: I agree. Over here, the gun regulation activists are looking for relatively lenient restrictions on sale and trade (e.g. no record of violent crime or history of insanity, brief waiting period, safety training and safety features to prevent access by children, stuff like that) hardly waranting the paranoid hype of the pro-assault weapon lobby. You see that's what I cant understand, the gun lobby are maybe a bit like the Unionists with their 'not an inch' paranoia, to me the proposed 'regulation', is that liberal, it is really jus the enforcement of common sense not a variety of regulation at all.
: Stu is setting up another straw-man here. The regulation supporters are not trying to eliminate access. The right of most people to own a gun is not at all in danger, only the right of psychotic, repeat violent offenders to own anti-personnel weapons and make these readily available to children.
Again paranoia from the gun junkies. Although I might say that there is no real reason why anyone should be allowed to buy and own an anti-tank or anti-aircraft gun for instance, besides why cant they all just play playstation for their trigger happy kicks?
: and in fact, the US constitution doesn't even guarantee an individual citizen's right to own firearms. The 4th ammendment guarantees the right of the states to keep and arm a standing militia in peacetime, and the National Guard in each state fulfils this.
Really? I thought it codified the right to 'own and bare arms', although that said I cant understand the US's veneration of the 'holy constitution', it was written during a civil war for God sake!! In the Irish Republic, which I believe is a more perfect model of liberal republic than the US, they have referendums on the Constitution all the time so that it can be drafted and redrafted.
: You'd fit right in with what Stu and Charlie Heston call the anti-gun crowd.
I know they would, which is something I dont understand, I mean support the right of someone who's under threat from bear attack or racists to own assault rifles if they want but why is it such a good idea to permit 'arsenals are us' to trade to gangs?
Which are becoming increasing more organised a watch a TV show the other night that detailed how the 18th street gang in LA where using Provisional IRA tactics in their 'war' with the police, that is, 'sucker calls' in which police are called to a minor incident and then get sniped with a powerful rifle in the back or back of the head.
: : I hope you eat what you kill and only hunt in areas where the natural livestock can be replenished.
: I hope so to. Most hunters don't, but those that do have my respect, even though I'm a veggie.
Exactly, if someone has to go to the bother of cleaning and cooking the animal they may actually wonder is the whole shooting business a little too time consuming or brutal.
: : I'm not sure what you mean by this, is it just some kind of an egotistical trip on the ability to kill things that cant do much in their defense.
: Yeah, it's kind of an Ernest Hemmingway mach type of thing in most cases.
Yeah, although I dont know anything about Hemmingway, did he fight the Franco facists in Spain at one point?
: I agree completely. Living "off the grid" is a very radical idea. Lots of socially minded people are shying away from it because of the militias, and others are shy of it because of the hippie communes of the 1960s/1970s which, for the most part, ended as utter failures. "Survivalism" has bad connotations because of all the psyco nazis, most of whom are not interested in anyone else's survival, which is why they oppose gun regulations.
I agree with you, if easy access socialist communities that pursued eco-independence where available to people who wished to be refugees from capitalism, that wherent hippy communes or motivated by this or that flavour of fanaticism, I think they'd be popular.
: Yes, there is nothing at all "conservative" about wanting to opt out of corporate-controlled plutocracy. It's an extremely radical desire.
Yeah, the conservatives seem very ignorant of the invisible leviathan, maybe they just arent very smart.
: Nope, you seem to be one of the most stable people in this room, and good for you!
: -Floyd
Maybe a lot of people I know think I'm pschotic though, which is a bit unfortunate, sure I was into 'direct action' in the most amoral and negative fashion by I'm on the mend now and have abandoned such nonsense.
