I understand the arguments, Bootney. I do believe, though, if I had an item that I enjoyed for recreation and it was deemed to be dangerous because some people were abusing it, I would understand giving it up. Especially if there were many alternatives I could choose from to continue enjoying my recreational pursuits.
Oh, I'm sure I would grump and grouse about it for a bit, but the safety of society trumps me having fun. That's what I was taught. With rights come responsibilities.
But, what if banning it does NOTHING, like I am CERTAIN it will. Would I be unreasonable for grumping and grousing then?
IT
WILL
DO
NOTHING!!!!
Why? Because the tool is not the problem. No matter how much gun control you get, sick people will still try to commit mass murder.
We didn't have this problem in the 1930s, when machine guns were legal. We didn't have this problem 20 years ago.
The guns don't seem to be the real problem. Why don't we start looking at what changed that has caused all these school/church/workplace shootings?
Remember Columbine?
The Assault Weapons Ban was in place when that happened.
I believe I put in a post not long ago saying that harm reduction is not the same as expecting 100% safety.
You are PREDICTING that an "Oops Weapons ban" will do nothing. You are PREDICTING that if Oops are made illegal, that next some fascist government will be storming your home and confiscating everything including your bb gun.
You have no idea what will happen. The last time there was an assault weapons ban, it kept mass shootings from increasing. When it was lifted, mass shootings increased 200% the next year. In the
past five months we have had THREE of the DEADLIEST mass shootings in this country. It is TIME to put on the brakes. The majority of these mass shootings are done with Oops weapons and perhaps
if they were not available, the next mass shooter would kill half as many or be stopped sooner. It's risk reduction, not a promise of 100% safety. Life ain't 100% safe. I'm not giving up on this position. Neither is over half the population of this country. Real hunters don't use Ooops weapons. People seeking a cheap "badass" image want AR's. Or they enjoy them at the rifle range. If rifle ranges want to let people shoot them there, fine, but keep them there. They don't belong on our streets and in our closets. They are knock offs of military weapons and they don't belong in civilian hands.