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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (5922)	2/15/2001 4:21:33 PM
From: Gordon A. Langston	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

I note your observations on city life and cannot refute them from any experience and there is some obvious concern and reasonableness. I think most of it, though, is a matter of message. This struck me as something I believe but in a slightly different way. It is probably good to send the message that we, especially women and what we deem minorities (heck, I think I will be a minority of sorts soon) are not weak and defenseless. Just the possibility of someone being able to defend themselves (not necessarily with a firearm) is a good thing. This is why we put the sign on the yard that says "These premises are protected" and have a decal on the car that indicates it is alarmed. It's difficult to send a believable message if it is prohibited and discouraged. All handguns must be registered in the U.S. Sales of other weapons through licensed dealers are recorded and are de-facto registrations, though not as detailed and usable as a database as some desire. Thanks for your views. I agree with #1 of the last paragraph but agreeing with #2 would defy our heritage.

To: Lane3 who wrote (5922)	2/16/2001 6:08:57 PM
From: TimF	Respond to of 82486

We treat owning guns like owning crockery or t-shirts. No we don't. There are many thousands of gun control laws. There is nothing like this for crockery or t-shirts. (although I guess there is regulation for things lick led in crockery or fire resistance of t-shirts). Try buying a gun if you are a resident of New York City. Has anyone been required to buy no more then one crock-pot a month? Have t-shirts been outlawed because they have a scary picture on them? (guns have been banned for essentially cosmetic reasons). Do you have to worry about laws when you transport crockery or t-shirts across state lines. I do understand the anxiety about governments gone bad and that gives me pause. While I don't dismiss it entirely, I think that 1) the probability is small and 2) private weapons wouldn't do much good against the force of the U.S. government. I agree with 1, but I think that wide spread gun ownership might make it an even lower probability. 2 - Assumes that the military and the government is united behind the new opressive regime. Also its not like everyone has to take there 9mm pistol and line up against an armored division. If there are scores of millions of guns (more then cars) and dozens of millions of gun owners, they can make it more difficult for an opressive regime to have full control. You can't have a tank at every street corner and in every wheat field. Only idiots would attempt to fight the US army the same way Saddam Hussien did. Tim