fciron wrote:Gyre, I am not arguing against concealed carry. I actually like concealed carry because it requires that people undergo at least nominal training and prove that they can hit a target. It's the other knuckleheads that I worry about.
I am simply saying that it is not a black and white issue. There are a lot of people who are very scared of guns and want to see some government control over the sales and use of firearms. These are the people who are least qualified to write that legislation. As long as you continue to treat the discussion as if I want to take your guns away you will be leaving the legislation in the hands of extremists on the other side.
I'm not taking it that way.
But I find the current laws extreme already and getting worse, if only due to the states being allowed to add so much detail that is unknown but very harmful.
The states effectively decide if you pass a federal background check by the way they write laws and keep records.
My instant background check would have taken months if I had followed normal procedures. (or forever)
It only took weeks of my time to speed it along.
All problems were with the state.
It really is a miracle anyone can clear it.
The current trend to criminalize paper offenses can already result in felony charges for innocuous things.
We have a situation similar to drug laws.
They debate things they have no control over.
A lot of fuss over weapons when there is no border control due to the drug black market the government props up!
If they can't stop a box of pseudophedrine coming over the border, they know they have no control over weapons in the hands of criminals.
They bragged about stopping the sale of pseudophedrine here to people that need it.
The rate of meth availability went up sharply as the price rose and they began shipping it in concentrated liquid form through mexico.
So now there is more meth and a stronger smuggling system, which I'm guessing will ship illegal weapons too.
The thing to bear in mind that the only way to keep these weapons out of the hands of criminals once they enter the country is for honest people to own them.
I don't think that is possible now unless people are deceived into purchasing them.
So they will go to criminals for what the market will bear.
There are ramifications to every law.
There are far more gun laws than most people realize now.
For the most part, they cost citizens money.
That is the only "benefit".
Harmful consequences abound.
They haven't managed to legislate adequate driver training yet.
I am not sure it can be done for those that won't seek it on their own, for guns or cars.
It would be a good idea to make the training free.
Cost is the main obstacle to people taking it.
They made it illegal to shoot people without justification a long time ago.
Self defense law needs to go much further to protect those that do it.
I really can't think of any other crucial laws needed in regard to guns.
Habitual criminals and those that aren't really criminals already have limited rights.
The real rules of the "assault weapons law" read as a massive financial gift to usa rifle manufacturers.
Much of the atf rules still have the same effect now.
Just a huge ripoff for the consumer.
All I really see is a pendulum that is starting to swing the right way.
The democratic party has been getting the message beat into the leadership that if they don't listen to the public on this issue they will keep losing.
It cost gore the election, in that the election would not have been fixable with a larger majority.
And if Obama does anything stupid in this area, the republicans will be back in for years.
God help us all.