David B. Shemano wrote: > Serious question regarding the Obama remarks regarding guns and religion. I > think it is hard to dispute that there is a general right/left dispute over > gun ownership, but why? Is there something in Marxism that speaks to gun > ownership? Is there a relevance of gun ownership to economic class? I > really have a hard time conceptualizing why there is such a strong > correlation between opposition to gun ownership and other left-wing views.
I'm feeling a bit ambiguous about this (since cleaning and oiling my Uzi is so tedious).[*] Keeping my answer narrow, I think that liberals have over-sold the benefits of gun control and the same time pro-NRA conservatives have made gun ownership almost a cult. I don't think a marginal change in gun laws (or their enforcement) would have a major effect either way. Crime wouldn't go away -- since its roots are deep and it's so easy to steal with a fountain pen -- and we wouldn't see a new totalitarianism. I think liberals would do better if they toned-down their anti-gun rhetoric and even their legislation. Not having new gun-control legislation wouldn't have much impact, even from a liberal perspective. It is also my experience that when conservatives see Black people with guns (the Panthers, the Deacons), they suddenly become pro-control. I worry about controlling the guns of the police and armed forces. The LAPD gets away with murder, as it were. [*] ¡Charleton, Presente! to be serious, I don't like guns very much. But that doesn't mean I want to impose my dislikes or likes on society. -- Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
