He specifiies "illegal guns."  I don't see anywhere that says he wants to "confiscate every privately owned gun in America."  Let alone the fact that such a feat would be an enforcement impossibility.  Are you maybe exaggerating just a teeny bit?

by desertpear on 05/10/2008 05:03:02 PM EST

Apparently we can add illegal guns to rape and racism to things Ken supports.

by ProfRich on 05/11/2008 01:35:40 AM EST

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They have but one purpose, to get past metal detectors at places like airports or schools to hijack planes or shoot children.

Are you suggesting the deer have set up scanners by the blinds so you need these?

Are the geese hiding down at the airport?

Are the ducks camped out in the classrooms?

Is the burglar threatening your family carrying one of those stick metal detectors the old guys use at the beach when he breaks into your house? 

Why do you support these illegal guns, Ken? Why?

by ProfRich on 05/11/2008 02:24:17 AM EST

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"What is an illegal gun? A gun that a group of liberals deemed "illegal"?"

I deleted my first response because I kept coming back to the specific wording of your questions. There is a sliver of an argument that there are no "illegal guns" if one wants to travel down a twisty road of questionable logic, so let me concede that train of thought.

Why concede? Because an argument can be made that the weapon itself cannot be deemed "illegal." Making it, having it, selling it, etc.; the actions of individuals can be illegal, but the weapon itself lends a gray area. Much the same as Marijuana, it's the having, manufacturing, selling processes that are actually violations of law, not the plant. Semantics at it's ugliest, I know, but common sense has little to do with legalese.

A variation of your question could be, "Who can be considered to have broken a law involving firearm restrictions?" That can be defined a little easier, if not completely.

The NFA makes certain conduct a criminal offense, including but not limited to: engaging in business as a manufacturer, importer, or dealer with respect to firearms without having registered or paid a special occupational tax; receiving or possessing a firearm transferred to oneself in violation of the NFA; receiving or possessing a firearm made in violation of the NFA; receiving or possessing a firearm not registered to oneself in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record; transferring or making a firearm in violation of the NFA; or obliterating, removing, changing, or altering the serial number of the firearm.

As far as who came up with whatever restrictions there are, it was a blend of idealogies, conservative and liberal, Democrat and Republican, over a number of decades because enough normal citizens from all walks of life got fed up with the destructive power available in small packages. It's too bad gun enthusiasts can't understand that part and offer a constructive compromise instead of having the tired old "we won't budge" mentality.

Hell, even in the Wild West there were towns which required people to check their guns in until they left. Gun control is a proud American tradition. Just ask J. Edgar Hoover.

by MedfordTim on 05/11/2008 03:23:41 AM EST

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