Guns

[dazzleman]

I find it very interesting that the people who push the strongest for more gun restrictions are the same people who have done everything in their power to undermine law enforcement, and to make it easier for criminals to get away with their crimes.  These are also the people who say we have too many people in prison.

Does anybody truly believe that a person who does not fear the consequences of murdering people will fear the consequences of illegal handgun possession?  Or that such a person will not be able to get an illegal gun, regardless of the law?

There is already a federal law prohibiting those convicted of certain crimes from possessing guns.  If we enforce laws like this, as well as severely punish those who use guns in committing a crime, this will have a much greater effect on crime than passing a law that the liberals will ultimately prevent from being properly enforced anyway.

[dazzleman]

The reason why many liberals push for gun control is very simple: it has the smallest human toll. To make criminal penalties stronger would have the effect of putting people for long periods of time in dehumanizing places such as prison. Such a result would be undesirable, because nothing crushes the human spirit more than confinement, and people need to keep their hopes up to be rehabilitated. I steadfastly believe that taking guns out of the hands of criminals would be much more beneficial than simply allowing them to commit the crime and then brutalize them.

You're very unrealistic.  People don't commit crimes because they have guns.  People seek out guns because they intend to commit crimes, and  even if you are successful in denying them guns, which is almost impossible, they will find another way.

This type of thinking is a perfect example of the unrealistic view many liberals have of human behavior, and why liberalism has been so destructive to our society.

As far as "crushing the spirits" of brutal criminals, that's exactly what we should be doing.  When a person reaches the point of being willing to kill a father in front of his child, or something like that, I don't believe that person can be rehabilitated, and I don't think we should waste more innocent lives trying.  Rehabilitiation is for kids who get caught stealing hubcaps or smashing mailboxes, not for brutal killers.

[dazzleman]

Moore is a nut, but that's a whole different discussion.

I think the US is as violent as it is for a number of reasons, and that guns are more the result of this than the cause.

I believe that punishment deters crime, or at the very least, keeps them off the streets for a long time.  Gun control, on the other hand, has never kept, and will never keep, a criminal from getting a gun.

In the US, gun control at this point is like closing the barn door after the horse has left.  There are already so many guns floating around that they can never be controlled.  We can only set severe penalties for their improper use.

I find it interesting that many gun control advocates are also advocates of the "rights" of criminals, and have done all in their power to undermine effective law enforcement and punishment for crime.  They often see criminals as victims of "society."  So if these people want to know why we have so much violence, they may start by looking in the mirror.