Politics: Gun Control

"People shouldn't be afraid of their government, governments should be afraid of their people."
--Alan Moore's V for Vendetta

Tonight's Daily Show rubbed me the wrong way. The middle segment was a parody of the prejudice gay couples face when they have PDA, using gun control as a stand in. As always it was very lighthearted and actually much more respectful to the people who were open carriers than The Daily Show usually is to the subjects of their "mockumentaries". It still bothered me. And it bothered me that I was bothered. I had a thought towards the end of the segment along the lines of "When people aren't allowed to open carry in America, well that'll be the day that we really embrace Socialism." Which is so absolutely ridiculous of me. I know that. I just can't help but feel that many laws restricting gun ownership or possession are not quite constitutional.

I'll be completely honest: I know nothing about constitutional law and next to nothing about gun laws. I'm one of those obnoxious people who has opinions about things that they know nothing about and probably won't ever affect them. I have no desire to own a gun. However, I have a strong belief that it is important for our Constitutional rights to be upheld and the balance of power to remain on the side of the people. The second amendment gives us the right to bear arms. Some restrictions are understandable. It would be unreasonable to be expected to be allowed to bring a gun into a prison for example. However, it's easy to see a slippery slope argument.

The crux of the debate is whether legal access to guns causes or prevents crime. My beliefs here mirror my thoughts on abortion and drugs: if it cannot be legally obtained, it will be obtained by illegal methods that will cause as much if not more harm. Criminals will still be able to get guns. A decade of cop dramas has taught me that if someone intends to use a gun for criminal purposes, they're not going to walk into Wal-Mart and register it anyway.
"If we outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns" --Unknown (according to wikiquote)

Um, so yeah. Limiting my rights is not cool. And I guess now I know how conservatives feel when they watch The Daily Show.