>>18 is obviously a troll. The vast majority libertarians and pro-gun folks are *NOT* in favor of abolishing the police. Libertarians/conservatives tend to support and have the support of law enforcement. Many members of the NRA are members of law-enforcement groups. The Fraternal Order of Police, the largest rank-and-file law enforcement organization in the USA has sided with the NRA on a wide range of issues including the Clintonian Assault Weapons ban.
>>25 has just bought into the lies of the Brady Bunch. Wake up, the majority of americans support the NRA, not Handgun Control Inc, or the Brady Center, or whatever alias they are going under now. The NRA is the american mainstream. They are not radicals, extremists, criminals, or wild-wild west gunslingers. The NRA supports the 2nd amendment for lawful citizens, not criminals. It makes me laugh when you stupid fucks try to tie support for the second amendment/bill of rights up with criminality. In my state, there have been over hundreds of thousands of concealed carry permits issued. Guess how many have been convicted of a violent crime? Not one. Despite your ridiculous attempts to brand gun owners as people looking to get in gunfights, shootouts, and get engaged in criminal activity, quite the opposite seems to be the case. The vast majority of gun toting americans are in reality *MORE* law abiding than the rest of the country.
Maybe instead of harassing gun owners with enormous (not to mention ridiculous) amounts of pointless bureaucratic gun laws that have proven to be near-worthless in solving actual crime, in preventing crime, or in apprehending and taking care of criminals, you should actually lock up the criminals? Taking away guns from law-abiding americans is not going to stop crime. You know what will? Putting criminals in jail. Amazing isn't it?
Of course, the problem with THAT is that our jails are currently overcrowded with otherwise lawful people who have been caught for peacefully smoking or possessing marijuana. Almost 60% of the arrests made in 1996 were marijuana users, compared to around 40-50% in 2005. The vast majority of these people (around 80% of them) do not have violent crimes on their records. They are peaceful people who have been jailed for engaging in a completely peaceful and enjoyable recreational activity - smoking. Overcrowding in jails means that we have high jail turnover... that REAL violent criminals, such as murderers and rapists are getting early releases and or parole to go harm more people, while their recently vacated jail cells are being filled with peaceful and typically otherwise-law-abiding pot-smoking hippies and rebellious teenagers - all because they chose to peacefully enjoy a joint.
Following this, I tend to hear calls from the democrats & the Brady Bunch that, because of the so called violence epidemic, we need more & tougher gun laws, while they simultaneously say they will continue the drug war.
Amazing how guns and drugs are so closely related. Drugs get banned, crime soars, and guns take the blame for a crime problem that was practically created by the shitty drug policies our government engaged in. Take a look at prohibition. Resulting from the huge rise in crime accompanying prohibition back in the 30's, we instituted our nation's first gun control law.
When people give murderers and rapists early release from prison, and throw hippies in jail, what the hell do they expect to happen? No amount of bureaucratic red tape and gun control laws will make up for the fact that we are failing to address they key problem here: our drug/crime policy. Until we stop imprisoning people for smoking and possessing marijuana, and START imprisioning people for committing violent crime, we are going to continue to see violent crime. Its as simple as that.
The obvious solution? Legalize marijuana to reduce overcrowding in prisons, then lock up violent criminals, not pot smokers. Following that, crime will go down, and gun control can become a distant memory.