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Devansh's avatar

Hi steve i read ur latest blog on crypto, there u have mentioned north star but just wanted to let u know it's polaris i guess what u were mentioning, right?

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Steve's avatar

Those terms are interchangeable. Both mean the same thing. "Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star."

I was speaking metaphorically.

P.S. Thank you for reading, Davansh!

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Kyle's avatar

Just going to leave this here as a counter to "let's enact more feel good gun control legislation": https://theliberalgunclub.com/about-us/root-cause-mitigation-2/

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Steve's avatar

I appreciate the link, but I never said those words. I focused solely on the following point: that per the language within the 2nd Amendment, we are not properly fulfilling the promise that has been provided to us. Our regulation is statistically inadequate for the modern world and can be easily rectified without any change in language or additional amendments.

It's not feel good, it's common sense.

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Kyle's avatar

The reason I use the term "feel good" is that additional gun control hasn't been shown to make a difference with regards to violent crime.

Comparing our liberalized gun control laws now to say, the late 70s: every state has concealed carry, over 40% of them have permit less concealed carry, and the availability of firearms has skyrocketed. Yet our violent crime rates (and especially our homicide rates) are significantly better than back then.

We would have a better chance of dealing with root cause mitigation, and driving down violent crime in general, than trying to pass regulations that would have little to no impact on violent crime if they DID become law. Which isn't all that possible in today's political climate, especially with the recent wave of new "non-traditional" gun owners who might temper a push for gun control from the blue side of the aisle.

If the end goal is a better life for the every day American, we would be better served by directly addressing the crux of our problems and not just attempting to treat a symptom.

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Steve's avatar

I've been thinking about this comment a lot, so first I wanted to thank you for posing this gentle challenge to my own opinion. I truly appreciate the courtesy you're showing during this slight disagreement. This is how progress gets made.

Now to the point at hand. I agree that there are fundamental issues that have created the 'symptom' of modern gun violence (FYI: I don't really like this inference because it demeans the legitimate impact made by gun violence). These fundamental issues have created many problems in America and the world, and there should be prolonged efforts (mostly through education and opportunity) to rectify these issues. I 100% agree.

I disagree with the premise that the solution is just singing "Kumbaya my lord!" while holding hands and smelling flowers; hoping that this problem just goes away.

I believe that these are two separate issues. The arguments made by the liberal gun club seem to be focused more on redirecting the blame rather than actually trying to solve the problem.

Additional gun legislation for advanced background checks, order delays, some additional manufacturer oversight, and even treating gun ownership like car ownership can make significant differences for the safety of every American while maintaining the right and intent established within the 2nd Amendment. At worst, it'd bog lawful gun owners down by a couple of weeks for purchasing new guns, ammo over X amount of rounds, etc...

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Kyle's avatar

There are a lot of angry people online yelling at each other and that doesn't really do much of anything except satisfy the need of those who are angry. I'll go for civil discourse 99% of the time. Hey, nobody's perfect.

I also disagree with the premise of just hoping the problem goes away. That is one of the reasons why I suggested addressing root causes of violent crime instead of just one facet of it. A facet that usually is not affected by most gun control legislation even though that is the direct intent.

I'm a member of the LGC and MI Chapter President so I'm a bit biased. I see root cause mitigation as a way to address societal ills (violent crime included) without unnecessarily infringing upon any constitutionally enshrined civil rights.

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by the advanced background checks so I'm not sure what to address INRE that item.

With regards to order delays: does that go away after you purchase your first firearm? 5th? My understanding of what a waiting period is aiming for is a "cool down" period so someone doesn't just drive to the store, go through the NICS background check, buy some ammo along with their firearm, and then proceed to wreck havoc in a heinous fashion. I have several firearms (more than several); does this mean that since I already have the means to do what the "cool down" period is trying to prevent, the restraint no longer applies?

What additional manufacturer oversight would you suggest?

My dad and I had the "treat guns like cars" conversation. If we treated firearms like cars we would have:

* no background check to purchase

* no age limit to purchase

* no registration unless used on public property

* no waiting period

* no monthly limit

* a license typically received after paying a minimal fee and taking a minimal test (less than the equivalent of MI's CPL course from my understanding)

* a license good in all 50 states, DC, PR, and territories

* removal of suppressors from the current federal rigamarole it takes to get one (mufflers)

There are some good things in there for your average American gun owner.

I have several issues with most gun control legislation that's put forth. Whether it's a lack of anything resembling efficacy or a Patriot-Act-like minimal affect for major infringement upon civil rights or...well, I could continue but that's probably enough for now. Most, if not all, gun control is also not going to pass at the federal level. If it was going to pass, considering the current makeup of SCOTUS....well, it might be declared unconstitutional in short order. We'll see how that goes with a couple of the current cases that are scheduled for their review either this year or next.

Another thing to consider is that if it does pass, what are you going to lose? For better or worse, the Democratic party is seen as the gun control party to the extent that when Trump pushed BATFE to unilaterally declare a firearm accessory illegal, not much was made of it. When Clinton and Co passed the AWB back in the mid 90s, Congress went GOP in a big way; Clinton himself blamed this on the AWB.

If you support UBI, universal health care, voting rights, or some of the other items that are more blue/left, pushing legislation in the gun control category is going to antagonize those gun owning liberals out there, push centrists back to the right, and those other items are going to fall by the wayside.

I'm enjoying this conversation. See you tomorrow.

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