Gun control arguments on the social media...

Just a few points I made on social media about gun control I'd like to share. I will share more here soon. Many thanks to Maryland-based Frank Maguire, author of Lashback and various other publications, for inspiring the discussion, and to those who contributed.


Alcohol, tobacco and firearms

To draw an analogy with drugs deregulation, if someone is searched by the cops in Colorado, and the cops find enough marijuana for personal use, they might let it slide without the need for proof of medical documentation. They might let it slide here too because it's "frivolous".

That's being normalised but there's a problem with that. The guy with the weed could be a dealer. We don't KNOW for sure, because it's sort of LEGITIMATE now. Black market joints, or Marlboros from Mexico, or moonshine in a Smirnoff bottle, they all look similar to the proper stuff from the dispensaries or the liquor store.

If I am walking along with a GUN in my belt in Ireland, and I am accosted and searched by a policeman here, I AM ARRESTED. Because WTF am I doing with a gun?

"I'm part of the Neighborhood Watch program."

"Well you can Neighborhood Watch yourself off to prison, Mr Rambo."

In Florida, I walk the street with a gun, and it's a similar scenario to having a bit of weed or a bottle of moonshine or a pack of cheap cigarettes smuggled in from Central America. But it's NOT the same.

In one scenario, I'm walking the street on my way to a party with my bottle of homemade hooch to have some fun. In the other, I could be on my way to kill my ex-wife's boyfriend and everyone else at the party, with my fully licensed firearm.

The cop will just say in ALL cases: "This is acceptable. Carry on."

How is gun culture so normal? It's ridiculous.

You can start by saying No guns for ANYONE. Hand in your guns ASAP. Exemptions for hunters, and you'll then have resources freed up to watch them like the protected hawks that they won't be allowed to shoot, coz so few others will have guns. 

But you shouldn't have a revolver or an automatic pistol or an assault rifle. Give those things up. Maybe, if they're very expensive, exchange them for tax credits, which will balance out on account of the fewer gun injuries and gun crimes and policing costs and prison and court time. It needs the blessing of every state and at local level for it to work. And you guys can make that happen. 

America is a more than capable country. The point is whatever the costs, the dividends down the line are massive. Like investing in education. Put a little funding into educating the autistic kid at five, and you won't be spending thousands teaching him how to fish when he's 30. Another message to get out is: GUNS ARE ILLEGAL. They're ONLY USED BY CRIMINALS now. You prosecute anyone who has a gun to the fullest extent of the law.