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The very politically incorrect truth about the Second Amendment. (Original Post) Remmah2 Jan 2013 OP
A lot of opinion injected into that few minutes. Arctic Dave Jan 2013 #1
Have you read this book - Tuesday Afternoon Jan 2013 #2
Looks interesting. Remmah2 Jan 2013 #3
yes, that is it. I checked it out of my library today. Tuesday Afternoon Jan 2013 #5
As an aside sylvi Jan 2013 #4
Laws are only good if you enforce them. Remmah2 Jan 2013 #6
 

Arctic Dave

(13,812 posts)
1. A lot of opinion injected into that few minutes.
Sat Jan 5, 2013, 02:55 PM
Jan 2013

Funny how they point to zero documentation to back up their claims.

Tuesday Afternoon

(56,912 posts)
2. Have you read this book -
Sat Jan 5, 2013, 02:58 PM
Jan 2013

Craig R. Whitney’s ‘Living With Guns’ Nods to Both Sides

By PHILIP J. COOK
Published: December 25, 2012

In “Living With Guns” Craig R. Whitney, a former correspondent and editor for The New York Times, writes that he is motivated by the belief that “Americans on both sides of the debate about guns can and must find common ground.” He hopes to defuse the prevailing “hysteria” by establishing that both sides are correct in at least one fundamental assertion.

A Liberal’s Case for the Second Amendment
By Craig R. Whitney
284 pages. PublicAffairs. $28.99.

To gun-rights advocates he would say that there is indeed a personal right to bear arms, and that it actually predates the Second Amendment.

To advocates of gun regulation he endorses the core belief that gun ownership comes with a set of responsibilities. In the colonial era the main responsibility was to serve in the local militia. Now that the militia has given way to the National Guard, there remains a responsibility to accept reasonable regulation of ownership, transfer and use of firearms.

If both the pro- and anti-gun factions today would accept this rights-and-responsibilities perspective, he maintains, then we could move beyond “stalemated” politics and take steps to reduce the rampage shootings, gang wars and other deadly incidents that impose such a great toll on our nation — a toll made all too vivid by the massacre of young children in Newtown, Conn. on Dec. 14.

The problem with Mr. Whitney’s analysis is that there is no stalemate. The gun-rights side has the strong upper hand and no apparent need for, or interest in, compromise. In recent decades the National Rifle Association’s state legislative agenda, successful in all but the bluest of blue states, has eased restrictions on carrying concealed weapons and has expanded the right to self-defense. Under President George W. Bush, Congress granted the gun industry immunity from most lawsuits, allowed a ban on assault weapons implemented in 1994 to expire and greatly restricted the use of data on gun transactions by law enforcement. The Democrats have ducked or joined the Republicans; the only notable gun-related action in President Obama’s first term was the bill he signed to allow guns in the national parks.

more at link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/26/books/craig-r-whitneys-living-with-guns-nods-to-both-sides.html?_r=0

 

sylvi

(813 posts)
4. As an aside
Sat Jan 5, 2013, 08:22 PM
Jan 2013
"The gun-rights side has the strong upper hand and no apparent need for, or interest in, compromise."


Surely the thousands of gun laws currently on the books merits at least a faint recognition as "compromise".

 

Remmah2

(3,291 posts)
6. Laws are only good if you enforce them.
Sat Jan 5, 2013, 08:48 PM
Jan 2013

And they are enforced equally.

The fact that we have so many laws tells me there is a shortage of common sense. (Not limited to the gun owners either.)

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