tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2076626151244722712.post6518818726294147743..comments2016-09-08T06:11:19.044-07:00Comments on Practical Supervillainy: Technology, Power, and Subversion: Arsenal of DemocracyFrom The New Worldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00639301576067083948noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2076626151244722712.post-5708872106995168002013-05-04T15:07:57.432-07:002013-05-04T15:07:57.432-07:00Thanks this appraisal is a worthy addition to the ...Thanks this appraisal is a worthy addition to the (alas, all-too rare) library of cogent discussion bout guns, and parsing out WHICH personal weapons merit looser or greater attention from society.<br /><br />In my "Jefferson Rifle" article, my chief point was to address the "slipper slope argument" of the US gun lobby, which considers any regulation of firearms to be an incremental step toward utter state banning and confiscation. Any registry of weapons, no matter how benign at the beginning, would then be a shopping list for Big Brother to go around collecting them all, as the Nazis did, when they occupied France. <br /><br />I actually have some sympathy for this basic point... though not with using it as an excuse to block reasonable -- auto-like -- regulation of most guns that wreak the worst harm. My point is that the slippery slope can be blocked by choosing one class of weapons to safeguard constitutionally from all registration, forever, and treating all the others like cars. That one class happens to be very poor at usefulness for crime, but excellent for insurrection if thousands of neighbors cover each other.<br /><br />It is pure stupidity to refuse this offer, as the US Second Amendment is extremely ambiguous and nowhere near the safeguard these people contend that it is. They need a new amendment. This one would be within easy reach. Alas.<br /><br />Thanks again.<br /><br /> With cordial regards,<br /><br />David Brin<br />http://www.davidbrin.com<br />blog: http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/<br />twitter: http://twitter.com/DavidBrin1<br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.com