Quote:
Originally Posted by NoGun
I think (unfortunately?), we are past the stage where any civilian-available weaponry will prevail against tanks, artillery, drones, air strikes, etc..
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Having a ton of friends in the military including a cousin who is a drone pilot, I just don't think that's true. The majority of the military is actually support. Those tanks, artillery, drones, and air strikes require a truly massive battery of fuel depots, maintenance personnel, avionics specialists, and supply chains. Those targets are perfectly vulnerable to a rifleman. What good is the 1500 horsepower jet engine of the M1A2 Abrams with no fuel to slake its massive thirst?
This is a subject change, but note that we allow 16 year olds to drive vehicles that can easily crush 20 people in a crosswalk. There are tons of alternatives that would save countless lives. Only allowing personal cars in rural areas, forced mass transit, 20 MPH universal speed limits, and you would save enough lives to make gun deaths barely register.
But we respect the freedom of the automobile more than safety. Why is that not the case with firearms? Why not respect the freedom of self-defense over the (I argue completely false and illusory - other things will just cause deaths instead of guns in their absence ) safety created by banning most of them? And make no mistake, the safety IS illusory. A handgun ban was enacted in 1997 in the England. And how are they now? The most violent country, in terms of street crime, in Western Europe. Who cares if less people actually die? Are the people being mugged with 3x the frequency supposed to be grateful for this "safety" at the cost of quality of life?
The late Hunter S. Thompson said in 2003 that as a nation we have become slaves to fear. Fear of germs, terrorism, judgment, plane crashes, the stock market, pretty much everything under the sun. At what point do you reject constant fear and boldly proclaim, "Yes, more people will die if we allow this freedom, and we accept that cost!"
If we're afraid to say that, I fear freedoms, choices, and quality of life will disappear, year after year, into the yawning and insatiable mouth of the vague demon that is "safety".