TexasCHLforum.com

Voted Yes,

I have one seriously fundamental problem with the majority of gun control laws.

1) Who is stopped from committing a major law (felony: aggravated assault/rape/murder) by the existence of a minor law (trespassing, unlawful possession of a firearm, breaking & entering)?? What criminal says "Dude, we can't steal that TV we'd have to break into the guy's house!" Last I checked, I didn't hear any stories about criminals asking permission before breaking the law... "mam, can I please rape you?"

You commit small crime to get to -> the big crime.

You trespass -> in order to burglarize ... You're committing two crimes
You hold someone at knife point -> in order to kidnap them ... You're committing two crimes
You hold up a bank w/ an AK47 -> in order to rob the bank ... You're committing two crimes

So we outlaw the small crime. Trespassing is illegal, holding someone at knife point is illegal, walking into a bank waving an AK-47 is illegal.

Is owning a pair of feet illegal? Last I checked I could walk around without trespassing.
Is owning a knife illegal? I use my pocket knife almost daily (mostly for opening mail looking for my PIN these days hehe)
Is owning a gun illegal? ... WAIT A MINUTE! IT IS???

You can't buy _______________ (insert your choice of weapon of mass destruction here) because you MIGHT commit a crime with it? That's my problem.

Ownership of ___________ is a right. Being a law abiding citizen is the responsibility. No one (read: government) has the authority to deny a right BEFORE a citizen has demonstrated they are irresponsible. Innocent until proven guilty... RESPONSIBLE until proven otherwise.

I don't care if you own a fully automatic weapon... I don't care if you have grenades, land mines, or atomic bombs in your house. I DO CARE if they are not secured (that's part of the responsibility). I don't like the idea of an atomic bomb (ok, ok ... fully loaded machine gun) just sitting on John Doe's porch. It needs to be secured. But John Doe has every right to own whatever he pleases. THEN if he uses it to commit a crime he pays double (triple/whatever) the price. Rob a bank with an atomic bomb and they kill you twice! I do care if you are trained on the operation of what you own. They (whatever.. handgun, rifle, machine gun) are dangerous and it is showing responsibility to demonstrate you can handle them responsibly (CHL Classes, Gun Safety Classes, etc.) Before you drive a car, you show you can use it responsibly, then you can drive one ... and last I checked, it didn't take 120+ days to get my drivers license! Anyway...

Don't ever deny the right to own something because you think a person might maybe could perhaps use that something as an instrument to commit a larger crime, it doesn't work and it is a serious infringement on the rights of every responsible person who does not commit a crime.

My .02