CmdrSlander
Member
I visited with my aunt recently, she was rabidly anti-gun (as in "Ban them all!") but in the course of the weekend I managed to convince her that semi autos/"assault weapons" were not the problem re: overall gun violence rates and that people, myself included do indeed enjoy AR15s and the like without hurting anybody. She remained, however, convinced of several things:
-The average person has no need of a semi-auto... those that want them want them as a result of some kind of perverse desire (she conflated it with penis size or, shall we say, the lack thereof).
-People in rural areas do actually need "hunting rifles" - city dwellers really ought to be disarmed though (with the exception of people who have enemies like criminal attorneys).
-The 2nd Amendment has been irrelevant since the Civil War, the Heller decision was a product of the corrupt Roberts Court.
-"Assault weapons" are no worse than other semi-autos, magazines are the problem and should be strictly limited (she was saying ten, then went down to five).
-The "Gun Culture" is a bunch of idiots and weirdos and it should be destroyed.
With that in mind, here was the compromise (read: it does not ban them all like she really wants to) gun control scheme she offered me at the end of the weekend:
-To buy any gun you need a FOID (Firearms Owner ID) card and to get a FOID card you need 16 hours of training and a thorough background check.
-After you get your FOID card you have to own, without incident a "hunting rifle" or "defense pistol" for two years. She defines a hunting rifle as a manual action long gun with a capacity of 5 or less rounds and a defense pistol as a revolver with a capacity under 6 rounds. After two years you can buy any gun you want (but mags are still restricted, see below).
-The government knows how many guns you have and the general type (long gun, handgun) of gun but not the make, model or S/N. She believes the police need to know this basic info (number of guns you own) so that if you lose your FOID they know, in the process of taking your guns, when they have gotten them all. However, she considers herself a bit of a privacy watchdog and believes the government has no need to know make/model/SN to carry out confiscation should the need arise and would only abuse that info.
-The FOID is linked to an electronic database with your name in it in real time, should you commit a crime and be caught, be arrested for a violent offense, or reported as mentally unstable it is voided and the cops will show up to collect your guns.
-Magazines for rifles over five rounds are legal and have legitimate competition purposes (I told her about three gun competition, etc. and got her to make this concession) but must be stored and used at shooting ranges.
-If you already own guns you must get a FOID to keep owning them but can get one by having three character witnesses or a single Chief Law Enforcement Officer (Police chief, sheriff) testify that you are sane, law abiding and responsible (in short, you can skip the restricted period and the classes). If you can't get three witnesses, turn in your guns or sell them to someone with a FOID until you complete the training.
--------------------------------------------
Right then, there's the scheme, now demolish it and arm me with counterarguments.
One stipulation: She firmly believes the Second Amendment and the Constitution are irrelevant, she will dismiss out of hand any argument that uses those documents and/or our founding principles and heritage as evidence.
-The average person has no need of a semi-auto... those that want them want them as a result of some kind of perverse desire (she conflated it with penis size or, shall we say, the lack thereof).
-People in rural areas do actually need "hunting rifles" - city dwellers really ought to be disarmed though (with the exception of people who have enemies like criminal attorneys).
-The 2nd Amendment has been irrelevant since the Civil War, the Heller decision was a product of the corrupt Roberts Court.
-"Assault weapons" are no worse than other semi-autos, magazines are the problem and should be strictly limited (she was saying ten, then went down to five).
-The "Gun Culture" is a bunch of idiots and weirdos and it should be destroyed.
With that in mind, here was the compromise (read: it does not ban them all like she really wants to) gun control scheme she offered me at the end of the weekend:
-To buy any gun you need a FOID (Firearms Owner ID) card and to get a FOID card you need 16 hours of training and a thorough background check.
-After you get your FOID card you have to own, without incident a "hunting rifle" or "defense pistol" for two years. She defines a hunting rifle as a manual action long gun with a capacity of 5 or less rounds and a defense pistol as a revolver with a capacity under 6 rounds. After two years you can buy any gun you want (but mags are still restricted, see below).
-The government knows how many guns you have and the general type (long gun, handgun) of gun but not the make, model or S/N. She believes the police need to know this basic info (number of guns you own) so that if you lose your FOID they know, in the process of taking your guns, when they have gotten them all. However, she considers herself a bit of a privacy watchdog and believes the government has no need to know make/model/SN to carry out confiscation should the need arise and would only abuse that info.
-The FOID is linked to an electronic database with your name in it in real time, should you commit a crime and be caught, be arrested for a violent offense, or reported as mentally unstable it is voided and the cops will show up to collect your guns.
-Magazines for rifles over five rounds are legal and have legitimate competition purposes (I told her about three gun competition, etc. and got her to make this concession) but must be stored and used at shooting ranges.
-If you already own guns you must get a FOID to keep owning them but can get one by having three character witnesses or a single Chief Law Enforcement Officer (Police chief, sheriff) testify that you are sane, law abiding and responsible (in short, you can skip the restricted period and the classes). If you can't get three witnesses, turn in your guns or sell them to someone with a FOID until you complete the training.
--------------------------------------------
Right then, there's the scheme, now demolish it and arm me with counterarguments.
One stipulation: She firmly believes the Second Amendment and the Constitution are irrelevant, she will dismiss out of hand any argument that uses those documents and/or our founding principles and heritage as evidence.
