I don't think any sane person could disagree with putting a criminal in jail.
But, it does depend on what a criminal is - doesn't it?
And there's the rub for me.
I think a murder committed with a knife (hands, feet, stick, car) is just as henious as any committed with a firearm.
I've a real problem with "illegal gun." There's no such thing. Machine guns, destructive devices, any NFA device ... they are all legal IF you pay the tax & go through the hoops.
So, no such thing as an "illegal gun."
We have this discussion with (supposedly & no flames here) knowledgeable gun owners & can't agree.
Can you imagine the concepts of non-gun owners & the rabid antis?
Heard of a tale by a friend: He had another friend (non-shooter) come over to his house. The non-shooter friend saw 2X mags of .45ACP on the counter. "Are those armor-piercing" bullets? Cop-killers? (et puke)" & etc.
A fave lady of mine (CO MMM babe) tells all in her memo to not worry about the "star wars" weapon seen on a WSSF website ... "It's OK, it's only a reloading machine." & "Did you know that shooting is actually an Olympic sport?"
I've a CO CCW. In Denver, I can have my car confiscated because of their city ordinance re "guns in cars." Nada re if you have CCW or any other "affirmative defense." That the car confiscation hasn't happened "all that often" doesn't even play in my mind. That the law is on the books at all is a possibility of abuse.
A few of "us crazies" here in CO have called BATF/P-Exile #s (1-800-283-4867) to get an idea of how we can "turn in our neighbotr" & "what's an illegal gun." They don't have a clue & seems they're getting a bit testy due to all the calls. (haven't yet called them personally - give it time)
And, to answer a question pose dto another - "why would illegal gun make you think of yourself?"
The answer is easy for me.
There is an anti-gun hysteria in this country (a hoplophobia, if you will) that is running rampant. The antis have jumped on the Columbine bit with a vengeance, teh newsies give it huge credence (no matter the statistics, etc.), The Prez (God bless him
) is hounding this thing to death & a bunch of politicos are jumping on the "anything reasonable" bandwagon.
Paranoid? Nope. A bit scared? Yup. Nervous? Uh-huh. Concerned about how this country could go right down the toilet with another flush or two? Most assuredly.
I've another real problem with seeing a newspaper article about some guy being arrested for a "weapons charge." I can carry a pistol into any CO classroom - perfectly legal. But I can't have a pair of sticks tied together with a rope (num-chucks) - that's an "illegal weapon" here & could "go up the river" for that. & I'm as expert with those as I am with my pistol.
That I would have possession of a pair of tied sticks more insidious than a pistol? I don't think so. Will those sticks cause me to somehow be more a danger to society or somehow "go off" due to their insidious nature? Doubtful.
"Society" has written rules that are somehow supposed to cover all the bases. Every time some idiot does something, we get another rule which equates to more "illegal guns," more "illegal sticks," whathaveyou.
It's stupid & will never solve the problem or the underlying cause/s. The end result is that we continually lose our freedoms.
Those of us that aren't the problem in the first place, get it in the end (figuratively & literally) with no end benefit to society.
Well, more than I started to stick in on this subject ....
Wrapping it up, I'm against any Project Exile-type anything. If the laws were written AND ENFORCED properly to begin with, we wouldn't have any need for anything similar to any type of "turn in your neighbor bit" or "illegal weapons" of any sort.
Propably too idealistic, but hey! it's me!
(and after just finishing Unintended Consequences, perhaps you may forgive my most latest rant
)