The pseudonym "Philo Vaihinger" has been abandoned. All posts have been and are written by me, Joseph Auclair.

Thursday, October 5, 2017

About guns and the Second Amendment


What's the obvious "big" gun goal, a moonshot way beyond universal background checks or even another assault weapons ban? 

Gun registration? 

Confiscation of some weapons? 

The repeal of the 2nd Amendment? 

What does the left actually want?

I think wary liberals like me resist boldness on guns not just because we fear electoral failure, but because we expect blood in the streets -- literally. 

I think there'd be civil war if serious restrictions on guns were imminent (and certainly if there was a serious possibility that the 2nd Amendment could be repealed). 

I left the following comment at Steve M.'s post, in which he goes on to say he thinks many on the left value the Second Amendment, themselves, for the reason given by right wing militia types who say it's a guarantee people can more effectively resist tyranny than a disarmed populace could.
I personally think the Second Amendment is a lot of trouble and should be repealed. 
The Article V process goes far to ensure there will be no repeal of the Second Amendment without very broad and deep support for that among voters in general, necessarily including millions of gun owners who agree it stands in the way of sensible lawmaking and effectively hands too much power over the issue to judges quarreling about its meaning. 
And repeal would only result in federal and state legislatures being empowered to do what seems reasonable to them, which in some states might include considerable deference to local authorities. 
Certainly, in some states we might see less state and local regulation and in others we would see much more, and much more restrictive, regulation. 
Los Angeles is not Dallas, and rural California is not rural Texas. 
I don't see anything like nationwide, absolute, and universal civilian disarmament emerging from such a situation. 
Gun rights people will still be voting to protect their guns and rights long before anyone but the most extreme crackpots is tempted to start shooting. 
And that includes me, a Pennsylvanian and owner of three handguns who has voted the straight Dem ticket in every election for decades. 
I was an NRA member many years ago but dropped out because they stopped being about training and safety and became a lobby defending extremist positions and urging their members to prioritize gun issues over all other political issues. 
All of that seemed nuts, to me. 
Still does.

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