Apparently authorities in the UK are freaking out because a licensed gun owner killed his family with guns he was licensed for. It’s making Irish newspapers too. You hear our insufferably dimwitted opponents, who aren’t looking to ban guns, by the way, constantly making hay out of incidents like this as well.
In any pool of people, you’re going to have some who, despite the best efforts of the powers that be, defy the odds and act out spectacularly. It’s going to be rare, but it’s going to happen. There is no way to allow legal gun ownership and stop every misuse of legally owned guns, absolutely 100%. This inevitably leads to slippery slope where, unless someone steps up and accept that this is part of the cost of freedom, guns will eventually just be eventually outlawed for everyone.
Our opponents deride us for believing in the slippery slope. But I’m here to tell you now they are dimwitted people. I have run out of patience for them. In the past I have been more diplomatic, but I think now, we’re at a position where we can start calling spades spades. That’s not to say that every person who believe in some gun control is a thoughtless fool; I think reasonable people can disagree on some measures. But now that the reasonable folks have been swept out of the gun control movement, that leaves only the zealots, and I’ve been spectacularly unimpressed with them. I feel absolutely confident in calling them dimwits who we should not take seriously, and can successfully convince others not too either. Mockery, I think, should now be the order of the day, rather than serious engagement and persuasion.
I couldn’t agree more. The anti-gun movement is now one of open deceit where reputable members of the cause like Dennis Hennigan will make a speech where he praises laws that restrict guns on a federal level…but damn HR 822 because it doesn’t “respect State’s Rights”.
http://www.clintonschoolspeakers.com/lecture/view/gun-issue-two-visions-america/
They say they don’t want to take our guns…they say a lot of things that are blatant lies.
I’m not sure that ‘dimwitted’ is the right word. These folks know exactly what they’re doing, and are able to rationalize their duplicity. I’d call them ‘sinister’ instead.
And they are predictable. Point this incident out to any gun control supporter and their answer will go something like this: “Gun violence in the UK is exceedingly rare compared to the United States. They have a small fraction of our ‘gun deaths’. I never said gun control will stop every single gun crime.â€
Then come back with: “Ah, so since you have seen the proof that CCW holders are far less likely to commit a crime than the general public, are you going to drop all your talk against carry rights?â€
“No, as long as some CCW holder somewhere commits a crime, we have a problem. You guys promised us that would never ever happen.â€
Especially because of restrictive licensing in the U.K. is, if someone has a firearms license (for a pistol or rifle), they likely have significant local pull, at least in urban areas. A friend of mine was a reserve police officer in Britain. He was issued a Browning Hi-Power when he was on active duty (which involved stopping IRA smuggling of weapons through British airports)–but he was of the opinion that if he had requested a firearms license, he would have been unable to get one.
Those with the connections to get firearms licenses may not necessarily be good guys–but perhaps just people with connections. Think of the Dunblane shooter. He was recognized as likely a pedophile; there were repeated complaints about this guy showing inappropriate interest in little boys; he had been kicked out of Scouting for this reason; he was not a member of a pistol club (theoretically required to get a firearms license). Yet he was licensed to own multiple pistols–and there are disturbing indications that he had special relationships with important police officials.
Markie Marxist sez: “Someone without a license shoots someone; that means we have to have licensing. Someone with a license shoots someone; that means we have to ban licensed guns. We commies try to grease that slope as much as we can. It keeps it slippery. Ha! Ha! All your slippery slope are belong to us!”
There are always going to be people who are extremists on any issue and there are also always going to be people who abuse their rights.
We can’t guarantee that all gun owners will take gun safety courses and use their weapons accordingly any more than we can guarantee that all automobile drivers will drive their vehicles safely.
Not only that, but whether they’re going to be safe or not isn’t just a matter of education, that’s only part of it. As you mentioned, nearly everyone who’s driving has taken the drivers test and been licensed (even if it was revoked at some point). Yet, I still see lots of people who drive like crap, and it’s not because they don’t know any better, they just don’t care or aren’t paying attention, and education won’t fix that.
As for “This inevitably leads to slippery slope where, unless someone steps up and accept that this is part of the cost of freedom, guns will eventually just be eventually outlawed for everyone.”
No. The Agencies, police, military, and career criminals will still have them at the bottom of that slippery slope. It has been so since the dawn of nations.