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Politics : Al Gore vs George Bush: the moderate's perspective -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jacques Chitte who wrote (1863)	10/9/2000 7:35:48 PM
From: cosmicforce	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10042

But I'm sort of glad that the guy down the street doesn't have the right to pull the mufflers off his. I'll make sure I always use my muffler when shooting my gun, Lather. It's less likely to disturb the school kids down the street when I'm shooting the raccoons off my back fence.<g>

To: Jacques Chitte who wrote (1863)	10/9/2000 9:21:39 PM
From: Dayuhan	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 10042

I myself would gladly welcome certain forms of gun control, e.g. registration, SO LONG as it came bundled with clear legislation, law that no State or municipality could pre-empt or restrict, that secured an adult citizen's right to 1) own, 2) operate, 3) buy and sell, 4) carry concealed or open... What about an adult citizen that has had the cops called to his house repeatedly to deal with violent domestic arguments? What about an adult citizen that has repeatedly been tossed out of bars for being drunk and disorderly? What about an 18 year old "adult" who was booted from school for constantly brawling with other students? Do we want these people carrying concealed firearms? Trying to take the moderate tack on this issue, I come up with two opinions. First, I think that most people should be allowed to own guns with minimal restriction. Second, there are people out there who should not be allowed to have guns. Much as we like to talk about drive-by or "road rage" shootings, muggings, B&E shootings, etc., the sad truth remains that the typical American homicide involves a fit of temper, people that already know each other, and a domestic or neighborhood dispute that gets out of hand. If a drug is involved, it is probably alcohol. The individuals involved are by no means hardened criminals. The weapon is usually a handgun, often one that was bought for self-defense. (I don't have the statistics to hand on this, and I'm not going to go looking for them, but I've read it in quite a number of relatively objective sources, it's been confirmed by every cop I've ever discussed the subject with, and it rings true to me.) I don't know what the answer to this problem is, but it seems irresponsible to me not to admit that it is a problem, just as it seems irresponsible to claim that all efforts to regulate guns are steps toward a total ban. It's probably not something that can be completely eliminated, but it's hard to believe that there isn't something that can be done to keep guns away from the obviously unfit. I've believed for a long time that people who know how to use guns are least likely to abuse them. The person who takes range time regularly and has the self-discipline to master the use of a weapon is a lot likely to blow someone away in a fit of temper than the person who buys a gun because it makes him feel tough, and never bothers to learn to use it. I don't think anyone should be allowed to keep a gun at home until they've passed a stringent competence test, and I'd like to see post-purchase guns locked up at a range under supervision of a qualified range officer until such a test is passed. But I'm sure that would be a fearful violation of somebody's right to swagger about with a steel penis to reinforce his ego.