Gun control poll. Please Vote

[imenja]

Please vote:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3357891

[imenja]

1. kick

[Redstone]

2. Whaddaya, nuts?

I'm going to expose myself to all sorts of tired old tirades from the Gun Nuts by advocating that weapons should be subject to the same level of control that, say, cars are subject to in this country?

Not today.

(Not giving you a hard time; it's an important issue. Just tired of dealing with Those Poeple.)

Redstone

[imenja]

3. just vote, you don't have to post

voting is anonymous

[imenja]

4. but I know exactly what you mean

what prompted this poll was a discussion I had in another thread about gun control positions being acceptable on DU. Another member said she didn't have that impression, so I posted this poll. A small majority seem to favor gun control, but the pro-gun folks are the most vocal about their views.

[immoderate]

5. The vagueness is a problem.

I'm generally for the right to keep and bear arms. There should be some controls. Many of the gun laws are stupid.

You can own a pistol. You can own a shot gun. But you can't own a shotgun less than 18 inches. Stupid.

--IMM

[imenja]

9. well the poll enables you to define gun control as you see fit

Either that existing gun laws are adequate or excessive, or that you'd like to see some further regulation. For some people the second option will be far more extensive than others. The basic question is that do you think existing laws go far enough?

[slackmaster]

6. Gun sales ARE more tightly regulated than car sales

When I bought a used Nissan in 2002 the dealer never asked to see my driver's license. Buying a gun is much more complicated, and (at least for a new one) requires a background check.

Here in California ALL gun sales require background checks on the buyer. You don't need a driver's license in order to buy a car, but to buy a handgun you need a state-issued Handgun Safety Certificate.

[barb162]

7. I read that gun shows are not really regulated around the

country and people can buy all kinds of automatic weapons. Is that true in your state.

[slackmaster]

8. Automatic weapons are strictly regulated by federal law

Nobody can go to a gun show anywhere and walk out with an automatic weapon. They've been regulated since 1934.

It's true that gun shows don't have any regulations that don't apply everywhere else. The weak spot is that in most states private sales of used guns, wherever they occur, are not regulated. Federal law prohibits private gun sellers from using the National Instant Check System that licensed gun dealers in most states use. Even if you want to check the background of someone you are selling a gun to, there is no easy way to do it. OTOH why would you bother checking your wife's background when you buy her a gun for her birthday? :shrug:

[imenja]

11. not federally

I'm not surprised that California has more aggressive laws. They are more progressive on most matters. Most states are far more lax. A federal gun registry would be a start. If we could at least keep track of who buys guns so we can see if they are using them lawfully. The NRA opposes that. Why? Because gun companies profit from murder and armed criminal activity.

[slackmaster]

15. I oppose a federal gun registry on constitutional grounds

Most states are far more lax. A federal gun registry would be a start. If we could at least keep track of who buys guns so we can see if they are using them lawfully.

I've read the Constitution forward and backward, in a mirror and upside down, and I haven't yet found any part of it that grants to the federal government the power to regulate ownership or intrastate sales of private, personal property. I know in these days of "terrorism" and talk of terrorism some people are all too eager to hand over their civil rights like privacy and the right of habeas corpus and the right to trial by jury to the Republican-controlled government in exchange for feeling safer, but the ice water running through my veins prevents me from enjoying that kind of illusion.

We do have a federal registry for machine guns and certain other weapons considered to have either military usefulness or an exceptionally great potential to be used in crime. That has been in place since 1934 and nobody has ever presented a serious challenge to it.

The NRA opposes that. Why? Because gun companies profit from murder and armed criminal activity.

I think that's a bogus argument. If you take a close look at gun companies they don't really make a whole lot of profit. There are no gun manufacturers in the S&P 500 or the Dow Jones industrials. A few big corporations like IBM, General Motors, Singer, and even the Rockola juke box company made combat weapons for the US government during World War II, but they didn't pursue gun making after the war ended because it wouldn't have been as profitable as their core businesses.

The civilian market for firearms is stable but quite limited. Most firearms made by US companies are clearly intended for sporting purposes. And people do have a right to self-defense.

[imenja]

16. where's the part of the Constitution that let's them keep track of books?

and my reading habits. That didn't stop them from using the patriot act for precisely that purpose. This tyranny of the state over guns gets zero sympathy from me. If there weren't so many gun murders, we wouldn't have to spend a fraction of the money we do on law enforcement and prisons. Our state would be far smaller and far less intrusive. Guns are legally protected, but they are nonetheless evil.

[slackmaster]

17. There is of course no such federal power

I regard the tyranny over books and the tyranny over guns with equal contempt. All freedoms are important. Individuals have varying opinions about what the various rights and civil liberties mean, so to me the common ground is to respect them all, even the ones you don't like.

Guns are legally protected, but they are nonetheless evil.

To me guns are inanimate objects that take on the character of the person who uses them. They have been used for both good and evil purposes since they were invented. Being a good person myself, no evil will ever come from me having a bunch of curious and relics in my safe.

[Ellen Forradalom]

10. This doesn't look like the Gungeon

Did I make a wrong turn at Albuquerque?

[ScreamingMeemie]

12. No thanks. I just got rid of a headache.

;) :hi:

[imenja]

13. you can vote without posting

or even reading the posts.

[ScreamingMeemie]

14. There isn't a true vote for me. It's not all or nothing. Different states

have different needs. :hi: