“Unhappy it is, though, to reflect that a brother’s sword has been sheathed in a brother’s breast and that the once-happy plains of America are either to be drenched with blood or inhabited by slaves. Sad alternative! But can a virtuous man hesitate in his choice?” - George Washington, 1777
Scott Maxwell wrote an interesting article in the Orlando Slantinel yesterday that got me thinking. In his article he talks about the number of Americans who support the idea behind HB 1355 "Purchase of Firearms by Mentally Ill Persons." He mentions that because "most people" agree that someone who is mentally ill shouldn't be able to buy a firearm, that the rights provided us by the second ammendment are not absolute.
This got me thinking. I have seen MANY stupid laws passed by our government (on all levels). So what happens if someone comes out with statistics that say people with blue eyes are 87% more likely to use a gun to commit a crime, or some other rediculous 'fact.' If they could get enough people to buy their arguement, eventually we could see "Purchase of Firearms by Blue Eyed Persons." Or what about the elderly population, or if your vision isn't good enough you might not be able to safely shoot the "bad guy" and might cause injury to someone who is innocent, or maybe at 21 you aren't responsible enough, lets raise it to 23. The possibilities are endless.
Once something becomes "everyone except " it becomes very easy to start making everyone much smaller and much bigger.
1 comment:
Street Pharmacist,
Scott Maxwell wrote an interesting article in the Orlando Slantinel yesterday that got me thinking. In his article he talks about the number of Americans who support the idea behind HB 1355 "Purchase of Firearms by Mentally Ill Persons." He mentions that because "most people" agree that someone who is mentally ill shouldn't be able to buy a firearm, that the rights provided us by the second ammendment are not absolute.
This got me thinking. I have seen MANY stupid laws passed by our government (on all levels). So what happens if someone comes out with statistics that say people with blue eyes are 87% more likely to use a gun to commit a crime, or some other rediculous 'fact.' If they could get enough people to buy their arguement, eventually we could see "Purchase of Firearms by Blue Eyed Persons." Or what about the elderly population, or if your vision isn't good enough you might not be able to safely shoot the "bad guy" and might cause injury to someone who is innocent, or maybe at 21 you aren't responsible enough, lets raise it to 23. The possibilities are endless.
Once something becomes "everyone except " it becomes very easy to start making everyone much smaller and much bigger.
I was curious your thoughts on this.
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