But that hasn't worked at all for any other criminal activity... Why should firearms be any different? If crime is still raging rampant throughout the entire United States, how can you say that it's making a dent in it?
So prohibition ended alcohol crime? The war on drugs prevents drug crime? Gun free school zones have stopped school shootings?
Restricting and banning doesn't get the job done, either. The DUI rates have steadily dropped as we've made the PENALTY tougher for doing so - lowering the limit, increasing the mandatory sentencing, increasing fines to ridiculous amounts, and basically making lives miserable for the conviction.
We will never figure out all the reasons a person would want to kill another person... That's even more of an improbability than preventing gun crime.
Really? You think the government can't do anything to protect you? I wonder what the crime rate would be like if the government WASN'T there for you....
So, if someone broke into my house with a gun right here, right now, there'd magically be an officer here before he had the chance to ventilate me? Relying on the government is like screwing your sister: feels good, but doesn't produce anything positive.
As far as an assault rifle ban... There are PLENTY of other very effective guns out there besides assault rifles... Hand guns, pistols, hunting rifles... Assault rifles are just overkill. If you want to make SURE someone's dead... You use an assault rifle. But other than killing people, guns have no purpose whatsoever. Find another way to manifest your anger/relieve your stress/ entertain yourself.
I have explained this over and over.
I have a RIGHT to own a firearm. We both agree on that. I haven't seen anyone in this thread disagree with the inherent right that is the Second Amendment.
But where we disagree is on the definition of
infringed. Unfortunately, we probably never will, as the word itself is a bit obtuse in the context of this discussion:
Inflected Form(s):in·fringed; in·fring·ingEtymology:Medieval Latin
infringere, from Latin, to break, crush, from
in- +
frangere to break — more at
breakDate:1513
transitive verb1
: to encroach upon in a way that violates law or the rights of another <
infringe a patent>
To me, restricting assault rifles infringes on my rights: I have been allowed to own them, I have owned them, I have never abused them or committed a crime with them. Therefore, you (generic you) have no right to infringe my right to have one. I should not be punished and restricted because YOU don't like them, or because OTHERS have used them in heinous acts. You're holding me responsible for crime I had no part of.
Your stance, and please correct me if I am wrong, is that the greater good of society trumps my right to have something I have no real, tangible, particular need for. You contend that you're not going to ban guns, so I'll still have my right to protection of me and mine, but that doesn't entitle me to own something that is detrimental to society. Better the overall health of society than my desire for a type of firearm.
In that, we are indeed arguing an IDEAL. The discussion is informative and even enjoyable, but I seriously doubt we'll change each others minds. You've made some good points, as have I.
It is natural to need to blame someone or something when a tragedy such as Virginia Tech happens. Our grief and outrage explode from their depths, and we not only demand justice, we seek ways to prevent the occurrence from transpiring again.
But this is where making MORE laws is historically proven as ineffective. The shooter stole the weapon employed. That was already against the law. He went into a gun free school zone, also against the law. And he committed multiple acts of premeditated murder, breaking the most egregious of laws.
He murdered 17 people. A 9mm pistol carries 16 rounds. It takes me less than one second to drop an empty mag, insert a new one, slam the slide home, and reacquire my general sight picture.
Given the above, one must ask themselves if the assault rifle was also illegal, would that have stopped him from using it? Or, put another way, if an assault rifle had NOT been even
available, what would have stopped him from using a 9mm? The same amount of people would have died, and he would be equally as guilty.
Then they'll come for the 9mm's of the world. Then all automatics. Then all revolvers.
It is a
precedent. In the eyes of the law, if less death occurs because assault rifles are easier to kill with, then a 9mm can be banned because it is easier to kill with than a single-shot rifle.
I cried and prayed for the victims and their families of that incident, just as I usually do with all tragedies.
But this tragedy would have happened whether assault rifles existed or not.
Now, what if the gunman would have begun shooting and that gun-free school law didn't exist? Wouldn't there had been a chance that there would have been LESS victims is a student pulled his or her personal firearm and killed the gunman?
Just a chance?
A chance is more than those innocent students got, that's for sure. :-(
Think about it.