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I'm coming to this thread late, but I'd like to add my voice.

I don't think the author of this bill is either immoral or unethical, but I do believe he is unprincipled. One must have central principles to guide ones life and decision making.

A, if not THE, central principle adopted by our founders in the Declaration of Independence is "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

Rep. Kleinschmidt's authorship of a bill such as the one being discussed shows that he either does not subscribe to certain principles or has strayed from them in a good-faith but mis-guided effort to fix a perceived problem. Why are we not all equal? Do we not all have the right to life (i.e., why is one life more important that another)? Do we all not have the right to liberty (i.e., why are some men more free than others)? Do we not all have the right to seek happiness (i.e., preserving my life and the lives of my family and enjoying the same liberties as all other men would make me happy)?

I will clarify the equality argument a bit more. The Declaration says we are born equal, and we all know that our paths through life vary from that point on. But in the right to carry argument, shouldn't those of us who have proven themselves as being law-abiding and trustworthy be worthy of the same trust that our legislators enjoy? I would be the first to agree that those who have proven themselves to less than trustworthy when it comes to emotional or physical reaction should not enjoy these same liberties to carry.