It’s Time to Ban Guns. Yes, All of Them.

[mwrguy]

Great article in the New Republic.

Ban guns. All guns. Get rid of guns in homes, and on the streets, and, as much as possible, on police. Not just because of San Bernardino, or whichever mass shooting may pop up next, but also not not because of those. Don’t sort the population into those who might do something evil or foolish or self-destructive with a gun and those who surely will not. As if this could be known—as if it could be assessed without massively violating civil liberties and stigmatizing the mentally ill. Ban guns! Not just gun violence. Not just certain guns. Not just already-technically-illegal guns. All of them.

I used to refer to my position on this issue as being in favor of gun control. Which is true, except that “gun control” at its most radical still tends to refer to bans on certain weapons and closing loopholes. The recent New York Times front-page editorial, as much as it infuriated some, was still too tentative. “Certain kinds of weapons, like the slightly modified combat rifles used in California, and certain kinds of ammunition, must be outlawed for civilian ownership,” the paper argued, making the case for “reasonable regulation,” nothing more. Even the rare ban-guns arguments involve prefacing and hedging and disclaimers. “We shouldn’t ‘take them away’ from people who currently own them, necessarily,” writes Hollis Phelps in Salon. Oh, but we should.

https://newrepublic.com/article/125498/its-time-ban-guns-yes-them

[Laffy Kat]

1. I agree, but....

[deathrind]

2. I disagree...

Last edited Thu Dec 10, 2015, 07:48 PM - Edit history (1)

With a whole sale ban on firearms. People should be able to own firearms for hunting / target / sport shooting (pistols/rifles/shotguns) but clear/stringent regulations should be enacted. Such as:

100% background checks on both private and commercial sales. If you want sell your LC Smith shotgun to a person and you are not a licensed dealer you should have to do it thru a licensed firearm dealer to ensure a BG is done and the new owner is registered to that firearm.

Yearly registration (just like a car tag) that includes a BG check to ensure you are still fit to own a firearm (no felonies or mental health issues).

Safety classes initially and perhaps recurring should required.

Caps on magazine capacity 10 rounds or less. Under certain conditions one is only allowed to have 3 shells in a shotgun it should be that way accross the board and the same should go for pistols and rifles up to 10 rounds.

I own a pistol and a shotgun and enjoy target shooting, abiding by these rules would be a pain in the butt but I would have no problem with following them. People are always going to hurt other people it has been that way thru the entire recorded history of our species but it should not be as easy as it currently is to get an item that can enable a person to kill dozens and injure twice that amount or more in such a short period of time.

[msongs]

3. ban any weapon not available the day the constitution was signed. muskets? no probs nt

[Jester Messiah]

4. No.

I refuse to cede all the guns to one side of the political aisle. Until you can disarm all of the Republicans, I will not disarm.