Republicans and Gun Law
An article from Republicans United that I want all of you to read.
In the interest of advancing more policy-oriented discussions here at RU, I am reposting this item from my own blog. I wrote about the problem of gun trafficking at The Big Stick last year. Republicans have a long history of generally being on the right side of law enforcement, which is why we typically enjoy the support of police unions across the country. We also have traditionally been the best defenders of gun rights and have rightly resisted knee-jerk legislation aimed at taking guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens in a futile effort to curb crime. We recognize that lawful gun owners are not the problem. But obviously gun crime continues to be a serious issue in this country. How can we reduce it? This post lays out some good ideas on where to start…
While I am not particularly interested in assault weapons, especially for the few knuckleheads who take them hunting, I am not opposed to their ownership by law-abiding folks. For those of us who enjoy shooting there is always a fascination with firearms. I realize the liberal urge is to associate it with some sort of phallic-envy, but I’d say it’s more visceral than that. It’s akin to the same impulse that forces me to look at every tool in the Craftsman catalog, pause the remote when I see This Old House on television and what makes me enjoy chopping wood for an hour when I could just buy it from the feed store down the road. I’m not going to pretend that everyone should understand this, but I don’t see anything wrong with it either.
Personally, I am a wing-shooter and shotguns are what rings my bell. Are they as deadly as an assault rifle? In the right hands, yes. So are hand guns, semi-automatic ‘black rifles’, Chinese stars and those big Rambo knives they sell at flea markets.
