Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Gun Control (for Death Wore a Feathered Mullet readers)

This is the continuation of a discussion from Death Wore a Feathered Mullet. Since he wasn't interested in continuing, I don't think it would be polite to use his blog

Ian:
I may be wrong on the fight with a sibling--I was under the impression that a physical fight with any household member was automatically domestic violence, but after a bit of research the definition appears to be slightly narrower.

A 250 pound psycho who wants to beat or kill his ex should be assured his ex can't defend herself? Protective orders just help with the aftermath, they do almost nothing to protect the victim.

Most gun people would be fine with gun laws equivilant to car laws--you need a license to take one out in public, but you can have as many as you want unlicensed on private property. Gun Education as a high-school class? I'm not sure about 16 year olds being allowed to carry...

You can cut hair without a license, you only need the license to do it professionally for money.

I'm libertarian rather than conservative, so I can't speak for them. My view: Police should have the tools to deal with criminals decisively, but policies that prevent those tools from being abused against the law-abiding.

Scarlet Hip: We already have the
National Instant Check System for background checks. This is a telephone system every gun dealer is required to use. It generally takes about 5 minutes. Some states have waiting periods in addition to the NICS check. I don't have a problem with the background checks themselves, as long as they don't wind up being used for other purposes.

Waiting periods mean I have to make a second trip to the gun shop. Not too bad if it is nearby, but I've bought guns while visiting halfway across the state. I'm also immature enough to want to play with my new toy right away. If there's a good reason I could deal without too much grumbling, but I don't think "cooling off" periods beyond what is needed for a background check do anything but add yet another layer of inconvenience.

4 comments:

  1. I could go back-and-forth with you through plenty of angles on this, but my core feeling about guns can be summed up in a much similar way:

    I worry about people who want to carry guns in public. They say it's for protection. In my experience, though, they just want to be the hero if anything happens. And who's to say they'll wait for anything to happen? Or that they'll be able to handle it expertly in a crisis situation, even if they're trained? I sure as hell don't want to be around when two gun nuts have it out in a mall and hit everyone but themselves.

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  2. You show one of the problems with public perception of concealed carry. There are more people with guns (legal or not) than you probably realize. I carry daily where legal, but I also take pains to stay anonymous--I don't wear paramilitary "Tactical pants", I don't accidentally-on-purpose flash my gun, and I don't war NRA or gun logo clothing. I also don't use my gun to let me go places or do things I couldn't without it.

    The ones you are likely to become aware of are on the fringes. Google for the phrase "Mall Ninja" for an idea of what the online gun culture thinks of this sort of behavior.

    Legal concealed carry has an extremely good record--Statistically we are a lot less likely than police to shoot the wrong person, either by mistaken identity or bad aim. This is mostly because our goal is much easier--We don't have to figure out who the bad guy is after the initial incident, we don't have to arrest anyone, and we are encouraged (and in some cases legally required) to retreat when practical. Mall Ninjas are thankfully rare.

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  3. As a small point - in the UK, a fight between siblings (if adult) is very much considered a domestic.

    More's the pity...

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  4. Area Trace: "Considered a domestic"--Does that mean it is more or less serious than assault?

    I just looked up the laws in my state (Ohio)--'Assault' and 'Physical domestic violence' are both first degree misdemeanors, up to 6 months in jail/$1000 fine. A threat of domestic violence is a fourth degree misdemeanor, up to 30 days/$250.

    Either domestic violence conviction will take away your right to possess a firearm for life, but other misdemeanors including assault will not.

    I believe that jail sentences are usually suspended for misdemeanors and lower-level felonies, unless a habitual offender. I'm thankfully not that familiar with the actual mechanics of the legal system.

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