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From: josh@topaz.ARPA (J Storrs Hall)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: handgun control - (nf)
Message-ID: <131@topaz.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 3-Jan-85 17:25:07 EST
Article-I.D.: topaz.131
Posted: Thu Jan  3 17:25:07 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 7-Jan-85 02:20:31 EST
References: <245@gargoyle.UUCP> <> <259@gargoyle.UChicago.UUCP>
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
Lines: 36

> 
> ...  There are also thousands of people who
> own submachine guns, and only a few get used.  Does this mean that 
> submachine guns should be legal, since MOST submachine guns are not 
> used to kill people?

"Dead" wrong.  Last year more people were killed by machine guns
in Miami than were killed by machine guns in Chicago in the '20's
at the height of the gang wars, when machine guns were legal.

> As to whether or not the government is ``entitled'' to ``force'' people
> to dispose of their guns, let's note that the Morton Grove handgun ban
> has been upheld by the US Supreme Court.  I guess the government IS
> entitled.

Wrong again.  The US Supreme court refused to hear the Morton Grove
case pending its being heard in Illinois Supreme Court.  The case is
still going through the works.

In any case, the Supreme Court has flip-flopped on this (and numerous
other issues) many times.  The SC generally dispenses beautiful words
in which to clothe the ugly prejudices of the times;  and the government
will do anything it can get away with, "entitled" or not.

> Polls show that handgun control is desired by 60 - 70% of the American
> people.

Right.  HCI and the CBH send out polls with questions like:
"Do you think Hardened Criminals should be able to walk into K-mart 
 and buy Deadly Handguns and Saturday Night Specials with no legal
 oversight whatsoever?"
so most people say no, and the gun-haters come out with another 
statistic "70 percent of the American people believe that there 
should be some form of handgun control."  

--JoSH