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Path: utzoo!utcsrgv!utcsstat!laura
From: laura@utcsstat.UUCP (Laura Creighton)
Newsgroups: net.followup
Subject: Re: Handguns: we're succumbing to mob rule
Message-ID: <970@utcsstat.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 29-Aug-83 07:57:35 EDT
Article-I.D.: utcsstat.970
Posted: Mon Aug 29 07:57:35 1983
Date-Received: Mon, 29-Aug-83 08:30:36 EDT
References: uiucdcs.2649, <1954@tekecs.UUCP>
Organization: U. of Toronto, Canada
Lines: 28

Look folk, the problem isn't with handguns, or cars, or you name it.
The problem is with people. People who dive cars should be responsible
enough to know how to drive, and not drive while drunk. people who
have guns shouldn't leave them lying around where 2-year-olds
can shoot people with them. Nobody should be going on shooting
sprees in football stadiums.

In practice, there are a lot of irresponsible people out there.
And there is a large segment of the population that think that
banning 'X' is a good idea to keep those irresponsible folk in
line. THIS DOESN"T WORK. In no way have you taught them to be
responsible. When you get to the case of automobiles (a necessity 
in some parts of the world) you get a dangerous device that should
only be operated by responsible individuals -- but then we haven't
spent the effort into making citizens into responsible individuals,
have we? We have just banned things that irresponsible people could
hurt others with -- so you get all those irresponsible people who
cannot have their cars taken away from them because they need cars.

Now, THEY'RE dangerous.          

Since we are going to have to teach responsibility anyway, or lose
more people due to automobile accidents (one example) why not give
up this "well, you can just ban things" mentality and get down to
the real problem?

laura creighton (I don't own a gun, and don't want one)
utzoo!utcsstat!laura