Re: not butter, guns

jason varsoke (jjv@caesun.msd.ray.com)
Wed, 18 Aug 1999 16:47:39 -0400 (EDT) 

   Well, personally, I don't see a very good reason for anyone to own a
gun.  I don't believe in hunting (vegitarian), don't believe it provides
any safty, and don't think my 9mm Uzi can do much more than piss off SWAT,
or any other tactically armed group of people.
   However, guns or no guns is the supperficial aspect of this debate.
The Right to Bare Arms has much more to do with the degree of liberatian
ethics in our nation.  As long as you know what you have in your hand, how
dangerous it is to you and your family, I don't see what else the gov't
should do.  Outlaw the action, not the possession.  Throw the book at the
user, not the tool.  
   If you decide to outlaw guns you just end up taking them away from the
lawful civilians.  How many drug dealers do you really think register
their glock-9?
   If you think outlawing guns will put a dent in the sale/manufacturing
of guns, consider the drug market.  Dope dealers are rich because of the
laws.  And obviously the demand isn't significantly less, otherwise they
wouldn't be rich.

-j


On Wed, 18 Aug 1999, Scottie Bowman wrote:

> 
>     Last week on British television we were treated to the views 
>     of the President of the National Rifle Association on 
>     the merits of - as Jim would no doubt put it - arming 
>     the populace against the infringements of its liberties 
>     by an overweening government.  
> 
>     It's rather easy in these backwaters of parliamentary democracy 
>     to fall behind modern thinking in regard to political rights 
>     & originally I'd thought it something of a drawback to have 
>     the death rate by gunfire increased by several hundred fold 
>     when compared with our own rather cissyish figures here 
>     in Western Europe.   However, the longer he spoke & 
>     the more I thought about it the more I began to realise 
>     the advantages of a greater access to guns.
> 
>     To start with, the pack of bastards who are forever taking 
>     away my money for what they call 'taxes' would think twice 
>     if they knew they were going to have to confront a couple 
>     of Spandaus at the end of my driveway.   And the cops - 
>     the ones that in this country go by the pretentious title 
>     of Gardai Siochana - might be less keen to haul me up on 
>     their endless 'speeding' charges if they had reason to suspect 
>     I had the old Ouzi in the glove compartment.  The same 
>     might go too for those shitty traffic wardens.  (God, I can 
>     hardly wait to see their faces when I put out my hand 
>     to accept one of their bloody tickets & at the same time 
>     pull back the jacket to reveal just the butt of the Biretta 
>     in the belt.) 
> 
>     Yes.  Once I was blind.  But now I see.  
> 
>     For which I have to thank the kindly old cove who set me 
>     thinking.  Heston, I believe the name was.  Some sort of 
>     cinematographic actor Johnny.  During the two broadcasts 
>     that I personally caught, he seemed to be exhibiting on 
>     his head the trophies of his favourite sport.  One was, 
>     by the look of its reddish fur, a dead weasel & the other, 
>     more greyish, may have been, I think, an extremely elderly 
>     beaver.   Grand old bloke.
> 
>     Scottie B.
> 
>