There are two kinds of people...

[Chopper]

For sake of arguement, what's the biggest armament an individual should be allowed to own?

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Did the typical "homeowner" citizen have his own cannon, probably not. These would have been maintained at some central location but again, not under direct control of the Federal government but in all likelyhood the state government.

Ahem. Actually . . .

I live outside Rhinebeck NY, which was founded in 1688. About a decade or so ago, the local newspaper put the town historian up to a little research project to examine old laws still on the books. Stuff like it being illegal to let your swine run freely through the village and so forth.

Turns out that Rhinebeck passed a law against the discharge of cannons anywhere in the town in 1810. (Still on the books, btw.)

Now, since a town law can't apply against the state or federal government, I have to assume this was aimed at privately owned cannons.

Regards
John

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I probably should have rephrased that a bit- If we take
"gun control" as a concept, you're right, there really isn't
anything in the way of reasonable restriction, when it's held to
a constitutional standard. That's why I used the term "so called"
because the idea is a farce. However, that being said, even if
we had case law that reinforced every free man's right to keep
and bear arms, you'd still see the government getting away with
certain types of indirect restrictions- eg, I doubt any court,
even with strict constitutional judges, for instance, would assert that
a guy firing bullets into the air over a populated area, for instance,
as an expression of his/her 2nd amendment rights. You might
still be able to prohibit "acts" involving firearms, even if you
couldn't touch possession or ownership, could be legally
prohibited.

-Mike

For an interesting look at what the government could and couldn't do about gun control under a strict reading of the Constitution, check out this article by a distinguished law professor and constitutional scholar that appeared in the libertarian magazine REASON:

http://www.reason.com/news/show/29865.html

Regards
John

 

[heron163]

"there are two types of people - criminals and victims" (according to a state trooper buddy....)

 

[KMaurer]

"there are two types of people - criminals and victims" (according to a state trooper buddy....)

Did you ask which one he is?

Ken

 

[vellnueve]

For sake of arguement, what's the biggest armament an individual should be allowed to own?

If I could get enough money to purchase, modernize, and equip the USS Iowa, I should be allowed to do so.

 

[calsdad]

If my local drive-up ATM can have instructions in braille (and it does! [think about it]) then it makes perfect sense for the blind to own guns.

That is something that has always made me go WTF. Braille on a drive up ATM - don't they think if the blind are driving up to ATM machines then maybe we have bigger problems than them not being able to figure out the machine?

 

[Scrivener]

That is something that has always made me go WTF. Braille on a drive up ATM - don't they think if the blind are driving up to ATM machines then maybe we have bigger problems than them not being able to figure out the machine?

I see your point, but believe the analysis is far too limited.

The likely purpose is that the Braille keys are for the benefit of a sight-impaired person being driven to the ATM by a licensed MV operator. Thus, Braille keys at car height.

I have also walked up to drive-through ATM's when the bank was closed and I saw no reason to stand in line at the entry ATM.

 

[Coyote33]

Did you ask which one he is?

Ken

 

[drgrant]

That is something that has always made me go WTF. Braille on a drive up ATM - don't they think if the blind are driving up to ATM machines then maybe we have bigger problems than them not being able to figure out the machine?

The same machines are often used at walk up locations. It's cheaper
for the company to just make one machine with the braille on it.

-Mike

 

[Cross-X]

Why couldn't a blind person own a gun?

You'd have to have known my friend David.

He was blind, weird, and enjoyed stirring up controversy.

He also like to drink, and didn't know when to stop. He died when he fell down the stairs while drunk, hit his head, and bled out.

 

[Scrivener]

You'd have to have known my friend David.

He was blind, weird, and enjoyed stirring up controversy.

He also like to drink, and didn't know when to stop. He died when he fell down the stairs while drunk, hit his head, and bled out.

The world is full of weird, drunk instigators. How is his being blind the major issue?

 

[KMaurer]

Being incorrigibly stupid is the real problem. Alcohol, drugs, blindness and similar factors are really just distractions from the primary issue. "I'm blind/drunk/stoned/whatever, so just ignore my stupidity."

Ken