Staying Ahead Of Gun Control

[Samalan]

Lobo that's not a "quibble" what you wrote is Fact and thank you for that.

[kiwican]

On 5/22/2021 at 12:35 AM, Lobo said:

Not meaning to quibble or argue, but I must comment:

1. The Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States guarantees the right to keep and bear arms. Not a privilege to be exercised within government permitting processes. Not something limited by arbitrary rules or political limitations.

2. I have lived in Colorado for most of my 7 decades. I have seen our laws go from "may issue" to "shall issue". Back in the "may issue" days any one of Colorado's 64 county sheriffs or about 300 police chiefs could issue a concealed carry permit, or refuse to do so, without explanation or stated reason. One sheriff required a letter from a licensed psychiatrist essentially guaranteeing the applicant's mental and emotional stability. Many others simply refused to issue any permits (frequently to avoid any chance of political controversy). Although state laws clearly stated that a permit issued in one city or county was to be honored anywhere in the state, many departments consistently refused to honor any permits other than their own. I knew many retired cops, FBI agents, Secret Service agents, and other retired LEOs who lived in cities or counties that absolutely refused to issue permits. Under our current "shall issue" law any person who is not prohibited by law from possessing a firearm and completes a recognized firearms safety program will be issued the permit, valid anywhere in Colorado (and recognized by 30-plus other states under reciprocal agreements).

3. The entire history of gun control laws in the US is based on pre-Civil War laws intended to disarm and disenfranchise certain segments of the population, particularly slaves, freed slaves, immigrants, or religious minorities. Gun control is inarguably about political control, not crime control, not hunting, not self-defense.

4. Requiring training classes, whether on-line or in person, is a matter of inserting the camel's nose into the tent. What level of training? Provided by whom? How many hours, days, weeks, months, or years? When and where will training be made available? How much will it cost? Politicians and bureaucrats, when given an inch, tend to start thinking themselves as rulers.

Sorry, but the folks who drafted the Constitution and Bill of Rights were not freshly home from a pheasant hunt, they were recovering from a traumatic revolution against tyrannical government and insuring against any recurrence.

Accepting the pretexts of the gun control crowd such as "common sense legislation", "reasonable restrictions", "safe storage", registration, permits, licensing, or training requirements is the first step on the slippery slope to loss of all Constitutionally-guaranteed liberties.

Individual rights are rights, not privileges to be granted by bureaucratic whim.

Rant over, for now.

I don't live in the USA. I live in Canada where there is no right to own a gun. I fully support the 2nd amendment