January 27, 2013

The Great Gun Debate: Selwyn Duke vs. Brett Joshpe

By Selwyn Duke
A few weeks ago, author and Manhattan-based lawyer Brett Joshpe penned a pro-gun-control piece whose thrust was that conservatives need to be sensible with respect to firearms legislation. It's not sensible, said he, to oppose any and all further restrictions on Second Amendment rights. Well, let's discuss what's "sensible." For much of the US' history, we had virtually no gun-control laws (for white people). But then came Prohibition, gangsters, and Tommy guns, and people wanted to be sensible. So we ended up with the 1934 National Firearms Act, which restricted ownership of fully automatic weapons. Al Capone was unimpressed. But there still was crime, and we had to be sensible. Thus were spawned 5,000 gun-control laws. Man's nature, though, is a mighty intractable thing. Crime still existed - and so did calls to be sensible. The result was 10,000 gun-control laws. Then the strangest thing happened. There still was crime. People still demanded, "Be sensible!" And then there were...(Read Full Article)