Two couples arrested in MD for destroying Bush/Cheney political signs

[ylexot]

I agree we should be able to have a gun for protection, not a problem. The problem is they get into the hands of those with evil intent. How do we overcome this problem?

Seek to affect the evil intent, not the tools that those with evil intent may use. Take away one tool and they will find another. Remove the evil intent and the tool will not be used.

"False is the idea of utility that sacrifices a thousand real advantages for one imaginary or trifling inconvenience; that would take fire from men because it burns, and water because one may drown in it; that has no remedy for evils, except destruction.

The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes....Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man. Thomas Jefferson's "Commonplace Book," 1774-1776, quoting 18th century criminologist Cesare Beccaria in Chapter 40 of "On Crimes and Punishment", 1764.

"The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on the other hand, arms like laws discourage and keep the invader and the plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside … Horrid mischief would ensue were one half the world deprived of the use of them …" Thomas Paine, Thoughts on Defensive War, 1775. I Writings of Thomas Paine at 56 (1894).

 

[2ndAmendment]

Here are my thoughts on guns, misguided youth, and violence.

If you read the history behind the Second Amendment, it has nothing to do with hunting; it has everything to do with keeping the government under control (having a means of revolution if needed) and protection of life and property. We used to take our guns to school; we hunted before and after school. There was never a problem; no one ever threatened anyone with a firearm. There were fist fights, but the guns were left out of the altercation. I was taught to shoot when I was eight. I was also taught gun safety from the time I was eight.

Controlling guns is not the problem. Gun control is where you hold the gun properly and hit what you aim at. People control is the problem. We have had a great social experiment since the '60s. It is not anyone's fault; it was their environment. Nonsense. Children should not be spanked or physically disciplined. More nonsense; even Benjamin Spock who proposed the idea of not spanking children has stated his premise was wrong. We need to control people and it needs to start with the disciplining of children. Firearm safety should be taught in schools, not the fear of firearms. People who use firearms in committing a crime should be locked up. If they murdered someone, they need to be executed.

Now here is something controversial. Want to get rid of street violence. Legalize drugs. The Eighteenth Amendment issued in prohibition and one of the most violent periods in U.S. history. The Twenty-first Amendment repealed the Eighteenth Amendment and the violence largely ended; there were no more turf wars. Interestingly, many of the drug laws were passed in the '30s. This was probably due to economics. People were still getting high during prohibition; they were just using drugs. The laws were passed to get the drug users to go back to alcohol. Alcohol was being taxed and the drugs were not. Now we have turf wars over drugs. Legalize drugs and the turf wars go away, you reduce the prison population by 80%, and you do away with billions of dollars spent on the never ending battle to prevent drugs from entering the U.S. You can also tax the drugs. Those that abuse them will succumb to the survival of the fittest.

Now if you look at the discussions presented, you come to one startling observation. All the control flows back to government. Too much government causes problems instead of solving them. The founders knew this. The Constitution strictly limits what the federal government may do. The problem is that the government officials don't pay any attention to the limits. The best government is the least amount of government practical.

I am a Christian. I make no secret of it. The reason people are preoccupied with violence and the dark side is sin and lack of true faith in God. The founders also said that if the people lost faith in God and their moral character, the country would soon be lost. Guess what; we're getting there.