[John D Harris]

Originally posted by Azred: I wouldn't say that the Founding Fathers were smarter than we are today, only well-educated for their time. With the exception of some window-dressing like fancy technology and different clothing styles, the basic problems they faced in everyday life are the same we face today--this is why the Constitution is such an excellent document. It was written to apply no matter what the styles or mores of the time may be and even incorporates rules for being amended. The introduction being complete, let me move on to what I see has become the heart of the matter here: gun control. Outlawing guns entirely will not reduce the rate of any sort of crime or make society any safer overall. Guns simply make the expression of violence easier, but they don't create violence. If guns are outlawed to make people more safe, then the logical progression should be to ban knives as potentially deadly weapons, even butter knives, as well as scissors, icepicks, hammers, screwdrivers, saws, crowbars, dowel rods, shower curtain rods, pens, pencils, fingernail clippers, plastic bags, lamps, and even CDs, because these are all items found in most households and can be used as deadly weapons. [img]graemlins/saywhat.gif[/img] Let's follow the logical progression a little further. We should outlaw touching another human, because your hands can also be deadly weapons. And why stop there? If we outlaw the things that can cause death, let's outlaw the things that can cause non-fatal injury. This list includes everything that exists in the world today, including water. In fact, let's outlaw violent emotions and violent intent--that is the real root for any lack of security we have.... Seriously, if guns are outlawed, where does it end? Benjamin Franklin stated that "those who would surrender freedom for security deserve neither freedom nor security" (not an exact quote, but the message is the same). The Founding Fathers decided that the government could not arbitrarily take away all guns because that would make America a place where the government, with its armed militia, could do exactly as it pleases, with no restrictions. Ban guns? [img]graemlins/idontagreeatall.gif[/img] Besides, automobiles kill more people yearly than guns do.

Azred, I beleive it was TJ (Thomas Jefferson) that said t Other then that Ditto.