OK, by that logic, there are a few other things that should be banned.
Portable gasoline containers are loved by arsonists. The Happy Land arson fire killed 87 people. The UpStairs Lounge arson fire in New Orleans in 1973 was the worst mass-murder of gay people prior to Orlando. (The New Orleans police showed zero interest in solving the crime.)
Ryder trucks were the vehicle of choice for truck-bombers in the 1990s. The worst attack by a domestic terrorist in this country was carried out with the use of a Ryder truck.
While not Americans..
There have been more than one "suicide by pilot", in which a pilot intentionally caused a crash that resulted in a large loss of life. The intentional crash of EgyptAir 990 killed 219 and that of Germanwings 9525 killed 150. While unproven, Malaysia Air 370 may have been such a crime, killing 239.
There have also been cases where disgruntled airline workers have caused airliners to crash, killing all aboard. Two in the US killed more than forty people per incident.
So... we shouldn't make laws keeping bankers from stealing our money because there are pickpockets, too?
ReplyDeleteYou pass a law because there is a threat, regardless of the fact that there are also other threats.
Guns are protected by the Second Amendment. Rifles are used to murder about half as many people as hands and feet, and only about 3 percent of those who are shot.
ReplyDeleteWords are far more dangerous. Should we ban access to Das Kapital, because Marxism killed 50 - 100 million?
I guess we should ban hospitals because so many people die in hospitals. These particular rifles are excellent for defensive purposes. That is why so many police have them.
Nangleator, both homicide and theft are crimes. They have been for millennia.
ReplyDeleteYour analogy would hold that we should outlaw money.
Can we stop using the term "assault" weapon. They do more than just assault & induce injury. Say Murderous weapon, killing machine, weapon of mass DESTRUCTION, anything. The whole purpose of these weapons are to KILL alot of people in the quickest amount of time. Used by cowards.
ReplyDeleteGlen, as someone who has owned an AR-15 for thirty years, permit me to respectfully suggest that you go shit in your hat and then cram it onto your head.
ReplyDeleteWOW!!!! Comrade M. Dude, Chill. I used to luv your blog. Sumin's wrong here. Dude!! "Shit in my hat," etc.........
ReplyDeleteWOW!!!!!!!! WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I would like to point out that we do in fact regulate those things you mentioned. And you probably won't read this but I'm gonna drop a link to it just in case I'm wrong:
ReplyDeletehttp://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2016/06/once-upon-time-united-states-believed.html
-Doug in Oakland
As I have pointed out before, Glen, I own an AR-15. Have for thirty years. I've not pointed it at anyone, the gun hasn't got on a "murderous rampage".
ReplyDeleteBut to you, that makes me a "coward".
I miss the link about registering gasoline cans, Doug.
ReplyDeleteIn 1967, guns were almost completely unregulated. Other than Title III weapons, you could stroll into almost any gunshop or hardware store in the country and buy one with about the sam level of effort that it took to buy a hammer.
And yes, the gun laws that were being pushed were an attempt, founded in racism, to keep guns out of the hands of those people. Which, by the way, has been pretty much the historical motivation for gun control laws.
You don't have to register your gas can, but there are plenty of places you can't take it, such as airplanes and government buildings. That's all I'm saying.
ReplyDelete-Doug in Oakland
"you could stroll into almost any gunshop or hardware store in the country and buy one with about the same level of effort that it took to buy a hammer."
ReplyDeleteNot true. You think background checks are a new thing? You think getting permission from authority before you can exercise your second Amendment right was invented in the 1960s? It was a Federal law, no, but we have state and local jurisdiction all over this country with ideas of their own. Often you had to get the nod from your local sheriff before you could buy a pistol. Very handy if you wanted to keep them 'undesirables' from packing heat. (See: the racist origins of Gun Control)
It was patchwork, but it was certainly THERE. Sullivan Act in New York is a bigger example. You don't want swarthy anarchists and swarthier 'jazz men' getting guns, so make a permit system so only decent folks the cops know can get a pistol.
Wanna see this regulatory regime portrayed in a pop culture from the period? Ray Miland has an issue getting a pistol from a hardware store after LA got nukes in Panic in the Year Zero. 1962.
In 1967 buying guns in New Jersey was impossible. I grew up a city boy, was in my 20’s in ’67.
ReplyDeleteIn New Jersey, OK. But you could have gone to Pennsylvania or West Virginia or any number of other states and bought one, no questions asked. It might not have been legal to take it into New Jersey, but it was legal to buy it.
ReplyDelete