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Old April 14, 2012, 12:36 PM   #65
44 AMP
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Join Date: March 11, 2006
Location: Upper US
Posts: 28,677
The crux of the matter, for so many things....

Quote:
Should we be able to ...
Right there. Stop. And think about it for just a moment. SHOULD we be able to? What stops us? Only government laws and our own choices.

There are a couple of ways of looking at individual liberty. The most common today is that we are free, to do whatever we wish, as long as the government allows us to. AND current social views play a huge part in what the govt allows us. They always have, but in earlier times, they were less restrictive and condemming of arms than they are today.

Another way of looking at it is, "And ye harm no one, do as ye will". And even this simple philosophy is confounded by the bluenoses who are determined to see to it that we live the "right" way, for our own good, of course.

Just simply asking "should we be able to.." which is also "Should we be allowed to..." implies that we must seek permission before doing it, and failing that permission, are forbidden to do it.

When it comes to arms, (and machine guns are the baddest, most evil arms out there, in some people's view) we are constrained by laws passed because of what some people MIGHT do. We might hurt someone, and with machineguns, we might hurt more people than with a single shot. Or so some think. Of course some of these same people think no one should have any arms at all. We would be safe, then.

Reality shows us that the post 1934 and pre 1986 laws prevented virtually all crime with legally owned machineguns, by their legal owners. What more could be needed?

But we got more. How are we better off? I just don't see it. But then, I'm one of those people who don't think we ought to have any gun laws at all. We have laws that say we cannot shoot people for fun and profit. Really, what more does any law do? What can any law do, if people are willing to break it?

sorry for the rant...
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