Yeah, basically this argument isn't going to work.
I'm pretty sure the only place my argument against freedom of arms does not work is at the "It's a sport level", however, the point is that an assault rifle is not necessary for sporting.
Nor is a high capacity drum of ammunition.
Nor are laser pointers, speciality ammunition, etc.... heck an argument could be made along these lines for large calibre weapons. It's just unsafe, immensely unsafe and unnecessary.
Now, as for Jon, cause you've gone and attracted my ire (
), Well yes. I agree. We have crims with guns in Australia. You know what the difference is? The best they get are 9 mil pistols or the odd sawn-off hacked together job. And the police are *far* better armed. Also, because it is considered highly illegal, it gets special attention, and there are vast departments dedicated to hunting down gun smugglers and distributors.
Now I'm not about to turn around and tell you to get rid of all your guns in a country wide crackdown (which would
work by the way, because assumably the only people holding onto their guns are necessarily people who intend to use them, and therefore are a threat to public safety *anyway*, but I digress...), but at least, for the love of all things good and cuddly, freaking ban anything that isn't a bolt action rifle or semi auto pistol. And keep everything at the "Not liable to punch a hole in a concrete wall" calibre.
Now this won't *solve* your problems. No for that your government would actually have to grow some balls and step in to your precious privacy and start bringing you to the present state of civilisation, but at least it will make such dangerous practically military grade weaponry tremendously hard to get, meaning two things:
1. Suddenly, you can crack down on this in a very simple binary manner. Either you have an assault rifle, and are a crim, or you don't, and you're not.
2. The only people capable of getting their hands on such weapons are gangs or other suitably funded and connected underworld organisations, meaning the only time people are at risk are in gangland scenarios.
Psychotic kids/schizophrenic neuroscience students/the odd madman won't be able to get them!Now I expect a lot of people to go "No but" and really, screw you. The only country in the world where the average schizophrenic can become a murderous SWAT lookalike from hell is yours. The only country in the world where such hardware is legal over the counter is also yours. This is not merely a correlation, this is causation. What you should be doing is acting to modernise the US for the 21st century and sparing your children, children's children and children's children's children the misery that the people in that town have had to go through.
