Re: Guns and Ideas

Brian D Williams (talon57@well.com)
Wed, 24 Dec 1997 13:59:28 -0800 (PST)


From: John K Clark <johnkc@well.com> writes:

>A law as evil as it is unworkable. I'm certainly not in favor of
>banning guns, however if I had to choose between banning guns and
>banning ideas, even bad ideas, I would not hesitate in banning the
>guns. Fortunately the question is academic. Modern governments
>have had little success in keeping their subjects from having
>access to objects they don't like, they will have even less
>success in stopping changes of voltage on a line because they
>don't like the bits of information that some interpret those
>changes to mean.

I don't agree with you at all, I hardly think the constant barrage
of illegal gun usage in the media constitutes an "Idea", and
"Idea's" are banned all the time. Let's just incorporate it into
the so called "Safe Harbor" ruling that confines erotica to hours
between 10pm and 6am. Now it's not banned, "just confined to
reasonable hours."

Besides with over 20,000 gun laws in this country, which in my
opinion is quite an effective ban, whats wrong with one little law
striking at the source.

By the way, it would be trivial for the government to stop this in
the mass media, (TV and Movies). Some cable companies as well as TV
stations already have voluntary anti-gun policies.

What it might do is put an end to "Hollywood Hippocricy" i.e.
Sylvester Stallones conscientious objector status during the
vietnam war only to make million's playing a big gun shooting war
hero later.

Brian