The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - The Government Control of Deadly Portable Weapons 2nd Try: How Much is enough???

David Park · January 22, 2002, 07:57 AM

Smoker, you said, "I am really curious to see what your alternatives to the current laws are and why." The alternative would be the absence of the current laws. Why? NFA '34, GCA '68, and all following and related "gun control" law are nothing more than means for the government to restrict the freedom of, and therefore control, the citizens. There is no way to "fix" these laws, they have to be repealed completely.

Possession of "weapons," which is anything that could reasonably be used to harm another, should be denied only to people who are currently locked up (prison, mental hospital, or the like). That's it, the only governmental "deadly portable weapon" law I would want. Who should be locked up is a separate issue.

Possession of inanimate objects should not be a crime, whether those objects are handguns, cannons, or stealth bombers. However, some harardous materials, including chemical, biological, and radiological weapons, are not really inanimate, since a pile of anthrax powder or a bar of uranium 235 can kill you by just sitting on your desk. These could probably be regulated, but not necessarily banned. You can build a nuke in your basement, but you might have trouble actually arming it.

I think everyone has been pretty clear on their positions. Certainly their descriptions are much clearer than the current "gun control" laws.

January 22, 2002, 07:57 AM	#25
David Park Senior Member Join Date: June 29, 2001 Location: Alexandria, VA Posts: 1,224	Smoker, you said, "I am really curious to see what your alternatives to the current laws are and why." The alternative would be the absence of the current laws. Why? NFA '34, GCA '68, and all following and related "gun control" law are nothing more than means for the government to restrict the freedom of, and therefore control, the citizens. There is no way to "fix" these laws, they have to be repealed completely. Possession of "weapons," which is anything that could reasonably be used to harm another, should be denied only to people who are currently locked up (prison, mental hospital, or the like). That's it, the only governmental "deadly portable weapon" law I would want. Who should be locked up is a separate issue. Possession of inanimate objects should not be a crime, whether those objects are handguns, cannons, or stealth bombers. However, some harardous materials, including chemical, biological, and radiological weapons, are not really inanimate, since a pile of anthrax powder or a bar of uranium 235 can kill you by just sitting on your desk. These could probably be regulated, but not necessarily banned. You can build a nuke in your basement, but you might have trouble actually arming it. I think everyone has been pretty clear on their positions. Certainly their descriptions are much clearer than the current "gun control" laws. __________________ Libertarian for Bush '04