Quote:
Originally posted by balderdash111
In all seriousness, can you elaborate? What is so important about gun control that it overwhelms other considerations?
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I speak only for myself, but I think a lot of people view gun control as a watermark for how the country acts. The Right to Bear Arms is specifically laid out in the Constitution, and many people view gun control as a form of violating that Constitutional right. If the government is willing to restrict our rights to much over something that is specifically protected by the Constitution, how long is it until they revoke the other Freedoms as well? Most oppresive regimes have strict gun control to ensure the citizens are unable to defend themselves against unlawful activity from any party. The Founders wisely decided that, in order to ensure this could not happen in America, our citizens would have the right to defend themselves. Whether or not that is now true is irrelevant; the Right to Bear Arms is still a Constitutionally-given freedom that must not be violated.
Although I disagree with his views on the Assault Weapons Ban, I'm inclined to agree with John Kerry when it comes to our current federal laws. The NFA of 1934 (which bans fully automatic weapons, and other milspec weaponry) covers most of our needs, and more legislation is unnecessary. Americans should not have unlimited access to fully automatic weapons, but everyone deserves the right to defend themselves in the matter that they choose.
The speech was very impressive, although I only read it and did not see him speak. Obviously opponents will argue that it lacks substance, but for the audience and situation it was perfect,