Alternet has this piece up, for pageviews I'm sure, about the
9 Horrible Gun Laws Backed by the Right Wing Because
obviously one must be a "Right winger" to agree with any of the items they list. Lets look at this list:
1. Guns on Campus
Dubbed the “Campus Personal Protection Act,” this model legislation would allow handguns to be carried on campus. The ALEC bill would also “limit” regulations that the governing boards of colleges imposed on the carrying of guns on campus.
This is basically an extension of the idea that a private law abiding citizen should be able to carry a weapon anywhere he or she is legally entitled to be. I don't have a problem with that. But it is part and parcel of the "right to carry". Either you have it or you don't. I do believe that folks who wish to run up into a school and shoot at students will think hard about the possibility that they will be killed in the process. That even though being armed does not in any way guarantee that you will not be killed. It does mean that you, along with all the other armed students/persons have a chance at stopping the would be killer should you have the chance.
It's the same reason I practice martial arts. If someone gets the drop on me I'm probably dead. However; should he or she fail to incapacitate me, I am very capable of ending the conflict quickly and if I so chose mortally.
But hey, If you want to cower in a corner or under a desk hoping that dude with the gun doesn't find you or the police get to campus and the building in time. PLease by all means, don't carry.
2. Immediate Firearm Purchases
Yeah I totally oppose this item. If you have no intent to use the gun for a crime, you can wait.
3. More ‘Stand Your Ground’ Laws
I agree with "Stand Your Ground" laws. Again, I see no reason why a law abiding citizen should be prosecuted for protecting him or herself from someone who is breaking the law and threatening their life. I actually don't even think there should be a need for such laws because it should be understood that one has the right to defend oneself to the point of mortally wounding an assailant.
With the rise of surveillance in America, it is now quite possible that in the near future just about every public altercation in America will be recorded and it can be found out who initiated a conflict without the he said she said and other forensics.
Don't let the use of Trayvon as a proper example of Stand Your Ground. Zimmerman was without reason to exit his vehicle while armed and run up on Trayvon who was legally at the location and committing no crime. Just because someone claims "stand your ground" doesn't mean it is "Stand Your Ground".
4. No Borders to Firearm Movement
This ALEC bill would, if passed, require states to recognize “concealed carry” permits or licenses from other states. This would mean that the state where guns are being carried in would have no recourse to go after people with guns if they have a permit and came from a state that allows “concealed carry” permits.
I agree with this one too. It makes no sense that you have to apply for a permit in each state you enter. No sense at all. Your driver's license isn't only for one state and your vehicle is a weapon. The technical term, at least in New Jersey is reciprocity. The state recognizes the "privilege" of driving as granted by any other state (or country)so long as you meet the requirements of being licensed and insured. Clearly it would be prohibitive for both citizens and the state to have to obtain special permits for each and every state one drove into. It's not like the specifics of how to drive changes when one crosses a state line.
So exactly how does one explain how the operation of a firearm or the background check to get one or the permit that one possess to carry change once one changes states?
From what I've read, these state laws have managed to save us from the menace of Hip Hop artists and basketball players who shoot themselves. Furthermore, last I checked all of these mass shooters lived in the state where they purchased/ obtained the gun used.
And to bring us back to the point. Law abiding citizens are
not the problem and these laws only serve to make their lives more difficult.
I'm going to skip to number seven:
7. Guns for Emergencies
This ALEC-backed legislation would prohibit states from confiscating firearms in the wake of a declared “state of emergency.” The group claims such a law would run afoul of the Second Amendment. It also calls for public employees who confiscate firearms to be found “guilty of the crime of larceny of a firearm or ammunition,” if such a law were on the books.
I am TOTALLY against the state being able to disarm the citizens upon declaring a "state of emergency". I simply do not trust the state enough to be cool with that. If you are so clueless as to not understand why I would suggest you look back on the Occupy protests. Regardless of your position on them the violence was one way and sometime brutal. You trust the state if you want to. The founding fathers put in the second amendment
specifically because they did not trust government. The British went and proved them right on that one.
See some of the ideas aren't actually bad and some are actually in line with the better founding principles of the country. No need to simply say everything one disagrees with is "right wing claptrap". Sometimes people have not only a different perspective than you do, but also a different set of fears.
