Reply #57: Nah, the *real* "Go-Go-Gungeon attitude" is the one...

[Euromutt]

...that prison sentences--preferably ludicrously long ones--are the appropriate response to the poster's pet aversion; certain pro-RKBA types think minimum five-year sentences are the answer to any and all illegal possession, while certain anti-RKBA types want to see the same for the slightest infraction by any legal gun owner.

Maybe it's because I'm Dutch, but I rarely see what purpose is served by putting as many people as possible into state prisons at the drop of a hat (or a cartridge case). Whatever happened to suspended sentences and probationary periods? In the case of Mr. Witter here, given that he didn't actually injure anyone, what would be wrong with giving him--if he were convicted--a suspended sentence? The felony conviction would remove his right to possess firearms, but given that there's really no mens rea here (the guy was trying to halt a felony in progress, albeit in an ill-advised manner), what social good is served by locking him up?