"rangerssuck" wrote in message
...

On Thursday, January 31, 2013 5:16:56 PM UTC-5, Ed Huntress wrote:
Sorry, Chris, that this is a mess. I'm rusty and I messed it up.

Hey, Ed -

Welcome back. I *thought* this might draw you out from under your rock.
Thanks for responding to Chris - even at your rustiest, your writing is very
well thought out and to the point.

What you said about registration is exactly what I meant. If you can't keep
track of the guns, how can you know how they are getting into the hands of
the criminals? I fail to see how this places any restrictions on any
law-abiding person to bear arms.

I also agree with NOT destroying background check information. I can
guarantee that somewhere in Oklahoma there's a copy of my Private Pilot
License application. Why shouldn't that be true for gun permits?

================================================== ================

Hey, Ranger. Are the gun nutz giving you a rough time? They appear to be
multiplying. g

The answer to your first question is that you can't. Tracking a gun under
present laws is onerous and expensive, in terms of man-hours. So it isn't
done very often or very well. The straw buyers are fairly safe as a result.
Of course, the nut jobs are all but undetectable, because most states have
completely inadequate databases of adjudicated loons. And psychology itself
isn't particularly good at figuring out who in dangerous, in the first
place.

The data that we have on sources of criminal guns is based mostly on
infrequent surveys and anecdotes. So everybody argues about the data. All we
know for sure is that somebody either broke the law or was negligent, in all
but a small percentage of cases, because somebody had to buy that gun at
retail from an FFL holder, somewhere down the line.

I'm sure you see the big picture. You could have heard it listening to the
Congressional hearings the other day (I sat through most of it). Wayne
LaPierre ducked the question of why the NRA supported background checks from
FFL holders but not for "private" sales (read, unlicensed dealers who Limbo
under the wire and sell at gunshows, etc.). He just changed the subject.

The big picture, as I see it, is that we have several types of gun owners.
There are old farts, like me, who never liked semiauto rifles in the first
place and who don't have a problem with registration anyway. I also spent a
year in Switzerland and my eyes roll back in my head when people point to
that country as an example. They're tough. You break a gun law there, and
you're in deep ****. Also, their entire culture is different, and a lot more
peaceful.

Then there is a large group who is afraid that registration will lead to
confiscation. I've bought and owned guns in NJ for nearly 50 years; all of
my guns are de facto registered, and even here, I've never seriously thought
anyone was going to confiscate my guns. I just don't believe it will happen.

Finally, there is a very noisy contingent of paranoid survivalists and
Walter Mitty types who think they're going to rescue America by shooting
politicians and, one supposes, cops. That is, after they mow down dozens of
attacking liberals who are going to invade their homes and steal their
'possum jerky. These people are freaky and I'm glad they're mostly out West,
out of rifle range. g

They're very different mindsets. When you hear them say they don't want
anyone knowing what guns they own, it's the sound of paranoia. I don't think
there's anything that will change their minds. They see threats in the
shadows, around the corner....everywhere. They'll fight any attempt to limit
guns getting into the hands of criminals and lunatics, because they see
their rights as absolute and unrelated to anything criminals do with guns --
as if criminals get their guns from some source other than the law-abiding
people who buy guns from manufacturers in the first place.

There's little use in arguing with them. To me, they've completely destroyed
the position of responsible gun ownership as a part of the general culture,
and they've polarized the issue beyond all reason. That's where we are. Now
it comes down to who has the votes.

Too bad. It used to be a lot better.

--
Ed Huntress