The sad part is that all my friends who oppose gun control are not those we seek to regulate.

[catnhatnh]

They are mostly guys with military backgrounds or LEO or otherwise sane people. Almost to a man (or person) they believe that stopping crazies is a good thing, but that the government won't do that well. I'm not sure what to tell them, but for many of them the government gets the check to them by the 3rd of the month. I think that should give them a hint.

[Hoyt]

1. There also a bunch of wannabes too. Yeah, they need to be well regulated too when

walking around in public off duty, preferably unarmed.

[SQUEE]

20. lookin' forward to restarting the old business?

I bet the whole armed Southerner dilemna has put a crimp on your job oppurtunities.

[Viking12]

3. It's similar to taxes on upper income. They think they fall into the category.

I don't want to look for the exact pol, but something 22% of Americans think they're in the Top 1%. It's likely your friends similally think they're in the category of gun owners that may fall under the umbrella of reasonable regulations (NRA disinformation is likely a contributing factor).

[Fumesucker]

4. Hmm.. People with experience in government think it won't do a good job

Could it be that they are thinking of their own performance and extrapolating that to all government employees?

[Llewlladdwr]

6. As a current federal employee...

...and having worked as a Government contractor also, I can tell you that it's often extremely frustrating to try and work across department or organizational boundries. Managers invariably seem more concerned with protecting their turf than in providing support to other sections. This can lead to a sense of cynicism regarding the ability of the Government to function efficiently.

Not to mention that being able to complain about each other is one of the main perks of Government service.

[abelenkpe]

12. Working for corporations is no different nt

[Llewlladdwr]

5. The current call is to ban semi-automatic weapons.

Semi-autos account for the majority of handguns, rifles and shotguns in the country. Odds are good that your friends who own guns have a semi-automatic. So yes, they are in fact the people you want to regulate.

[catnhatnh]

7. Bullshit...

I might like to limit their magazines but my folk would take their chances were all magazines limited.

[Llewlladdwr]

8. So you do *not* support a ban on semi-automatic weapons?

If not then my apologies.

[catnhatnh]

9. No need for apologies...

...though I appreciate the offer. Semis are here to stay, but a magazine limit of 7 or less does not strike me as onerous...

[Llewlladdwr]

10. I'm not certain how one could implement such a thing though.

There are millions of 10+ round capacity magazines in the hands of American citizens. How do you, realistically, put that genie back in the bottle? Especially now that 10+ capacity magazines can be printed using 3D printers? I think these are real issues that we'll have to face. I appreciate that you seem willing to do so calmly!

[catnhatnh]

11. No real problem...

7 is the deal. 8 is illegal, 9 is illegal, 10 is illegal, etc....Any overcapacity magazine is exchangeable for a 7 round magazine and if found in possession of an overcapacity magazine after an established exchange date-FELONY. Go ahead and print as many as you like-I'm betting the government already tracks who downloaded the files and surprise-FELONY.Easy example-Ruger 10-22...mostly harmless but guess what-exchange the magazine or do a nickle. The real issue is what are 5 years of your life worth?

[indie9197]

13. I'm guessing there will never be 7 round magazines

The new law says you can have 10 round magazines but you can only put 7 rounds in it! Next step is telling people they can only put 3 rounds in their revolvers. Stupid law and people won't obey stupid laws.

[Llewlladdwr]

14. But here's the deal...

...if I'm planning on commiting a massacre (a felony, by the way) then I have already most likely accepted that I will not be a survivor. Do you really think fear of a felony conviction for magazine size will stop me? And consider this: possesion of marijuana is a felony under federal law, yet millions of people continue to buy, sell and use it every single day. Tons of it is smuggled into the country each year, and it's much easier to detect than magazines for firearms. As far as tracking file downloads, what would be the authority? These files aren't illegal so the Government has *zero* legitimate interest in keeping track of them.

I guess where I'm going here is that it's easy to say "lock 'em up!", but how many of your fellow citizens are you willing to incarcerate in order to impose your agenda on the public? A thousand? A million? These are hard questions and simple answers aren't going to work.

[pipoman]

15. They will never be illegal

they may get pushed into the NFA.. maybe,,machine guns aren't illegal, howitzers aren't illegal, nor will any capacity magazine be illegal..

Oh and cheers for cheering the prison industrial complex...keep feeding them prisons..silliness..

[catnhatnh]

16. You guys are a fucking riot....

7 is SOOO disappointingly small? You get 3 for a duck or a deer and 7 is too few? FOR FUCKING WHAT??? Are 8 people heading for your door to kill you? Or more likely do you need drug to calm the demons in your head??

[pipoman]

17. I didn't comment on any of this

are you responding to the right post?

[indie9197]

21. You don't get to decide how many rounds I need

Maybe there are two or three guys and I do need more than 7. My 9mm holds 16 because that is just the size of the grip. Why should I put in less? Why should I have to worry about changing out a magazine when I don't have to.

Not really a huge issue if you use .45 or .40 but that is not the point. It is a stupid law and makes nobody safer from crazy mass murderers. Isn't that the supposed reason for all this new executive orders?

[Recursion]

19. No. No no no. The current call is to regulate what they look like.

Feinstein has not introduced a ban on semi-automatics. She has introduced regulations about what semi-automatic weapons with detachable magazines can look like. It infuriates me that so much of the base has been completely misled about this.

[jmg257]

18. You'll have to tell them that as long as they all have unfettered access to them,

so do 'the crazies'. They'll have to just deal with the inconvenience of diminishing their perceived needs & wants so we can have a better chance of 'stopping crazies'.

NY has attempted to use a multi-facted approach, and some damn clever legislation (i.e. 7 vs 10 etc.).
It isn't ALL about guns, though they are certainly the driving object.