tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34529754.post3094362987610856515..comments2023-10-16T07:06:52.428-05:00Comments on Armed and Safe: Here come the gun billsKurt '45superman' Hofmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14091930034162667742noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34529754.post-43597837644079228772009-01-13T15:55:00.000-06:002009-01-13T15:55:00.000-06:00Even if I bought into that strategy (and I don't),...<I>Even if I bought into that strategy (and I don't), surely you're not suggesting that Feinstein and Durbin have co-sponsored a bill aimed at appeasing the citizen disarmers, so they don't go as far as they otherwise would.</I><BR/><BR/>I don't think it's aimed at appeasement. Feinstein and Durbin will push gun control solutions regardless. But it's useful to have an alternative to push that can conceivably make the issue go away, without doing much lasting damage. I can't tell you for certain that's the motivation behind the people who drafted the bill, but it seems to me it could be pushed as a viable alternative to gun control, which is certain to be pushed. I don't think the media, ATF and Brady have been prepping that ground for nothing.Sebastianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14648225987293475835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34529754.post-3014786324452851102009-01-13T13:36:00.000-06:002009-01-13T13:36:00.000-06:00It might not have the power to regulate firearms c...<I>It might not have the power to regulate firearms carte blanche, but it does have the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, which is what they'd be enforcing here. I don't think the feds have any power to say you can't sell a gun to your friend, but they do have the power to say you can't sell a gun to your friend if he lives in Mexico.</I><BR/><BR/>The point I brought up about the lack of Constitutional justification for regulating guns is, as you point out, kind of a weak one--I think I had some defective caffeine this morning.<BR/><BR/>Still, I'll be waiting for the text of the bills, and any amendments--I can't imagine Durbin and Feinstein being involved with a gun bill, and it <I>not</I> eventually becoming a draconian assault on RKBA. With McCain's passionate embrace of closing the "gun show loophole," and with said "loophole" being one of the favorite scapegoats of those who claim that Mexico's crime problem is our fault, I wouldn't be at all surprised if gun shows end up coming under this bill's influence.<BR/><BR/><I>Obama will likely listen, and when he goes to Congress asking for solutions to the problem, we better have an alternative to pony up when the folks who want more gun laws out of this start pushing their bills.</I><BR/><BR/>Even if I bought into that strategy (and I don't), surely you're not suggesting that Feinstein and Durbin have co-sponsored a bill aimed at appeasing the citizen disarmers, so they don't go as far as they otherwise would.Kurt '45superman' Hofmannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14091930034162667742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34529754.post-57032447397504860942009-01-13T13:14:00.000-06:002009-01-13T13:14:00.000-06:00It might not have the power to regulate firearms c...It might not have the power to regulate firearms carte blanche, but it does have the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, which is what they'd be enforcing here. I don't think the feds have any power to say you can't sell a gun to your friend, but they do have the power to say you can't sell a gun to your friend if he lives in Mexico. An argument could be made that the Second Amendment is so absolute that it precludes Congress regulating arms sales to foreign nations, but border control is within Congress' purview.<BR/><BR/>But this bill is likely a response to those who are going to argue that the solution to the problem is passing more gun control laws. Mexico has been putting pressure on the US government to do something about its gun laws for a few years now, but we've been lucky not to have a White House that's going to listen too closely. Obama will likely listen, and when he goes to Congress asking for solutions to the problem, we better have an alternative to pony up when the folks who want more gun laws out of this start pushing their bills. In this political climate, we are not going to have the luxury of just ignoring the problem.Sebastianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14648225987293475835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34529754.post-91885367275380035992009-01-13T10:16:00.000-06:002009-01-13T10:16:00.000-06:00Are they going to ban sticks? Will 'brandishing' a...<I>Are they going to ban sticks? Will 'brandishing' a stick become a crime?</I><BR/><BR/>Didn't I read about something like that being implemented, or at least proposed, in England? I'm not kidding--I think I saw something about criminalizing the picking up of a stick or broken bottle.Kurt '45superman' Hofmannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14091930034162667742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34529754.post-50912290365612658732009-01-13T10:04:00.000-06:002009-01-13T10:04:00.000-06:00I believe the City of Aurora in our lovely state h...I believe the City of Aurora in our lovely state has already banned toy guns.<BR/><BR/>I wonder if it has reduced any desired statistics.<BR/><BR/>When I was a kid if we had no toy guns we picked up a stick. Are they going to ban sticks? Will 'brandishing' a stick become a crime?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com