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Path: utzoo!utcsri!west
From: west@utcsri.UUCP (Thomas L. West)
Newsgroups: net.legal,net.politics,net.flame
Subject: Re: tom west's version
Message-ID: <1067@utcsri.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 27-Apr-85 19:32:15 EST
Article-I.D.: utcsri.1067
Posted: Sat Apr 27 19:32:15 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 27-Apr-85 19:45:31 EST
References: <375@ttidcc.UUCP>
Reply-To: west@utcsri.UUCP (Thomas L. West)
Organization: CSRI, University of Toronto
Lines: 37
Summary: 

Adrienne Regard writes:
>Confiscating the weapons from "fanatic gun-toters" (and even from non-
>fanatic, quiet, reserved gun-owners, who in 40 years of ownership have
>never used their weapon) does not remove weapons from the hands of the
>criminal.
>Please don't
>make the common mistake that gun-ownership equates to gun-use.  This is
>patently not true (as previous statistics have shown).

Me:
  This is another marvellous case of the fact that the 2% of the population
who aren't responsible tend to ruin life for the rest.  I will admit that
most handgun owners are fairly responsible.  However, I wouldn't allow
tacnukes to be sold on the basis that there is *always* going to be an
irresponsible element in society, and we can decrease the grief he causes
by decreasing the number of people he can kill in a short span of time.

  I do disagree that making handguns illegal would not decrease the number
in criminal's hands.  The states have some of the most liberal handgun
laws in the world.  Their criminals are also the best armed.  Non-causal?
I doubt it.  I don't think that handguns are that easy to make, and the
average hood has a hard time getting their (one? his? :-)) hands on one,
if they are not available over the counter (within a state or two, anyway.
I agree that non-country-wide handgun controls probably don't work.)

  You can't legislate out stupidity, so I prefer to minimize the damage that
the stupid can do, within reason (= within what I will accept, of course).

  Err..,  I have been replying to these things in net.flame.  Due to the
fact that this goes to the slightly more reasonable net.politics as well,
I withdraw my gun-toting-fanatics and suchlike remarks.  I have
*rather* strong opinions on the issue, but it was unreasonable of me to
slander the other side.  My apologies.

   Tom West		"Some men think...and some don't"
				-A. Regard  (thanks!)
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