HeyBub wrote:
Doug wrote:

You are assuming that saving lives trumps everything else. Trust me,
there are many people that need killing.

As for saving lives, there's a category of interest called
"Defensive Gun Use." On this, you need not trust me. Simple
investigation will show that guns save considerably more lives than
the deaths caused by them.


That's assuming the guns are in responsible hands I imagine. What if
they are not? Do you want ex-felons or mentally ill people having
the right to buy a legal gun? I know illegal guns are available but I
just talking about the legal ones.

"What if they are not (in responsible hands)?" Same as with cars or pogo
sticks: having them in irresponsible hands is the price we must pay for
allowing them in responsible hands.

As for your examples, prohibiting guns to felons is not necessarily because
the felon himself is dangerous, the prohibition is part of the deterrent,
just like felons can't be lawyers, CPAs, barbers, professional engineers,
voters, and a host of other restrictions designed to discourage people from
BECOMING felons in the first place.

Further, I submit that "mentally ill" is way too broad a brush. What do guns
have to do with acrophobia, or the vast majority of mental pathologies
("Yeah, I collect bottle caps (or Facebook Friends). I have over a million.
So what?") And for those few diseases or defects (paranoia, etc.) that may
be problematic, I suggest folks therewith afflicted may have a GREATER need
for a firearm than normal folk.


#1: If the government knows who has guns, they know where to go to
confiscate them. Both the states of New York and California have done
exactly that.

#2: No matter how much you try to equate guns and cars, the
fundamental fact remains that ownership of guns is protected by the
Constitution and cars are not. If you want to put significant
restrictions on guns, you'll have to amend the Constitution; good
luck with that.


Then the laws are not correct as they are written. Is it possible
that our founding fathers couldn't account for every situation when
writing our constitution????

You are correct - there are many laws that are flawed as written. As I said,
you have the capacity to change the Constitution. Until it is amended, we
dance with who brung us.


I find it amusing that felons are prohibited from voting when
non-citizens, pets and the dead are allowed to vote. ^_^

TDD