I'm of the persuasion that anyone walking around breathing free air, should be unrestricted from their inherent right to keep & bear. Anyone who has proven themselves untrustworthy, who has repeatedly initiated force against others, should not be free to walk the streets. Problem solved.
No matter how many "what if?" or "but... the children!" strawmen and red herrings are thrown out there, the fact remains that prohibition does not equal prevention. No law can ever be adequate to stop bad people from carrying weapons, thus no law is ever justified that prevents honest people from carrying adequate means of self defense.
Old-timers here may grow tired of hearing me say it, but I subscribe to the Atlanta Declaration:
Every man, woman, and responsible child has an unalienable individual, civil, Constitutional, and human right to obtain, own, and carry, openly or concealed, any weapon -- rifle, shotgun, handgun, machinegun, anything -- any time, any place, without asking anyone's permission.
Someday to demonstrate that principle -- before I'm lying on my deathbed in a hospital with green plastic tubes up my nose, before arthritis sets in and I have to do it on crutches -- I intend to walk the length of Manhattan Island with a handgun openly on my hip, unmolested by any freelance or official parasite.
(Much more in-depth explanation at the link above.)
The principled stance isn't popular. People like to think they're qualified, but "those other people" probably shouldn't carry. Sometimes there is a degree of jealousy and/or resentment: we see it right now with CHLs who only got the plastic to carry in the car, and now (almost) anyone can.
Stick around. We have some lively discussions, but it's all civil. For those who would impose more restrictions than I would, I consider it a mission field. Everyone here is on the right track, some just haven't made it all the way yet.
