Penn and Teller on Gun Control

[gorfle]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iusKWjwi0Wo&feature=related

Excellent video.

[Ano Genitus]

1. I can only imagine what position Libertarians might take on gun control.

[jody]

5. Why try to imagine, read below.

I.6 The Right to Keep and Bear Arms
The Issue: Governments at all levels often violate their citizens’ right of self defense with laws that restrict, limit or outright prohibit the ownership and use of firearms. These “gun control” laws are often justified by the mistaken premise that they will lead to a reduction in the level of violence in our society.

The Principle: The Bill of Rights recognizes that an armed citizenry is essential to a free society. We affirm the right to keep and bear arms.

Solutions: We oppose all laws at any level of government restricting, regulating or requiring the ownership, manufacture, transfer or sale of firearms or ammunition. We oppose all laws requiring registration of firearms or ammunition. We support repeal of all gun control laws. We demand the immediate abolition of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Transition: We oppose any government efforts to ban or restrict the use of tear gas, "mace" or other self-protection devices. We further oppose all attempts to ban weapons or ammunition on the grounds that they are risky or unsafe. We favor the repeal of laws banning the concealment of weapons or prohibiting pocket weapons. We also oppose the banning of inexpensive handguns ("Saturday night specials") and semi-automatic or so-called assault weapons and their magazines or feeding devices.

Compare that with the 2004 Democratic Party Platform.

"We will protect Americans' Second Amendment right to own firearms, and we will keep guns out of the hands of criminals and terrorists by fighting gun crime, reauthorizing the assault weapons ban, and closing the gun show loophole, as President Bush proposed and failed to do."

See http://www.democrats.org/pdfs/2004platform.pdf

[L1A1Rocker]

7. The more I find out about Libertarians

the more I find I am identifying myself as a Libertarian.

[jody]

8. Your interest in Libertarians is no surprise because the Dem Party evolved from Libertarian thought.

[WWFZD]

9. We're against it

Personally I have no problem with my fellow law-abiding citizens owning full-autos but I accept their regulation. There's a lot better positions to argue against the antis.

[Deep13]

2. While I generally agree, I thought their reading of the 2nd Amendment was...

...novel to say the least. Their argument is that the second clause exists as a response to the threat posed by the first clause, essentially putting them at cross purposes. I wonder if any of the proponents of the ratification of the 2nd Amendment had expressed similar ideas.

[Vilis Veritas]

3. The end is priceless.

Thanks...

[endarkenment]

4. I agree with everything Teller said. Penn: not so much. nt.

[L1A1Rocker]

6. The "pinky" LOL

I love it. Talk about making sence!! OMG that is it in a nutshell.

[jmg257]

10. I wish they would get the part about the Militias right though...

They sort of downplay our role in the Militia, and why that role guarantees us effective arms a bit...separate from our self-defense right. This Militia purpose is very important - necessary in fact, and it makes the right paramount and any restrictive laws subject to the strictest scrutiny, and secures the right from being infringed by State AND Federal regulations (neither can deny the other an effective militia made up of the body of the poeple). Also says why we ARE entitled to those "military arms in common use" most bans target - for our Militia duty, while most other firearms are still covered by personal defense & 'private property' freedoms.