[alexamenos]

Originally Posted by chumdawg

Let's leave the weed analogy out of this, because it's nowhere near the same thing.

let's not leave that analogy out, ok? that analogy shows that criminalizing a thing is not the same thing as removing a thing altogether. you can talk all you like about the efficacy of criminalizing guns, but unless guns are removed altogether from society, then your argument is invalid.

Contrast that with carrying an unlicensed loaded weapon, Plaxico-Burress-style, in New York, which brings you 3.5 years in the big house. Possession under two ounces is not a whole lot different from speeding.

Plaxico did have a gun, did he not? and this is true despite the fact that possession of a gun can get him 3.5 in the big house.

Back on topic...you talk about "a person who is willing to kill someone" not being deterred from finding a gun. I think this critically misunderstands the point. There's a lot of us willing to kill someone, if it comes to it for our own safety or the safety of our loved ones. What you seem to be doing is conflating those who are "looking to" kill someone with those who are "willing to" kill someone. You need to be able to draw that distinction in order to discuss this issue objectively.

I can and do make the distinction -- those "looking to" kill someone are far less likely to be deterred by laws than those "willing to". This is a reality which you implicitly concede when you argue that those willing to committ a murder aren't likely to stop and think about the consequences of the action. What you are arguing is that people who won't be deterred by the possibility of a death sentence would be deterred by the possibility of 3.5 years.

Because the truth is that "gun control" laws do every bit as much to protect the person who would pull the trigger as they do to protect the person who would be fired upon. What you have right now is a lot of deaths that would not happen if a firearm were not present, and a lot of very spoiled lives.

This isn't the truth -- this is the question at hand. Questions aren't answered by begging the question.