XPost: sci.electronics.repair, rec.audio.car   
   From: grizzledgeezer@comcast.net   
      
   "Roger Blake"  wrote in message   
   news:20130423122757@news.eternal-september.org...   
      
   > Trevor clearly does not believe in the natural right to self-defense   
   > that so many of the U.S. founders spoke of and enshrined in the   
   > 2nd Amendment, and instead wants to trust government, an   
   > institution historically bathed in the blood of innocents.   
      
   As a statist who believes that the fundamental purpose of government is to   
   PROTECT individual rights -- a point made in the Constitution -- I have no   
   problem with "reasonable" controls on the ownership and use of weapons. My   
   definition of "reasonable" pretty much begins and ends with keeping weapons   
   out of the hands of criminals and the irresponsible. I do not see requiring   
   background checks on everyone who purchases a weapon as un-reasonable --   
   unless it can be shown that such checks are ineffective.   
      
   People clearly do not "need" assault rifles. But there are lots of things   
   people don't "need". I'm bothered about outlawing any "unneeded" thing unless   
   we have a good idea of the consequences. (I have yet to hear a discussion of   
   the effects of the previous ban on assault weapons.) Too many laws are passed   
   because they reflect a view of how the world ought to be, rather than how it   
   actually is.   
      
   As for "slippery slopes"... Power tends to draw more power to itself. ANY   
   regulatory law creates its own slippery slope.   
      
   As for the blood of innocents -- let's start with the innocent people killed   
   in environmental and engineering disasters, due to the greed of business.   
   Money is power -- or didn't you know that? This country is in the process of   
   returning power to Big Business, where it resided in the 19th century.   
      
   PS: I've been watching "The Rifleman" on MeTV. It's a fascinating program,   
   with outstanding episodes alternating with appalling garbage (including a   
   story in which the central dramatic conflict is resolved by an attack by a man   
   in a bad bear costume). In one episode, Lucas wins a 12ga shotgun in a   
   contest, which he puts aside for Mark "until he's ready for it". (In this   
   context, "ready" means knowing how to use it responsibly.) Though this makes   
   sense, it is out of context, as "rural" children were -- and still are --   
   taught to use firearms. The teaching is part of the process of learning   
   responsible use.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)