GUN TALK
All the Rage These Days
(For a few days "until this one blows over")
A friend of mine wrote a column about Occam's Razor. In it he "simplified" the liberal/progressive gun regulation position like this:
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"Since this shooting (Parkland), I've once again heard from non-gun owning friends of mine that have proposed that the first and best solution is for America to rid itself of all of its 300 million plus guns. They say that by doing so we will eliminate any future shootings of any kind."
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| We live in Gunland * |
You say some of your “non-gun owning friends” think: " the first and best solution is for America to rid itself of all of its 300 million plus guns.” What wildly radical friends you have. Australians? I don’t want to be tarred with that brush. It sounds suspiciously like the “they’re coming to get your guns” (probably in black helicopters) fear meme from some of the Alex Jones types and is patently ridiculous. Please tell that to your non-gun owning friends for me.
You know I consider my self quite “liberal” (and am stuck with the label “progressive”). I think gun confiscation is supremely stupid and would NEVER work in the U.S. I would have to think my plan for working on our toxic gun culture would be pretty darn lefty, but reasonable, sensible and non-repressive… and might actually help. You know it, but here it is again:
No guns for people who have committed serious violent crime (including domestic violence), no-fly-listers, illegal aliens and “people of interest” under police observation.
A gun registry; gun law and weapon handling training - and the demonstration of competence in both.(like for our cars) Any cross-state-lines laws would default to the toughest standards state involved - even when it’s California.
Mandatory liability insurance based on the number and type of weapons owned. (The only ‘penalty’ for owning an arsenal.)
Prohibit civilian ownership of military style long guns, and specific limits on ammo capacity for all other semi-automatic weapons….But allow shooting ranges where you can get your kicks renting such weaponry and do recreational shooting for however long one wants and can afford.
[See, no confiscations!]
So as the resident liberal progressive in the gang, I offer a bet that my plan would 1.) win if it went to the Supreme Court as not violating the 2nd, and 2.) get about 75% approval by the general population of the U.S.
I’m saying 75% on the most conservative basis. Only 22% of U.S. adults own guns. 55 million out of 250 million adults. These are data from a 2016 study by Northeastern University and Harvard.
When you’re feeling tolerant, you can see the psychologist’s (guess who) rebuttal of the “mental health” talking point so common among NRA acolytes. (I know how much you like to read my blog.)
Your gun-owning friend,
Olde Scooter
BTW (long for 'P.S.'): The “super owner” category - 3% of adults - own about half of all guns. I also bet most non-super gun owners would like my plan.
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