From: PA146008@utkvm1.utk.edu (David Veal)
Subject: Re: Dressed for Rape
Organization: University of Tennessee Division of Continuing Education
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 16:31:26 GMT

In article <9301051928.44@rmkhome.UUCP> rmk@rmkhome.UUCP (Rick Kelly) writes:

>In article <pa142548.600.726243641@utkvm1.utk.edu> pa142548@utkvm1.utk.edu (T. Archer) writes:
>>In article <9301021305.12@rmkhome.UUCP> rmk@rmkhome.UUCP (Rick Kelly) writes:
>>>>Since there don't seem to be any benefits to policies other than that,
>>>>what's so unreasonable about it?
>>>
>>>I believe there is some benefit in determining if a person is
>>>psychologically able to take on the responsibility of owning
>>>a handgun.
>>
>>Why? There is no way to prevent someone who is not "psycologically able" 
>>from getting a handgun.  All you can do is place a political tool at the
>>hands of people who think that no one should own a handgun.
>
>And what about people with felony records?

       If the state wants to check my felony record, they're welcome to.
If they come up with a problem, they can drop by my home and ask me about
it.  Until they *do* have some proof, they should have no authority to 
interfere with my business with another private citizen.  It is *their*
place to prove I'm breaking the law, not mine to prove I'm not, and I see no
reason to sit on my hands while they do so.
       BTW:  Tennessee does not require permits to own a gun, although it 
does have a 14 day waiting period.  (Not that anybody bothers to do 
background checks, though the Brady Bill would like to pretend they would).

>>>Most of the gunshots that are fired in Boston are crack dealers
>>>shooting at other crack dealers.
>>
>>Funny, Boston is the heart of Dukakis-Kennedy country, I used to be a 
>>resident.  A law-abiding civilian can't get a carry permit in that city for 
>>love or money.  Yet the criminals are still shooting at each other.
>
>True, although it is not evenly applied.  If you are rich you can get a
>permit.  If you are determined, you can get a job as a part time armed
>security guard, which gets you a plp, and then quit after a month or so.
>If you are a cab driver, you can't get a gun permit at all, even though
>cab drivers get the same FBI/police investigation that is done for gun
>permits.

       You see this, and then wonder why some of us recoil in horror at the 
thought of adding *more* criteria that could be even more easily abused?
Of do you think, with new rules, all the abuses would magically disappear?

>>>And, of course, untrained idiots who bought a gun at K-Mart would never
>>>hurt themselves or anyone else by mistake.
>>
>>It takes one minute to train even an idiot to not hurt themselves or 
>>others:  don't point the end with the hole in it at anything you don't want 
>>a hole in.
>
>There is slightly more to it than that.

        That's the basics.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
David Veal               University of Tennessee Div. of Cont. Education
                         Information Services Group
PA146008@utkvm1.utk.edu  (Mail to VEAL@utkvm1.utk.edu will bounce.)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.guns,alt.society.civil-liberty