10-04-2019, 03:46 PM
(10-04-2019, 02:53 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: The individual right to bear, or own, arms is established. I am against arbitrary barriers to civil liberties as defined in the Constitution.
The governments right to regulate the ownership of weapons is also established and I don't see anything "arbitrary" about laws that enable police to enforce the laws that are already on the books.
(10-04-2019, 02:53 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: Ownership of a firearm is not an issue of public safety.
Yes it is. That is why we have laws preventing violent criminals or mentally ill people from owning guns.
The easy access criminals have to gun ownership has a huge impact on public safety.
(10-04-2019, 02:53 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: I'm less concerned about someone that owns firearms solely for hunting or home protection. One, hunters have to pass a safety class to hunt. But two, these groups don't pose any risk to the general public.
Guns ostensibly purchased for "home protection" are often the ones used in domestic disputes, disputes with neighbors, or sold to criminals on the secondary market.
(10-04-2019, 02:53 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: Requiring a license to simply possess a firearm is a step too far against the Constitution in my view. It's an extra layer between an individual and their civil liberty. It is the same thing as adding a requirement to exercise your right to vote or telling someone "oh yeah, you have to identify your religion on these government documents." None of those things are right.
"Civil liberties" are secondary to public safety. You have freedom of speech, but you can't get a parade permit to advocate ethnic cleansing of Muslims in America or an armed assault on the White House.
Voting rights and questions on a census have nothing to do with public safety.
(10-04-2019, 02:53 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: I don't think that a license should be required of anyone to possess a firearm or transport one unloaded to a range.
How is a person supposed to prove he is "headed to the range" instead of "headed to sale all these gun to a stranger with no background check"?
