Reply #264: I think the costs would outweigh the benefits.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

If the Democrats push gun control, it's just about possible that they could get it somewhere, saving somewhere in the low tens of thousands of lives every year.

However, in doing so they would massively increase the chances of a Republican victory in subsequent elections, losing the chance to pass legislation on Iraq, the economy, abortion, the environment etc that could save hundreds of thousands of lives a year.

It's an extremely coldhearted position, but I think that it's the only one that works. The goal of politics shouldn't be to act nobly, it should be to make the world a better place.