"Just because you're paranoid - don't mean they're not out to get ya."

The new target for gun bans: All semiautomatic weapons?
By Eugene Volokh January 8 at 5:52 PM
Washington Post

Back in the 1970s, talk was of banning “Saturday Night Specials” — cheap, generally low-caliber handguns that were supposedly favored by criminals. Actually, criminals, like other people, preferred better, more powerful guns. And to the extent the bans pushed criminals away from the cheap, low-caliber guns and to slightly more expensive, high-caliber substitutes, they might have increased gun deaths, precisely because the high-caliber substitutes were deadlier. (A gun is a criminal’s tool of the trade; a few would-be gun criminals might be put off by having to pay some more for a gun, but many others would pay the extra money if they had to.)

Then talk shifted to so-called “assault weapons” — particular kinds of semiautomatic weapons — partly because these too were seen as unusual and not generally owned by law-abiding people. Quite a few states and cities have indeed banned sales of such weapons, as did the federal government (for newly manufactured) weapons from 1994 to 2004. Of course, especially now, such “assault weapons” are actually pretty common, but bans on them are still being proposed.

And of course now things have moved on: Now we’re hearing calls for bans on sale or home possession of semiautomatic weapons generally. Consider, for instance, Thomas Friedman’s column in the New York Times this week; Damon Linker’s article for The Week this week, though apparently limited to semiautomatic rifles; the Media Matters article hopefully noting a poll of Latinos that showed support for a ban on “semi-automatic and assault weapons” (the polling organization itself characterized the position as “ban semi-automatic weapons”).

These proposals aren’t entirely new; President Obama, when he was a candidate for the Illinois legislature in 1998, said he’d support a ban on semiautomatic weapons. But I’ve been hearing them more and more often — even though semiautomatic guns likely represent close to half of the guns out there in the country. These aren’t calls for restricting supposedly narrow categories of guns that are allegedly used predominantly by criminals. These are calls for banning the sorts of guns that tens of millions of law-abiding Americans have in their homes.

Now if people think that we’d be safer with a ban on semiautomatic weapons, they should of course feel free to argue in favor of such a ban. But, as I suggested in this post earlier today, it’s hard to view gun rights supporters as “paranoid” for worrying that supposedly modest restrictions will lead to broad gun bans, when they see how supposedly narrower past restrictions are indeed being followed by calls for much broader gun bans today.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...matic-weapons/

Thanks for that by way of Volokh's piece; went & read it. Friedman is a guy many people read to find out how they should think in the morning, in the absence of developed independent thought - and he's lost it with this one. Not just the gun quote:
But you can see the full-on retard trend. Yes, yes, I know it's the NYT but Friedman in the past has largely stuck to foreign affairs & economics. He's gone for a long walk on the ice with this one on a variety of points.

I want Obama to take away your guns By W. Kamau Bell, CNN
 

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/08/opinio...uns/index.html

This is what puzzles me about leftist. :confused: They are so intellectually superior yet they can't seen to see that their solutions to gun control is a fascists despot. While in one breath shutting to fear at the thought of an interaction with uniformed public service at the other they want to use another form of public service to kill any non conformist. This would be funny if it wasn't so asinine.

Fixed it for you.
;)

The only thing Bell (who is a stand-up comic able to get quoted by the media) got correct was that, ultimately, the right doesn't trust the current POTUS (or his crew). In a specific sense someone like him is not worth the 'breath' trying to argue with.

You can seldom use facts to move someone holding an irrational position who didn't arrive there via rational argument in the first place.

Some things that might be worth remembering that remain separate from the socialist public discussion of reality:

- Gun control is not about guns, it's about control.
- Bad people will do horrible things to good people in supposedly safe places. (Because bad people don't care about 6x9" signs. Maximizing the chances the bad person will get their shit blown away before achieving their goal works better than dialing 911.)
- The leftist ultimately needs the muzzle of a gun to enforce his "intellectually superior" social ideas. Everyone not with him/her is a "subject." (They don't count on subjects being familiar with history, which is the source of the mistrust.)
- They know all the above, often quite consciously, and do it anyway. (What does that make them?)

The 2d, as with all Ammendments, was inspired by a Christian God. Some people in this Country have forgotten that, some choose to ignore it, and some are vehemently argumentative about it, but it's a fact.

People in this Country used to say, "I can take anything they dish out." Many still do. Too many are looking for a "safe space" that never has existed and never will.

Thank God there are enough normal citizens left to vote these sniveling hippiespawn outta here.

The right to defend oneself, family, property transcends what is merely written on parchment - it is a Natural Right.

Some insight into presidential candidate Governor Christie on the Second Amendment.

This is not interesting merely because a high level politician may have lied on the national stage...but that he misleads with such conviction.

Video at link...it is amusing to watch the real-time unvarnished reactions of law enforcement (sworn or otherwise) to the question of concealed carry in NJ in light of the Governor's comments.

NJ2AS - Future Victims of NJ - Part 5: Christie Lies To The Nation
New Jersey Second Amendment Society

"Published on Jan 17, 2016 Governor Christie continues to tout his supposed commitment to the second amendment on the presidential campaign trail. When he recently professed to have made it "easier" to get a concealed carry permit in New Jersey, we decided to take him to task on this monumental lie. NJ2AS documented employees of law enforcement refuting the lies delivered by the Governor at Fox Business Network debate."

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=umGF6-kCzNI

Sheriffs issue a call to arms: ‘Take advantage of your legal right to carry a firearm’
Washington Post
By Lindsey Bever January 18, 2016

Sheriffs across the country have been calling their citizens “the first line of defense” against crime — a call to arms that some say is a new phenomenon following terrorist attacks at home and abroad.

A sheriff in Wisconsin wants “as many law-abiding citizens to arm themselves in this country as we can get.” One in New York state told people who are licensed to carry a gun to “please do so.” In Florida, one sheriff said: “I can tell you the probability of needing a firearm is remote, but it’s more important to have a gun in your hand than a cop on the phone.”

The proclamations come after suicide bombers and gunmen terrorized Paris, a gunman opened fire at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs and two attackers – since linked to Islamic extremism – gunned down a crowd at a social services center in San Bernardino, Calif.

<snip>

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...-help-protect/

Just the facts.

Another record year for background checks - which are a reasonable estimation of firearm transactions/sales.

That's a lot of "iron"...and polymer...

https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ni...month_year.pdf

It's not overturned... it just opens things up for more litigation.

Be thankful O'Malley dropped out of the presidential primary race. He's destroyed every jurisdiction he's touched...

A short YouTube video I hadn't seen before.

DEMOCIDE Socialism, Tyranny, Guns And Freedom

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UE5u0l...ature=youtu.be

Good contribution to this thread; remains relevant.

This surfaced awhile ago.
Can't believe it's still moving forward.

Maybe they'll they'll start enforcing it on April 19...

http://dailycaller.com/2016/02/23/th...-confiscation/

At the link below is a 2012 clip of the supposed author of that proposed legislation in Lexington, MA - Harvard Professor Robert Rotberg. At approximately the 1:57 mark of the video, the good professor places all his ivory tower naïveté on full display when he completely ignores the value of the 2A with respect to tyrannical leaders. His own words support the unquestioned value of the right of the people to keep and bear arms. Just another example of a highly educated tool.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-woq7wcZb8k

A tool indeed.

An important difference between how "leaders" are meant to act here as apposed to elsewhere:
Leaders elsewhere are masters, here they are servants.

The purpose of the 2nd Amendment is to ensure the people at large retain the means to quash any rebellion on the part of their elected and appointed servants.