Bryan

Originally from:
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...=1#post5383794

A member guest asked: Why do Libertarians continue to delude themselves about the dangers of guns?
"America has the highest gun violence in the world" (reference to murder rate)



Murder is a terrible thing and certainly no one wants to see one of their loved ones murdered. To directly answer your question, I don't know anyone who is delusion on the dangers of guns, guns are designed to hurt/kill, so they are inherently dangerous. Most people know this.

Since we both agree this is a terrible thing it should be worth addressing how to solve the problem. As with all issues, I work off a simple process to find a solution, the first two steps are:
1. Understand and respect the natural rights bestowed upon us as related to the issue.
2. Devise good government policy (which does not violate step #1).

The first step is very important as without respect for our natural rights we would be subjects to the whim of others demands, and would live in bondage. This is the foundation for the principles of liberty, some detail can be found here: http://www.ronpaulforums.com/content...13-Why-Liberty

Further, respect for individual liberty is also the foundation of this country, and is codified as law in various means. To level-set on natural rights for this issue, I present two thought questions you can answer:
- Should a human being have the right to own property?
- Should a human being have the right to defend themselves?

We could go into extensive detail here but what you will find is that a free man has the natural right to own guns. Please let me know if you would like to discuss this. From here, whatever our position is, as we are founded on being a free country, we must respect peoples ownership of guns.

On to the second step... Certainly you've heard the old cliche that "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." Well, there is truth to that, and it is the other part of the equation to the gun-related murder rate so this could be a good place to investigate to help derive good policy. Of course, policy that doesn't violate ones natural right to own guns.

Perhaps it would be worth looking into culture and societal differences to help explain the trend lines. I've been to Japan recently and it's really no surprise that they don't even register on this chart as the behavior of the average person that I saw or interacted with had traits that were very polite, outstanding, non-violent and so-on. I've also been to a handful of the European counties low on the list and can see similar trends as well (though not the same as in Japan).

So perhaps we could derive some policy that could better direct people away from wanting to murder, again however, this would have to be done in a way that does not step on others natural rights. For example, calls to ban / restrict violent video games (on a federal level) would step on others natural rights to own property. Regardless, there is room for a lot of discussion and debate here, and I'd be interested to hear your thoughts. I personally think there is a massive failure in the government run education system. The fact that's it's based on the Prussian education model doesn't help- so this is one area I would start. Are you fimilar with the Prussian education model?


If you're thinking that some type of gun control would be a quick fix, and you're not willing to respect what others claim as a natural right then I've got some questions I'd like you to answer:

- How would you propose that guns be rounded up?
- Would you expect for everyone to comply and turn their guns in?
- Would you support going door to door to confiscate guns if people did not turn them in?
- Would you support breaking into peoples homes if they did not answer the door?
- Would you support using aggressive measures against individuals to separate them from their guns within their homes?
- Would you support killing gun owners if needed to get their guns?
- Do you support an ideology that generates war? If you answer "yes" to the previous question you are in fact foresting war. As well, if you're willing to fully disregard what others consider as a natural right, you're fostering war.
- Would you be willing to do this confiscation / killing yourself, or would you want someone to do it on your behalf?
- With a gun ban, would you support any government agents having guns?
- Do you trust government agents to have guns while others are unarmed?
- If so, is it because government agents have some prescribed loyalty or training that could never be matched by a non-government agent?
- Could you explain why you'd support allowing government agents to have guns while citizens don't?
- Are you aware that governments that have disarmed their citizens have murdered them in the tens of millions?

These are most serious questions.