The left doesn't want to take your guns!

[Dill]

(03-30-2018, 06:21 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: I literally couldn't have baited that hook any more obviously, yet you swallowed it whole.  It's your actions and words that dictate what you are, not what you self proclaim.  You could do yourself a favor and read the entirety of the article, it's quite good.  You may then realize your error.  Also, it's not me calling him liberal, it's the author of the NYT's article and pretty much everyone else.

Looks like we agree on something.  I've always said that someone who consistently defends right wing positions and constantly deploys right wing definitions and rhetoric against "leftists" may not credibly proclaim himself a "centrist."  I agree that if Stevens consistently (i.e., not occasionally) defends left wing positions or liberal positions then for all practical purposes he is a "leftist" or a "liberal."  But a question still remains.  What is a "leftist/liberal" then?  What "actions and words" make one recognizably one or the other or both?

(03-30-2018, 08:38 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: Among people who have no knowledge about firearms the definition varies considerably.  It appears to be an arbitrary mix of meaningless features, such as a vertical fore grip, a pistol grip, a telescoping stock, etc. all of which have zero effect on the firearms lethality.

You prize exact definitions here and scorn inexact, the kind that "vary considerably" relying upon an "arbitrary mix."

Can we extend this commendable standard a little further, into the political sphere, where definitions also vary considerably and arbitrarily?  Stevens thinks of himself as a conservative Republican.  Some agree.
http://www.newsweek.com/actually-john-paul-stevens-conservative-213206

Some think he is best described as "independent."
https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1122&context=nulr
https://epic.org/privacy/justice_stevens.html

But this is not really a matter counting pundits votes, or shouldn't be.

What actions and words, in your view, make someone a "leftist" or a "liberal"?  Does it makes sense to conflate the terms or use them interchangeably? Are both "assault weapons" or is one better described as simply some kind of "long gun"?  What are the criteria you use to place actors on the political spectrum and, just as importantly, what is the source of those criteria?  Clarifying that would surely minimize the obfuscation you impute to people disagreeing with your views on Stevens and the 2nd Amendment.

Clarification of your definition would help people understand if it matters at all whether this retired Justice was left, liberal, independent or conservative when he argued law.  It might also provide more solid footing for some of your claims about the "real" intent of people supporting gun control--or not.  Let's see.