asaris

I'm not really familiar with the positions of the NRA, and don't really follow gun control arguments, but I suspect that the problem isn't merely asserting that individuals have the right to own guns. There are basically two extreme positions on gun control; one is that all guns should be banned, and the other is that all regulations on guns are illegitimate. I would be very surprised if Obama held the former view; it at least seems sometimes as if the NRA espouses the latter view.

Those who use guns in criminal activities are almost always punished more severely than if they hadn't used a gun. In the federal system, it takes the form of a sentencing enhancement if a gun is used in the course of a criminal transaction. In my view, this has been interpreted too broadly. If I'm selling you drugs, and I happen to have a gun in the car, I'll be hit with the firearm enhancement. But it's easy to see why such an enhancement is a good idea in general. Crime is dangerous enough as it is; it's even more dangerous when guns are involved.

And I thought that the organization that stood up for people's rights, regardless of whether they agreed with them, was the ACLU. I don't agree with every position the ACLU has ever taken. But they have a long record of taking cases that are unpopular with the left, the right, or even everyone.

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"Die Deutschen meinen, daß die Kraft sich in Härte und Grausamkeit offenbaren müsse, sie unterwerfen sich dann gerne und mit Bewunderung:[...]. Daß es Kraft giebt in der Milde und Stille, das glauben sie nicht leicht."

"The Germans believe that power must reveal itself in hardness and cruelty and then submit themselves gladly and with admiration[...]. They do not believe readily that there is power in meekness and calm."

-- Friedrich Nietzsche