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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Don Lloyd who wrote (80067)	4/24/2000 7:25:00 PM
From: Freedom Fighter	Respond to of 132070

Don, I never even considered that possibility. I always assumed the registration fight was overkill because I saw no downside to it when weighed against the possibility of limiting crime. But in fact you make perfect sense. If times were really bad and the government was behaving in ways that threatened personal liberties, full registration data could be used to estimate the level of loss that would be associated with a full confiscation. Without registration the gamble would be much bigger and possibly much more costly. Very interesting! That's why I like this group. I learn something new every day. Wayne

To: Don Lloyd who wrote (80067)	4/24/2000 7:57:00 PM
From: Tommaso	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 132070

As many people have pointed out, the registration of automobiles in no way implies the government's right to take them away from people. If the government made a move to take away my 12-gauge shotgun, which is a far better defensive weapon than a pistol, I would object. I have no objection to my being licensed to keep it and to having its serial number (I never even looked to see if it has one), or a serial number, registered. Actually I have a large arsenal of handguns, sporting rifles, and military rifles that I would not mind registering. I at least used to be an excellent shot, I know how to handle many kinds of weapons, I have always enjoyed shooting them--even once made my own gunpowder and shot for a pistol, to show I could do it. The belief that registering guns will lead inevitably to confiscation is absurd. It's just as absurd as the belief that suppressing pornography inevitably leads to abrogation of free speech. I think both the NRA (of which I was once a member) and the ACLU (of which I was once a member) have pushed their agendas of defending the constitution so far that both organizations have sponsored licentiousness of opposite kinds in the name of freedom and have damaged American civilization.