Reply #68: Problems here...

[SteveM]

"The war on drugs is part of the problem, gun availability exacerbates it."

With regards the violence surrounding the WOD, It IS unregulated prohibition which fuels and fires the problem. Trying to reduce "gun availability" is merely another chapter in -- you guessed it -- prohibition. I find it curious how some folks don't see the irony of how a massive, sophisticated and powerful drug-running scheme cannot be just as effectively used to produce, sell and distribute guns.

"The mish-mash of conflicting regulations from state to state which are easily circumvented do not count as strict gun control."

An unusual admission of how gun-control laws fail. You should note that the WOD was nationalized over the years little "success" in stemming the flow of drugs. We should expect little from some national scheme of prohibition; however, "model legislation" can be adopted by many states so that we do not have unnecessary incarcerations of legally-carrying citizens crossing the border into a state where "conflicting regulations" exist.

"If we did have decent gun control, the criminals would be forced to use knives and baseball bats and they'd inflict a lot less damage."

Such "decent gun control," if it were so restrictive as to keep crims from obtaining them, would have to be straight-line prohibition coupled with confiscation. Even then, the manufacture and distribution of firearms would go underground, using modern CNC machinery and very small spaces; you know, like meth labs and automated pot growing warehouses.

"Plus the too-high percentage of lawful gun owners who are on the brink of flipping out would be in many cases screened out and disarmed."

What is "too-high percentage?" What is "on the bring of flipping out?" How would you "screen out and disarm" and not violate the due process rights of citizens, let alone their individual RKBA?

"The lawful and responsible gun owners who own guns today would still own them even if the strictest possible set of laws went into effect."

Would this be by grandfathering current lawful gun owners, or do you have a regulatory scheme which would accomplish this?