IF GUNS WERE TREATED LIKE CARS :

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The following has been forwarded, and I cannot accept credit for it.

Reposted with Copyright notice.
Copyright 2000 by Ron Miller.
All Rights Reserved.

IF GUNS WERE TREATED LIKE CARS :

1. You could get a simple license from the State for a nominal fee and only
have to take a test that any idiot could pass. You'd only have to renew it
every 10 years for 40 years and maybe retake the test if you move out of
state.

2. You could kill and injure people with your gun while drunk and still have
your lawyer get your gun back because you need it for work.

3. You'd have half the tax burden of the county and State dedicated to
improving the shooting ranges and facilities. The public agrees this is
never good enough to suit them and with all the gunowners from California
moving in, the range capacity will never catch up. Lines at the range are
always shown on TV with the newsies deploring the crowding.

4. You could carry in any State at any time because carry and possession of
your gun is honored nationwide and is considered a basic American civil
right.

5. You would see commercials on TV pushing the newest, latest guns which you
could lease for just $25 per month subject to the fine print.

6. You could finance a fancier gun than you can really afford by taking a 5
year loan with approved credit.

7. You would have a gun safe built into every house. In the upscale houses
you would have 3 gun safes. Inexpensive houses and mobile homes would just
have a gunrack by the door.

8. You'd have gun storage lockers at the shopping mall in which to store
your rifle while shopping. This in order to free your arms for packages. The
convenience of the shopper is paramount.

9. You could buy ammunition at the 7-11. Full-service station means they'll
reload your magazines for you.

10 The news would stop reporting gun accidents unless more than 10 children
were killed at one time. Onesy-twosey would only be notable in small towns
or if Princess Di's bodyguard shot her while aiming at paparazzi.

11 If the price of ammunition rose 20% the Federal Government would release
war reserves of ammo to bring the price back down to the consumer's comfort
level.

Ammo would carry a 50% tax to finance public shooting ranges.

The Teapot Dome scandal would have been about a lead mine.

12 We'd teach gunsmithing in vocational-education programs.

13 Every 16 year old would be looking forward to the day when he could take
the family revolver to school. The rich kids would get a high capacity
semi-auto pistol on their 16th birthday and endanger everyone when they
learn to use it in public.

14 High schools would have large gun lockers to store student's arms while
they attend classes. Administrators would try to charge for the service to
discourage teen-age gun carrying to school.

15 Schools would have shooter's education classes to make sure the kids
could pass the test. They would show gory films of gunshot wounds. The
squeamish would throw up.

16 Old people who can hardly see would still be permitted to shoot in public
because to disarm them would be to damage their self-esteem. Families would
wring their hands over holes in the walls and ceiling.

Occasionally an oldster would fire into a schoolyard when they mistake the
trigger for the safety. Legislators would refrain from criticizing because
of the AARP's influence.

17 Congress would be debating alternative weapons systems for people who
can't afford their own guns.

18 There would be such a thing as "public weapons" for the masses.

19 Congress would be subsidizing weapons for people too limited in means to
afford their own.

20 Congress would be willing to float a loan to Colt's in order to ensure
the survival of an American company against unfair foreign competition.
(Think "Chrysler")

21 We, except for Ralph Nader, would dismiss 40,000 deaths and 500,000
injuries per year as "the price of freedom."

22 You would have MADS. Mothers Against Drunk Shooters (instead of HCI).
MADS would conduct a campaign of public education instead of trying to use
the force of government to prohibit irresponsible drinking and shooting.

23 You could rent a gun at any airport if you are over 25 and have a credit
card.

24 You would have the fringe-greenies advocating bows and arrows because
they think gunsmoke is damaging the environment.

Al Gore would write a book about the damaging effects of gunsmoke.

Al Gore would also claim to have been a handloader before his sister died in
a powder fire.

25 You'd have huge outcry in the Press and Congress over our dependence on
cheap, imported, foreign ammunition.

26 Ted Kennedy would have shot Mary Jo Kopekne instead. Ted would be a few
thousand dollars richer (bullet:$0.25 vs car:$3000)

Ted would stop carrying his own gun and instead, hire bodyguards to carry
fully-automatic weapons under their coats for him.

27 You'd have businesses like "Jiffy Gun-Clean" to make life convenient. But
you'd always worry that they might not have gotten the magazine fully seated
afterwards.

28 You'd have "Classic Gun Events" with parades on public roads as everyone
with such a classic carries it for all the public to see.

29 You'd have huge eyesores where piles of guns are left to rust in the open
at "Gun Junk Yards". They would charge you outrageous prices to go out back
and pick off a hammer or sear which is probably also worn out like the one
you want to replace.

30 There would be a booming business and debate about substituting non-OEM
parts in the gun repair business.

31 You'd have TV news crews going under cover with hidden cameras to ferret
out "unscrupulous gun smiths." This story would be "old reliable" and works
every year.

32 The Japanese would be trying, and succeeding, at taking over the market
for efficient, reliable high-quality guns.

The Koreans would be trying to sneak in at the low end of the market.

The Germans would be selling premium brands based on better workmanship,
longer life, and brand cachet. But their guns would require you to take it
to a gunsmith every 3 months for a complete tear-down and dimensional
inspection at outrageous labor rates.

The Italians would paint their guns flaming red and they would have a
reputation for being finicky.

The State Department would be applying pressure to get Japan to allow more
US-built guns into their country.

The Japanese would resist the US by saying that Japanese shooters have
extra-special safety requirements that only Japanese manufacturers can meet.

33 You'd have an entire section of the Saturday Coloradoan devoted to ads
for new and used guns.

34 You'd have a pair of fun-loving gunsmiths on Public Radio doing a show on
gun problems. They'd be named "Tap & Rack"

35 There would have been a terrible TV show back in the black & white days
named "My Mother - The Gun". It starred Jerry Van Dyke and ran just one
season.

36 Dean Jones would have made a series of stupid movies starring Herbie the
Love-Gun. Herbie was an adorable anthropomorphized cheap German Saturday
Night Special. Dean Jones would never show his face in public again after
these movies.

37 Competition would be carried on TV all day on Saturdays. The Daytona 500
would be round-count instead of miles. There would be speed contests,
endurance contests, and off-range marksmanship events.

NASGUN would create big heroes in the South and extravagant marketing
opportunities.

38 High-schools would paint up a gun in the colors of the opposition and
charge $.25 for you to swing a sledge hammer at that gun during pep rallys.

39 John Elway would own half the gunstores in the Denver Metro area.

40 Wellington Webb's wife would be carrying the finest English Double
shotgun money can buy while Wellington has body guards to carry his
semi-auto pistols for him.

41 Back in the 1970's during the ammo crisis, Congress would have set a
maximum cyclic rate for autos and semi autos in order to conserve ammo.

42 After Iraq was pushed out of Kuwait, the national cyclic rate was raised
to something all semi-autos can be comfortable with.

43 The Coloradoan would be publishing the locations of range repair work
every week to be sure no one would be inconvenienced.

44 The Beach Boys would have released some songs about guns:

"Spring little Cobray gettin' ready to strike..... Spring little Cobray with
all your might....."

"She's real fine my Wonder Nine, she's real fine my Won-der Nine."

"Fun, fun, fun 'til Daddy takes her Kel-Tec away......"

45 Letters to editors would be written decrying that all those Soccer Moms
are lugging .50 cal machine guns around town, wasting ammo and getting in
everybody's way.

46 Letters to editors would be written responding that putting one's
beginning driver son or daughter behind a .50 cal would mean that the
writer's offspring would survive any conflict with lesser armed individuals.

47 Al Gore would claim he invented the .50cal cartridge and say he was
sorry.

48 Cities would be experimenting with electric guns but would be surprised
to find that people would step in front of them at the range because they
were too quiet so no one knew the electric gun was there.

49 President Clinton would demand that electric gun manufacturers put a
cowbell on each one to prevent senseless accidents.

50 The National Rifle Association would be reduced to selling travel
insurance for your guns because the rest of society will have seen to it
that there would be no chance that firearms would ever be banned.
 
Can't stop laughing, but seriously: The closest we can hope (or not), to come is an outrageous insurance fee to be paid yearly on each and every gun that never gets taken out of the safe. Maybe we could get a discount for the "low annual round count" ones, but don't count on it.
 
Can we get a link to this?

------------------
Gun Control: The proposition that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her own panty hose, is more acceptable than allowing that same woman to defend herself with a firearm.
 
the original came across one of my email lists

i did a web search and found the opposite thing:

What If We Treated Cars Just Like Guns? http://www.webleyweb.com/tle/le960308.html
By John Taylor

Exclusive to The Libertarian Enterprise

[In which, the author, having pounded his brains out arguing with the ACLU National staff over their peculiar constitutional blind spots, finally goes berserk and turns on his
tormentors, lashing out in a hail of invective, wounding innocent women and children in an indiscriminate hail of assault word fire.]

You've all heard the canard from the EGGs (Elitist Gun Grabbers, that is) about how "any reasonable person" would support this or that gun prohibition measure
because "it should be at least as difficult to get a gun as it is to drive a car in this country"? Well, I've had enough. I've snapped -- gone postal, as it were -- and now, I've
come to agree. I think we should institute ten rules for car ownership, modeled after those rules we find desirable for gun ownership. Now let's see -- where to begin.

Rule 1. Automatic transmissions should be taxed and regulated prohibitively and the import of vehicles with automatic transmissions manufactured since 1986
should be banned (we'll call it the National Flivver Act (NFA) and amend it with the Flivver Owners' Protection Act (FOPA).)

Rule 2. All automobile dealers must be federally licensed and subject to periodic, unannounced inspections by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Flivvers
(BATF).

Rule 3. All vehicle purchases from licensed dealers (by anyone other than a licensed dealer) must occur in person in the buyer's state of residence. No out-of-state
purchases of automobiles from dealers, or purchase of automobiles from a dealer through the mail on consignment.

Rule 4. No one under 18 years of age may purchase an automobile, and no one under 21 years of age may purchase a motorcycle.

Rule 5. There shall be a five-day waiting period for the purchase of any vehicle, during which time the seller shall submit a federal form to local law enforcement
whose responsibility it is to run a complete background check on the would-be purchaser to determine if he or she is legally eligible to buy a vehicle. Prior vehicular
and/or parking offenses may be construed as grounds to deny the purchase.

Rule 6. Certain selected automobiles and motorcycles are prohibited from sale on the basis of their appearance characteristics.

Rule 7. Gas tanks with greater than ten gallons capacity will be prohibited from sale.

Rule 8. To prevent their unauthorized use by children, all vehicles should be stored with empty gas tanks. Gasoline and vehicles should be stored separately and
both should be secured with tamper-proof locks.

Rule 9. The use of compact autos and motorcycles should be restricted to those who have demonstrated a proven need to operate these concealable vehicles.
(Police, federal agents, and politicians' bodyguards will be exempted.)

Rule 10. The government should consider banning tinted windows, fiberglass bodies, assault vehicles (sports cars, whose only purpose is to exceed the speed
limit and mow down innocent children), and certain accessories that serve no sporting purpose.

I fully realize these ten rules are no more than a good first step.
But if they save just one life on our killing streets and highways, then they're worth it.
They're a good first step.
We're doing it for the children.
There are more car dealerships in America than there are doughnut shops.
After all, no one really needs more than ten gallons of gas.
Or a 1.4 liter engine.
There really ought to be a law.


John Taylor is Maryland Coordinator of the Libertarian Second Amendment Caucus, and an excellent driver. Excellent.
 
This sounds anti to me - Ron Miller is an idiot. These freakin jokes are going to be bouncing all over and the source for RKBA headaches for years to come...
Lovely.
At least it will squelch the Guns Like Cars movement.

NASGUN... i'm feeling queezy already!
 
This was the first article I saw on this subject but have been unable to find it posted anywhere any more. Think I'll pass it over to http://www.Guntruths.com .

OKAY, LET'S LICENSE GUNS JUST LIKE CARS

by J. Neil Schulman

How many times have you heard gun-control advocates argue that it's ridiculous just anyone can buy a gun without a license in most states, considering you need to register your car and get a driver's license?

Further, the argument goes, guns should be registered and licensed the way cars are because while it's true that cars are involved in about 50,000 accidental deaths a year in the United States and firearms in only around 1,500 accidental deaths, guns are used in around 15,000 homicides a year and another 15,000 suicides.

Of course this comparison leaves out how many automobile fatalities are actually suicides. Police accident reports have no good way of knowing how many single-driver or opposing-traffic crash fatalities are suicides. An autopsy showing blood alcohol or drugs won't necessarily tell you it was an accident because wouldn't you get stoned if you planned to kill yourself in a car
crash?

But the final argument to register guns and license gun owners is always the same. Unlike cars, we are repeatedly told, guns have only one purpose -- to kill.

Forget for a moment that the best criminology shows guns being used two-to-three times more often in defense against a crime than guns being used to commit a crime; and forget that the overwhelming number of these gun defenses occur without the trigger ever having to be pulled. Let's also forget that 99.6% of the guns in this country will never shoot anyone.

For the moment, let's just pretend that there is some reason behind the argument that guns should be licensed and registered like cars.

If we're going to take that argument seriously, then let's enact the same standards for owning and operating a firearm in the United States as are actually in use for owning and operating a motor vehicle.


Comparing Manufacture, Ownership,
Registration, and Enforcement

To begin with, anyone in the United States may own a motor vehicle without a license. You can be living on death row in your state's maximum-security prison and still hold title to a motor vehicle.

But under federal law, no convicted felon, or dishonorably discharged veteran, or a person addicted to alcohol or a controlled substance, may own a firearm; and there are additional restrictions on possession of firearms by persons under a court restraining order.

If we're going to treat ownership of firearms the way we treat ownership of motor vehicles, we're going to have to repeal these firearms laws.

There are no restrictions whatsoever on what sort of motor vehicle anyone may own. Anyone of any age may buy or own an automobile, or an eighteen-wheeler, or a motorcycle, without restriction. You can own a car that looks like a hot dog, if you feel like it.

But there are both federal and state restrictions on the ownership of various types of firearms, or even parts for them. Restrictions include operational capacities, accessories, or mere appearance. Laws restrict the sale or ownership of fully-automatic firearms; similar restrictions affect some magazine-loading but non-automatic firearms. Other laws restrict rifles with pistol grips or bayonet mounts or flash suppressors. Federal restrictions forbid the sale of ammunition magazines that hold more than ten rounds. There are laws against handguns or shotguns with too short a barrel, and restrictions on owning firearms which are made to look like anything else, such as a wallet.

If we treated ownership of firearms the way we treat ownership of motor vehicles, we'd have to repeal these sorts of laws.

One need not register any motor vehicle unless one operates it on public roads. In some states, the registration of a motor vehicle need not be in the actual name of an owner but may be registered under a fictitious or business name. One may own and possess an automobile even if one lives in public housing. There are no laws requiring that automobiles be kept in locked garages or specifically penalizing parents if their children gain access to an unlocked garage and operate the vehicle, causing harm. There is no restriction on the ownership or possession of motor vehicles in Washington D.C., Chicago, Detroit, New York, or other major cities; nor any requirement that motor vehicles be kept disassembled and locked up, unavailable for immediate use.

In cities such as Washington D.C. and New York, numerous prohibitions, restrictions, and requirements are made in the possession of firearms. In Washington D.C. and elsewhere, if you're allowed to own a firearm at all, you must keep it locked up, unloaded, and disassembled, even in your own house. In some public housing projects where the police are rare, poverty-stricken residents must surrender all rights to possess firearms for self-protection. In California and elsewhere, a parent who keeps a loaded or unlocked firearm for protection, even if well-hidden, risks special penalties if a child finds it and causes harm with it.

If we treat ownership of firearms the way we treat ownership of motor vehicles, we must repeal these firearms laws.

There is no waiting or background check necessary for the purchase of any motor vehicle. There is no restriction on the size, power, or seating capacity of the motor vehicles one may legally purchase. No one passed laws making it illegal to lower the noise-making capacity of a motor vehicle; to the contrary, laws require that motor vehicles not violate noise-pollution statutes. There are few or no restrictions forbidding automobile ownership by ex-cons, or convicts on probation, or parolees, or individuals under court restraining orders, or even registered sex offenders --not to mention so-called deadbeat dads. Even persons convicted of vehicular homicide may usually still legally hold title to an automobile.

But there is a waiting period to purchase a firearm in many states, ranging from the five days mandated by the federal Brady Law, to some states or cities where the background check can take many months to process. Background checks often block the purchase of a firearm by someone whose only crime is that she has an unpaid traffic ticket or that he's behind on his child support, or someone is subject to a restraining order obtained as a legal maneuver in a divorce. Often the license allows just one firearm of a type selected by a police official, and also restricts the times, places, and purposes to which one may possess that single firearm. There are laws forbidding the installation of silencers on firearms which would allow them to be fired quietly during target practice, with a result that damage to ears -- even with ear protectors -- is common.

If we treat ownership of firearms the way we treat ownership of motor vehicles, we must repeal these restrictive firearms laws.

There is no federal license needed to manufacture a motor vehicle; nor is the possession of parts with which one can manufacture a motor vehicle subject to federal, state, or local laws. The federal government does not raid the homes of its citizens looking for parts that could be used in the unlicensed manufacture of motor vehicles. Kids can make or modify motor vehicles in their back yards, driveways, or in school auto shops with help from their teachers.

In contrast, manufacture of any firearm requires a federal license requiring fingerprints, a police background check, oaths and warrants, and significant license fees. Both federal and state authorities have harassed both licensed dealers and non- commercial sellers suspected of paperwork or technical violations; and sting operations have entrapped individuals. Authorities induced backwoodsman Randy Weaver into sawing a shotgun barrel shorter than the legal limit, and attempted to make him miss a court appearance for this violation by changing his court date without notice; his failure to appear resulted in a violent confrontation between this previously law-abiding man and federal authorities. The confrontation resulted in the death of a federal officer and of Weaver's wife Vicki, who was shot -- standing unarmed while holding an infant -- by an FBI Hostage Rescue Team sharpshooter 200 yards away.

At Waco, Texas, an armed assault by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms on the Christian Branch Davidians resulted in a firefight which led to immediate deaths on both sides, and the later deaths of 85 previously law-abiding men, women, and children; the warrant which authorized this raid was that the Davidians were suspected of possessing parts which would have enabled the conversion of a magazine-fed but non-automatic rifle into a full-auto rifle that -- if the federal tax had been paid -- would have been legal to own in the state of Texas, anyway.

In numerous cases, acting on nothing more than anonymous tips, federal officers have staged raids on gun-owners' homes, destroying their property, terrorizing their families, confiscating valuable gun collections later determined to be perfectly legal, and even killing their pets. No compensation has ever been made to victims of these gestapo-like raids.

If we treat ownership of firearms the way we treat ownership of motor vehicles, we must repeal these confusing laws and disband federal police agencies involved in these sorts of operations.

There is no requirement that a motor vehicle be purchased from a licensed dealership. There is no federal licensing of motor vehicle dealers, and no federal bureau with police powers allowing regular inspection of dealer's sales records without a warrant.

In some states, including California, all purchases of firearms must be made from federally-licensed dealers. All federally licensed firearms dealers must allow the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms a yearly inspection of their dealer-record-of-sales forms. ATF agents have been known to use these occasions for general searches or even theft of any other paperwork they find interesting, without obtaining a search warrant meeting constitutional requirements. The Bill of Rights forbids general searches and requires officers, if they wish a search warrant, to make sworn affidavits stating what they are looking for and what crime it is evidence of.

If we treat ownership of firearms the way we treat ownership of motor vehicles, we must repeal these firearms laws, and forbid such unconstitutional searches.

Anyone can purchase a motor vehicle by mail, or across state lines. There is no restriction of the number of motor vehicles one may own, or any restrictions on the number of motor vehicles one may buy in a month.

It is illegal to purchase a firearm by mail or from a seller in another state unless one holds a federal dealer's license or such purchase meets legal purchase requirements in both states. Some states, such as Virginia, forbid the purchase of more than one firearm per month.

If we treat ownership of firearms the way we treat ownership of motor vehicles, we must repeal these laws.


Comparing Licensing

One does not need any license to be in possession of any motor vehicle anywhere in the United States of America. There are no requirements that a motor vehicle be kept locked up and in non-operational condition as a requirement of legally transporting one. There are no laws requiring cars to be stored in locked garages, or otherwise made inaccessible to their owners. Students who drive may drive their cars to school and park them on school property if such parking is available.

In many cities and states, it is illegal for a private individual -- and often even a sworn police officer who is off- duty -- to be in personal possession of a firearm in operational condition -- that is, loaded and without a trigger guard -- or in possession of even an unloaded firearm if it is concealed or not deliberately rendered inaccessible to its owner; or to keep even an unloaded firearm in the trunk of one's car or concealed on one's person.

If we treat ownership of firearms the way we treat ownership of motor vehicles, we must repeal these firearms laws.

There are no restrictions on the operation of motor vehicles on private property, with the owner's permission, anywhere in the United States. A child may legally operate a motor vehicle on private property with no license required. The only licensing requirements in any state are in the event that one is going to operate that motor vehicle on public streets or highways, in which case one must qualify for and carry an operator's license.

In many states or cities it is impossible for a private individual to legally possess a firearm on public streets at all; and the use of a firearm, even in cases of legal self-defense or protection of the lives of others, often results in prosecution on firearms charges. Bernhard Goetz, acquitted by a jury for shooting young punks on a subway whom he had good reason to believe were attempting to mug him, was convicted and served jail time for possessing the firearm he used to defend himself. There are additional restrictions on the possession of firearms by minors, even with their parents' permission, under conditions where such possession would be for a legally-permissible purpose. In addition to other criminal penalties, students possessing a firearm, or a toy gun, or even empty ammunition casings on school property are suspended or expelled.

If we treat ownership of firearms the way we treat ownership of motor vehicles, we must repeal these firearms laws against possession and legitimate use of firearms.

Training for operating a motor vehicle is part of the curriculum at public high schools. There are also private operator's schools in every neighborhood, without zoning restrictions. In many states one may get a learner's permit to operate a motor vehicle on public roads as young as age 14, and an operator's license as young as 16. At 18 one can get an unrestricted operator's license. Additional tests allow one to operate 2-wheeled vehicles and 18-wheel vehicles. The test for an operator's license tests one's knowledge and proficiency in the safe operation of a motor vehicle. You do not have to convince anyone that you have a need for the license. Once you've demonstrated competency at a level that almost anyone can satisfy, the state has no discretion in refusing you an operator's license. Except for convicted violators allowed restricted driving privileges, any state's license for operating a motor vehicle is good in all places throughout the state, at all times, and every state's license is recognized by every other state. The license is good for operating all motor vehicles of that class, not just motor vehicles which one owns.

In those states where it is possible to obtain a license to carry a gun at all, such licenses are often at police discretion, and handed out as payoffs to political cronies. The licensing procedure is often burdensome, invasive of privacy, time-consuming, and expensive. In some states the possession of a carry license is a matter of public record which can be reported in the news. Often licensing is blatantly discriminatory against women and minorities. Often the license has severe restrictions as to time and place that one may carry the firearm, and limits the carrying to only specified firearms. Usually the license is not recognized by other states and a person carrying a firearm under another state's license is prosecuted as if they were not licensed at all. In Los Angeles, actor Wesley Snipes was arrested for carrying a gun; Snipes was licensed to carry in Florida but was charged anyway. Even in states, such as Florida, which make issuance of licenses mandatory to qualified applicants, there are numerous restrictions on the places into which one is permitted to carry the firearm, resulting in accidental violations of law and suspensions of licenses. One must be twenty-one to obtain a license to carry a firearm in most states; and federal law severely restricts possession of firearms by individuals under eighteen, even with their parent's consent. Firearms training in schools is a rarity, with the result that those minors in possession of firearms -- even if they have legitimate fear for their lives -- are both penalized for carrying them and often left unqualified, by lack of available training, to possess or operate them in a safe or disciplined manner.

If we treat ownership of firearms the way we treat ownership of motor vehicles, we must rewrite these carry laws to remove these burdens and restrictions, and make training more available.

You may, with your motor vehicle operator's license, rent a motor vehicle when your motor vehicle is unavailable -- such as upon arrival at an airport in a city one is visiting.

There is certainly no Hertz Rent-a-Gun at every airport.

Now, shall we place exactly the same restrictions on the manufacture, vending, purchase, ownership, and operation of firearms that we currently place on automobiles?

The laws regarding motor vehicles in our society, while not perfect, at least recognize these common devices as serving the legitimate purposes of large numbers of the population. Lawmakers have at least tried to see that the laws governing automobile ownership and operation do little more than serve basic public requirements, such as revenue and encouraging proper training and safety awareness. Ordinary motorists, while perhaps overburdened themselves, at least aren't penalized for thinking they have a need to keep a working car with them. Punishments in our society are reserved for those who misuse motor vehicles, not those who use them as they were intended.

Contrariwise, the laws regarding firearms in our society always seem to place the burden of proof on any private person to demonstrate to some public servant a need to own or possess a firearm. Restrictions disarm the public in places where there is increased danger of violence -- precisely where one might need to defend oneself.

It is true that, for most of us, guns aren't as useful on a daily basis as cars. Looked at with a micro perspective, you could carry a gun for years before finding it needful; a gun kept for protective purposes is more like a fire extinguisher than a car. You might never need it; but when you do, having it can prevent tragedy.

Looked at with a macro view, we now know that one of your neighbors uses a firearm every thirteen seconds or so preventing just that sort of tragedy, and that using a gun for defense in an assault or robbery attempt is twice as likely to keep you unharmed than either not resisting at all or attempting any other form of resistance.

Yet, for a person not either engaged in a life of crime or professionally confronting criminals, it is the very unlikeliness of needing the gun that fosters our problems with them. If more ordinary people carried guns more regularly, more of us would be familiar with them, education in them would be as common as for cars, and we'd see more stories on the news about how one of our fellow citizens was Joanie-on-the-spot with her gun when some psychopath decided to turn her lunch break into a murder spree.

The protection of your life, property, family, and community ... hunting game ... shooting sports ... and training of the young in arms ... these are all well-established in our nation's customs, the Declaration of Independence, our Bill of Rights, federal legislation, and various state constitutions and laws. Unlike laws treating motor vehicles, our firearms laws are a patchwork quilt of taxes, burdens, regulations, conditions, invasions of privacy, and outright prohibitions, all expressing the mentality that only persons of political privilege may possess means to use deadly force if the need arises. Gun control advocates demand a "national gun policy," but their demands are only for increases in gun restrictions in places that don't currently have them; they are unwilling to unify laws in such a way that local violations of firearms rights are preempted by federal laws.

So, by all means, let's start immediately rewriting the laws in this country so that the ownership, possession, and use of guns are as fair and even-handed as laws governing cars. Maybe more people will then keep guns with them when they're needed, and criminals with guns will no longer operate with the guarantee of a disarmed public to prey upon.

Honest gun-control advocates should be delighted at this prospect. They just might get precisely what they've asked for.

J. NEIL SCHULMAN is the author of two Prometheus award-winning novels, Alongside Night and The Rainbow Cadenza, short fiction, nonfiction, and screenwritings, including the CBS Twilight Zone episode "Profile in Silver." His latest book is STOPPING POWER: Why 70 Million Americans Own Guns. Schulman has been published in the Los Angeles Times and other national newspapers, as well as National Review, Reason, Liberty, and other magazines. His LA Times article "If Gun Laws Work, Why Are We Afraid?" won the James Madison Award from the Second Amendment Foundation. Schulman's books have been praised by Nobel laureate Milton Friedman, Anthony Burgess, Robert A. Heinlein, Colin Wilson, and many other prominent individuals.


Reply to:
J. Neil Schulman
Mail: P.O. Box 94, Long Beach, CA 90801-0094
Voice Mail & Fax: (500) 44-JNEIL
JNS BBS: 1-500-44-JNEIL,,,,25
Internet: softserv@genie.geis.com

Post as CAR_GUN.TXT

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Gun Control: The proposition that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her own panty hose, is more acceptable than allowing that same woman to defend herself with a firearm.


[This message has been edited by jimpeel (edited March 08, 2000).]
 
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