September 09, 2004

• Well, as always things are not as cut and dried as that. Many things can be used to kill people, albeit guns are especially good at it. Semi-automatic weapons (adorably called "assault" weapons, they're really not military-grade weapons, they only have military-themed shapes and styles; semi-automatic simply means you pull the trigger once, a bullet comes out, and you can pull the trigger again and another bullet comes out without any sort of re-cocking action). I own a semi-automatic shotgun; most handguns for sale today (FAR more dangerous, both in usage against people and accidents) are semiautomatic. These particular weapons look more grodier, so they get the heat. Anyway, Bush has said he'll sign the extension, just Congress hasn't brought him the bill, which is likely a sop to the gunmakers, but *shrug* that's politics. It's unlikely that your going to see a run on these weapons (although you might see increased advertising and some small jumps in sales). As for the clips, well, that ban makes even less sense than the weapons ban. Does anyone really suspect that (a) older clips aren't available? (check any gun show, they have boxes full) and (b) that lack of a clip kept anyone determined to kill someone from doing so? A sop to a different constituency, is all that was. Until Congress can come up with an effective way to remove guns from owners (not too likely, that), gun control will be necessity (barring wishful thinking, the 2nd Amendment is pretty clear) have to be limited to licensing, which as a gun owner I full support and comply with (Illinois has some of the most stringent gun ownership licensing restrictions in the nation). The Betamax thing, well, it's no secret this Administration seeks the support of Hollywood, and has promulgated overwrought interpretations of copyright law and a rather (imo) shortsighted and presumptuous attitude toward recording technology and the realities of today's digital media landscape (personally, I don't think they understand it very well). This legislation comes as little surprise, but regardless of whether or not it passes? Technology and public use of that technology will trump. So sense? Yes, in a way. Crazy pills? Nah, you're fine :)
• The gun thing I don't give two shits about, but INDUCE is fucking scary. Outlawing p2p, what the fuck? I've already written to a dozen congresscritters and taken part in two protest marches, but that has left me more depressed than ever. Everyone around here with any power either hasn't heard of it or is for it! Here we were dreaming that the DMCA was on its way out. How idealistic we geeks are!
• Decentralized p2p, decentralizing the distribution for the p2p client, encryption, etc on one side, versus DRM and lawsuits on the other (both of which in the long run only encourage people to evolve the p2p technology). People are still using klite, for example, even though kazaa tried to cut off access to the klite client. Projects like this one may also give you some hope. I'm still calling and faxing my senator though, just on general principle. Even someone pro-gun should be kind of pissed- the NRA did this for the gun manufacturers, not the gun users. It's all about making a quick buck in the next couple of months. If you really wanted to protect your right to have guns, putting uzis in the hands of potentially really stupid and/or unstable people is not the way to do it. Orrin Hatch said it best at the end of the article- the next law might be more restrictive. (Hey, I know. Someone can use an assault weapon to hold up a record store and steal music. Therefor, we can use the INDUCE act to ban assault weapons.)
• While I agree with you for the most part on the silliness of the "assualt weapon" definiton Fes, I've got to disagree on your assessment of the danger factor. Though I'd rather not be shot at all, I think I'll take a 9mm bullet wound from a handgun over a 7.62mm rifle round from an AKM derivative. Smallish bear, great idea!
• The whole gun control issue is complex. Where I grew up I woulud be surprized if more than 1 in 10 homes DON'T have guns. Number of gun related deaths in my county in recent years? 0. Then there is also the claim that most guns used in crimes are ALREADY illegal and that many people who aren't allowed to buy guns just have friends, relatives or aquantances buy them for them. However, the p2p stuff is just insane. I really fail to see why it should be the government's job to limit technology. If I leave my cd's on the sidewalk and someone takes them, sure it is stealing and wrong, but I don't think that anyone would have much sympathy for me. If you don't want people stealing your stuff, make it harder to steal, don't try to limit technology!
• It isn't stealing! It is copyright infringement at best, which is not theft.
• Not to mention that p2p has significant non-infringing uses. Heck, things like e-mail were once entirely p2p (back in the UUCP days).
• I'm a shooter, though not one of those nutty NRA types, and I've never understood the "assault weapon" ban. Most of those weapons are only "outlawed" because of their looks although they function just the same as any other gun. Plus, it's not like these weapons are unavailable, you just have to have the right paperwork and background checks and either pay a certain tax or get a certain license. Full autos are pretty dangerous weapons, but they've always been hard to buy, at least for the last century or so, and as far as I remember the "assault weapon" ban doesn't really have much to do with them. Personally I've always felt that Uzis, MAC-10s, high-cap mags, and all that crap are for people that can't hit anything. I shoot pistol competitions and I'd honestly much rather get into a gunfight with an Uzi packing gangsta than the fat insurance salesman with a 7-shot .45 that knows how to consistently put lead on target. Side note: most competition shooters use extended magazines in their pistols, I've never heard of a criminal using one.
• Criminals obviously wouldn't care if the gun they're using is legal or not. And reading over some responses, it sounds like serious hunters and marksmen think the things are kind of dumb anyway, and there are other weapons that serve their purposes better. But some people want them, because they think they're cool, or just to piss off liberals. When the next guy goes postal, or the next kid snaps and takes a gun to school to kill people, i'd rather they didn't have one of these in the house. An extended magazine means more people get shot before someone takes them down while they're reloading. And you said that these things are for people who can't hit anything- which is probably who we're talking about in these situations. Lifting the ban doesn't make them available, it makes them more available. More common, more likely to be in the homes of people who don't know to buy a lockable gun cabinet, people who don't teach their kids gun safety and respect, and occasionally, people who one day snap and use it to kill people. It'll probably happen at some point, and then the ban's back. But, that was me being devil's advocate. I think the decision looks really stupid when put next to the INDUCE act, but ultimately, I prefer other gun control measures to banning silly looking guns.
• That last paragraph sounded dumb. What I mean is, I can see reasons to continue to ban the guns, but I don't think it's worth really getting in a huff over. If you're pro gun control, then there are things you should be more concerned about. I am mildly pro gun control, in that I think they should be a little more regulated/restricted than they are now, but not by much.
• I agree with more gun regulation so long as it's effective. I'd especially like to see some sort of safety class requirments so people know not to leave their guns laying around for their kids to grab and run amok with at school. I have a question since we're on the topic: Any opinions from any enlightened monkeys, especially any who dont shoot, on concealed carry laws? That's where people can get a permit to carry a handgun. Do you feel comfortable that people in the general public can walk around with a pistol concealed on their person? Do you feel any more or less safe knowing that the guy in line in front of you at McDonald's may be carrying a gun?
• My father kept a loaded gun in his nightstand drawer, which was about a foot and a half off the floor. I saw it there when I was 6. He told me it was loaded with blanks (like they use in movies he said) and just to scare robbers. (When I was older, I learned that it wasn't. It had real bullets.) This is how accidents happen. People ARE this stupid. Luckily I was smarter than that. I liked guns--I had my own bb gun from when I was 7 or 8, shot cans and stuff, and I later shot in competitions when I was a teenager--but I wasn't dumb enough to fuck around with something that, to an ordinary 6 year old, could've sounded pretty cool. So yeah, seriously, the NRA should do more to promote education and less to put money in gun makers' pockets.