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AnrothElf

(567 posts)
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 07:50 PM Mar 2021

Would a "Repeal the 2nd Amendment" movement...

Hurt or help?

For the sake of argument, let's assume it was coming from the left flank, and not the Democratic Party.

Let's also assume its goals are "long game" like the ERA but minus the deadline.

116 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Would a "Repeal the 2nd Amendment" movement... (Original Post) AnrothElf Mar 2021 OP
Hurt. mzmolly Mar 2021 #1
Wouldn't that require SCOTUS weighing in? AnrothElf Mar 2021 #9
Help illegal smile Mar 2021 #2
I agree mainstream would be better AnrothElf Mar 2021 #10
Uh-huh. Straw Man Mar 2021 #84
Hurt or help what? WhiskeyGrinder Mar 2021 #3
To enact sane, reasonable restrictions AnrothElf Mar 2021 #11
No way 2/3 of the states vote for it. CanonRay Mar 2021 #4
It would be futile - and harmful. Nt hack89 Mar 2021 #5
How would it be harmful? AnrothElf Mar 2021 #12
It would endanger Democratic control of the Senate hack89 Mar 2021 #13
Why not ban all guns, though? AnrothElf Mar 2021 #16
Because I enjoy my guns for one thing. hack89 Mar 2021 #17
You're right, they won't AnrothElf Mar 2021 #20
Please show me what countries require all guns to be stored in armories. hack89 Mar 2021 #22
You're right, it's not, anymore AnrothElf Mar 2021 #27
There were armories hack89 Mar 2021 #31
They could be used that way, though, right? AnrothElf Mar 2021 #32
Sure, in some fantasy world. hack89 Mar 2021 #35
Long games involve remote goals. AnrothElf Mar 2021 #36
The problem with disarming folks is ManiacJoe Mar 2021 #69
Are you really talking about Good Guys and Bad Guys? AnrothElf Mar 2021 #74
Let's call them People Who Do Bad Things. Straw Man Mar 2021 #85
Sure if you can disarm all criminals 1st...otherwise I prefer my right to defend my home. EX500rider Mar 2021 #72
Ooooo the Mexican boogie man AnrothElf Mar 2021 #79
Sure avoid the point.. EX500rider Mar 2021 #80
They will have no choice if guns are banned AnrothElf Mar 2021 #83
The thing about criminals is they don't follow the law EX500rider Mar 2021 #90
Ummm, convicted criminals ARE banned from owning guns... yagotme Mar 2021 #97
When have criminals EVER been disarmed, ANYWHERE, or ANY-TIME? RotorHead May 2021 #107
Well, let's continue down this "thought" highway... yagotme Mar 2021 #26
I'm sorry for your prospective future inconvenience AnrothElf Mar 2021 #29
So, it's OK to inconvienience me for the deeds of another, through no fault of mine? yagotme Mar 2021 #33
My hobbies have already been on the lists. AnrothElf Mar 2021 #34
I addressed this upthread in #26. yagotme Mar 2021 #41
Yes, it is. And in part because the toxic culture. AnrothElf Mar 2021 #45
So, you really think that repealing one of the amendments in the Bill of Rights... yagotme Mar 2021 #50
I don't think it's a slippery slope kinda thing. AnrothElf Mar 2021 #51
No slope at all sarisataka Mar 2021 #53
So because the police violate the 4A as they have been doing for years in the War on Drugs... AnrothElf Mar 2021 #54
Who are the individuals in your "we disarm the populace" comment... yagotme Mar 2021 #98
lol! Nt USALiberal Mar 2021 #64
And there it is. nt Hawker123 Mar 2021 #61
welcome to DU gopiscrap Mar 2021 #92
Banning all guns is not the ultimate mzmolly Mar 2021 #55
It's not a bad goal, though, is it? AnrothElf Mar 2021 #57
It's futile. mzmolly Mar 2021 #63
There's a fantasy book by S. M. Stirling called "Dies the Fire" in which something like that happens Dial H For Hero Mar 2021 #68
"Wouldn't that be an objectively GOOD thing?" EX500rider Mar 2021 #73
What is the solution now? Fear mongering... AnrothElf Mar 2021 #75
Disarming all the law-abiding citizens EX500rider Mar 2021 #77
Disarming everyone means that AnrothElf Mar 2021 #78
I've never needed my fire extinguisher yet yet I have one EX500rider Mar 2021 #81
What a horrible analogy. AnrothElf Mar 2021 #82
You're missing something. Straw Man Mar 2021 #86
Perfect analogy something you need during an emergency EX500rider Mar 2021 #91
There are other gangs other than Mexican. yagotme Mar 2021 #99
You haven't looked very hard, I see. RotorHead May 2021 #108
Unfortunately, I think trying to repeal the 2nd Amendment would only help Republican politicians. LaMouffette Mar 2021 #6
Rube Goldberg would be proud illegal smile Mar 2021 #7
How would you accomplish #3? RotorHead May 2021 #106
You stumped me! I was going to say, "Just do whatever they do in Europe!" but then found out LaMouffette May 2021 #112
Interesting concept. discntnt_irny_srcsm May 2021 #113
A good first step would be to repeal the Gun Industry Immunity Law. sop Mar 2021 #8
Sounds like a good first step! AnrothElf Mar 2021 #14
You can sue gun manufacturers if they break the law hack89 Mar 2021 #15
Effects of the PLCAA of 2005: sop Mar 2021 #18
Can you list the 6 circumstances that the PLCAA allows you to sue gun manufacturers? hack89 Mar 2021 #19
Doesn't this tell us that legislative and judicial solutions won't work? AnrothElf Mar 2021 #21
The 2A is irrelevant to the conversation hack89 Mar 2021 #23
Bans on individual carry are AnrothElf Mar 2021 #30
Read Heller hack89 Mar 2021 #37
And that right could be preserved, if desired AnrothElf Mar 2021 #40
If you can't pass gun control the 2A allows hack89 Mar 2021 #42
That's why I framed the original question the way I did AnrothElf Mar 2021 #43
Maybe my grandkids will benefit from it hack89 Mar 2021 #46
I am worrying about it FOR my grandkids AnrothElf Mar 2021 #48
Incorrect. RotorHead Mar 2021 #58
So tell me what it does say. Nt hack89 Mar 2021 #60
Under the PLCAA the gun industry cannot be held liable for the damages resulting from negligence, sop Mar 2021 #24
But how are they negligent? hack89 Mar 2021 #25
You obviously believe the gun industry bears no civil liablity for the sale of lethal products that sop Mar 2021 #38
That logic can also apply to brewers and distillers hack89 Mar 2021 #39
If negligence can be proven, then the public has the right to sue brewers. That's how it works. sop Mar 2021 #47
Correction. Straw Man Mar 2021 #87
If I drive 90 MPH down the road, yagotme Mar 2021 #28
Congress has not granted Chevy, or the entire automotive industry, immunity from civil litigation. sop Mar 2021 #44
Yes, they can be sued. yagotme Mar 2021 #49
It's not just "making a defective product," there are many other things manufacturers or sellers sop Mar 2021 #52
Wrong again. Straw Man Mar 2021 #88
Huh?! RotorHead Mar 2021 #59
"The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, or PLCAA, grants broad immunity from liability sop Mar 2021 #62
Your error.... RotorHead Mar 2021 #66
Your error is in confusing the debate over negligence with the right of citizens to sue. sop Mar 2021 #67
Apologies for the late reply.... RotorHead May 2021 #105
Yes. mzmolly Mar 2021 #56
So many people don't seem to understand. discntnt_irny_srcsm Mar 2021 #65
Futile, would hurt Democrats. The Mouth Mar 2021 #70
Good advice: discntnt_irny_srcsm Mar 2021 #71
Fuck Karl Marx AnrothElf Mar 2021 #76
Such stunning eloquence. Straw Man Mar 2021 #89
LOL The Mouth Mar 2021 #93
I'm more of a gun eliminatist... AnrothElf Mar 2021 #94
We've noticed The Mouth Mar 2021 #95
My contempt is the same for gun-worshippers AnrothElf Mar 2021 #96
Hah! RotorHead May 2021 #104
Actually, this is complicated looking at the big picture. discntnt_irny_srcsm Apr 2021 #100
Groups/articles backing 2d amendment repeal: yagotme Apr 2021 #101
I'm not sure why the thread author is ignoring both of my replies. discntnt_irny_srcsm Apr 2021 #102
What hurts, though, is our Party members, yagotme Apr 2021 #103
Many Democrats favor at least to some degree the spirit of "defund the police". discntnt_irny_srcsm May 2021 #111
I believe there is a need for "police". yagotme May 2021 #114
I don't support ending police departments. discntnt_irny_srcsm May 2021 #115
No argument whatsoever. n/t yagotme May 2021 #116
I am going to guess that many melm00se May 2021 #109
Urban dwellers in many cases I suppose. discntnt_irny_srcsm May 2021 #110

mzmolly

(50,985 posts)
1. Hurt.
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 07:56 PM
Mar 2021

There is no need for repeal. We should defer to the 'well regulated' portion, and ask that gun fetishists' read what they promote.

AnrothElf

(567 posts)
9. Wouldn't that require SCOTUS weighing in?
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 08:35 PM
Mar 2021

And haven't they already done so and decided that the 2A means "individual right" to carry?

 

illegal smile

(21 posts)
2. Help
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 07:57 PM
Mar 2021

but make it mainstream. Attack their "strength" openly and aggressively. And point out repeal wouldn't ban a single gun, we could simply get to legislate them from scratch with a forced discussion on what to collectively do.

Straw Man

(6,623 posts)
84. Uh-huh.
Sat Mar 27, 2021, 01:30 AM
Mar 2021
And point out repeal wouldn't ban a single gun, we could simply get to legislate them from scratch with a forced discussion on what to collectively do.

You might think the gun rights people are that stupid, but they're not. It wouldn't ban a single gun, but it would open the door wide to their worst nightmares of gun control.

AnrothElf

(567 posts)
11. To enact sane, reasonable restrictions
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 08:37 PM
Mar 2021

On the manufacture, sales, ownership and usage of firearms in the USA

AnrothElf

(567 posts)
12. How would it be harmful?
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 08:43 PM
Mar 2021

Not that I disagree. But the left flank already pisses off Republicans. If it was done "long game" couldn't harmful backlash be mitigated?

Or is banning all guns not the ultimate goal?

hack89

(39,171 posts)
13. It would endanger Democratic control of the Senate
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 08:47 PM
Mar 2021

To control the Senate we have to win in pro-gun swing states.

And no - banning all guns is not the goal.

AnrothElf

(567 posts)
16. Why not ban all guns, though?
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 08:49 PM
Mar 2021

As a long-term goal?

Move them back to National Guard armories like First World countries do?

hack89

(39,171 posts)
17. Because I enjoy my guns for one thing.
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 08:50 PM
Mar 2021

Secondly it is pure fantasy that pro-gun states will support gun bans.

AnrothElf

(567 posts)
20. You're right, they won't
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 09:02 PM
Mar 2021

More of a thought experiment than anything else.

If you could go to the range, or check your guns out of the armory for hunting like First World countries do? Would you consider dispensing with the 2A and individual right to carry?

hack89

(39,171 posts)
22. Please show me what countries require all guns to be stored in armories.
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 09:11 PM
Mar 2021

I don’t believe that is the norm.

AnrothElf

(567 posts)
27. You're right, it's not, anymore
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 09:28 PM
Mar 2021

But it was once, and it could be again.

There's a reason they're called "armories"

hack89

(39,171 posts)
31. There were armories
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 09:35 PM
Mar 2021

Because in order to mobilize huge armies like we saw in WWI and WWII conscription was the norm with mandatory service in the reserves after an initial stint of active duty. Those armories stored the weapons for the reservist to train with. They were never used to store civilian weapons.

ManiacJoe

(10,136 posts)
69. The problem with disarming folks is
Fri Mar 26, 2021, 05:03 AM
Mar 2021

that everyone wants to disarm the Good Guys first and usually has no plans to disarm the Bad Guys, who should be done first.

Straw Man

(6,623 posts)
85. Let's call them People Who Do Bad Things.
Sat Mar 27, 2021, 01:42 AM
Mar 2021

If you think they don't exist, then I would suggest that you are the one who is naive.

Check out the Deacons for Defense and Justice, the Pink Pistols, and the National African American Gun Association and then we can have a discussion about who the Good Guys and the Bad Guys are.

EX500rider

(10,839 posts)
72. Sure if you can disarm all criminals 1st...otherwise I prefer my right to defend my home.
Fri Mar 26, 2021, 05:02 PM
Mar 2021

Also Mexico has disarmed their civilian population, they have only one gun store in the entire country, how is that working out for them?

AnrothElf

(567 posts)
79. Ooooo the Mexican boogie man
Fri Mar 26, 2021, 09:17 PM
Mar 2021

What's next? Cartel home invasions in suburban St. Louis? Fear-mongering? Mexican gangs after our women?

Please... Try harder if you're going to engage with me.

EX500rider

(10,839 posts)
80. Sure avoid the point..
Fri Mar 26, 2021, 09:38 PM
Mar 2021

... I understand why you would since there's no answer to that ..the criminals obviously won't disarm

AnrothElf

(567 posts)
83. They will have no choice if guns are banned
Sat Mar 27, 2021, 12:08 AM
Mar 2021

If you think gun crime will go up under a total ban, as I'm suggesting in 30 years or so as a long-term goal, then I just can't reach you with reason.

EX500rider

(10,839 posts)
90. The thing about criminals is they don't follow the law
Sat Mar 27, 2021, 09:18 AM
Mar 2021

And if drug gangs can smuggle in tons of cocaine they can smuggle in weapons

yagotme

(2,919 posts)
97. Ummm, convicted criminals ARE banned from owning guns...
Mon Mar 29, 2021, 04:48 PM
Mar 2021

Doesn't seem to stop very many of them from obtaining more.

 

RotorHead

(63 posts)
107. When have criminals EVER been disarmed, ANYWHERE, or ANY-TIME?
Thu May 20, 2021, 11:08 PM
May 2021


Even -before- firearms were invented?

yagotme

(2,919 posts)
26. Well, let's continue down this "thought" highway...
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 09:25 PM
Mar 2021

I own property, where I shoot occasionally. I therefore would have to go to the "local" armory, which is paid for by (Me? The Govt? Who?) to pick up the firearm(s) I wish to shoot that day. Is my ammo also at the Armory? How far am I going to have to drive to the Armory? My property is pretty secluded, might be an hour or so each way. Only "sanctioned" ranges? Again, how far do I have to drive, is there an Armory at each range, who is paying for all this (range, armory, personnel, etc.), availability (cuz EVERYONE has to use their firearms this way, causing overcrowding at the range). Time limits? Reservations? Higher and higher increase in fees? Will this be funded by the taxpayer, as a "promise" by the government to keep the 2nd alive?

Hunting: Hunting occurs at different times of day, different times of year, depending on game/area you live. Armory would have to be staffed 24/7.

If I wanted to commit a murder, what would stop me from checking out my weapon of choice, ammo, etc, and instead of going hunting, or to a range, I drove to wherever I decided to do my evil deed, and commence. If conditions were even right, I could just shoot the Armory personnel as soon as I got my stuff, and the whole armory would be mine.

As far a first world countries, they have shootings too, with stricter laws than us. Don't know if you've researched that or not, but maniacs come in all languages, and they often can get black market firearms to do their work. French/Belgian railway comes to mind, for starters.

Do you consider Switzerland a First World country? For many decades, a military arm was kept in each home, 1 for each person of military age, and they had to practice/qualify with it annually. Even when they switched over to fully automatic arms. Don't recall hearing about the mass shootings from there over the years. IIRC, they have changed their laws somewhat, making them a little stricter, but they still have more arms out than the rest of Europe.

yagotme

(2,919 posts)
33. So, it's OK to inconvienience me for the deeds of another, through no fault of mine?
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 09:39 PM
Mar 2021

Hope you don't have any "interesting" hobbies, because yours may be next on the list by the do-gooders.

AnrothElf

(567 posts)
34. My hobbies have already been on the lists.
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 09:42 PM
Mar 2021

Comics Code Authority imposed censorship for decades.

But we aren't talking about the long-game idea of repealing the 1A, we're talking about the idea of repealing the 2A.

What about storing guns in armories until hunting season? Then you check them out, along with ammunition, and go hunting? Then bring them back and check them back in?

yagotme

(2,919 posts)
41. I addressed this upthread in #26.
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 09:56 PM
Mar 2021

Too many "what if's" to make it believable.

And, don't you think the 1st is in trouble? Maybe not from direct repeal, but being beaten into a worthless pile.

AnrothElf

(567 posts)
45. Yes, it is. And in part because the toxic culture.
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 10:01 PM
Mar 2021

The repeal of the 2A isn't just about sane gun laws. It's also about the culture that worships guns.

yagotme

(2,919 posts)
50. So, you really think that repealing one of the amendments in the Bill of Rights...
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 10:26 PM
Mar 2021

will fix our toxic culture? I don't think that's the way to go, myself. After the 2d goes, and we are still in trouble, then which one goes? 1st? 4th?

AnrothElf

(567 posts)
51. I don't think it's a slippery slope kinda thing.
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 10:29 PM
Mar 2021

More of a course correction.

The culture surrounding the 1st and 4th Amendments isn't a toxic cesspool of metastasizing evil.

sarisataka

(18,600 posts)
53. No slope at all
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 10:52 PM
Mar 2021
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear oral argument in Caniglia v. Strom, a case that could have sweeping consequences for policing, due process, and mental health, with the Biden Administration and attorneys general from nine states urging the High Court to uphold warrantless gun confiscation. But what would ultimately become a major Fourth Amendment case began with an elderly couple’s spat over a coffee mug.

(snip)

First created by the Supreme Court nearly 50 years ago, the community caretaking exception was designed for cases involving impounded cars and highway safety, on the grounds that police are often called to car accidents to remove nuisances like inoperable vehicles on public roads.

Both a district and appellate court upheld the seizures as “reasonable” under the community caretaking exception. In deciding Caniglia’s case, the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals acknowledged that “the doctrine’s reach outside the motor vehicle context is ill-defined.” Nevertheless, the court decided to extend that doctrine to cover private homes, ruling that the officers “did not exceed the proper province of their community caretaking responsibilities.”

(snip)

In their opening brief for the Supreme Court, attorneys for Caniglia warned that “extending the community caretaking exception to homes would be anathema to the Fourth Amendment” because it “would grant police a blank check to intrude upon the home.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicksibilla/2021/03/23/biden-administration-urges-supreme-court-to-let-cops-enter-homes-and-seize-guns-without-a-warrant/?sh=4f7ff13e2829

But of course police would only use such warrantless search and seizure power for guns; it would never be abused

AnrothElf

(567 posts)
54. So because the police violate the 4A as they have been doing for years in the War on Drugs...
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 11:08 PM
Mar 2021

It automatically follows that we can't trust them in the War on Guns?

I agree. Completely. We can't trust them. With guns, with lives, with rights.

That's why I'm arguing for the long game. Gives us time to disarm the police as we disarm the populace. Eventually, maybe we can live in a First World country where cops aren't issued service weapons until they need them for a specific instance. They don't get to have their "own" cop gun to kill kids with. They have to check one out, and ammunition. Go do a thing, legally, then go back, check the gun back in, then get back out on the street to patrol like a British Bobby.

yagotme

(2,919 posts)
98. Who are the individuals in your "we disarm the populace" comment...
Mon Mar 29, 2021, 04:51 PM
Mar 2021

You're going to disarm the police. Then disarm the population. I don't think it will go quite like you want.

AnrothElf

(567 posts)
57. It's not a bad goal, though, is it?
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 11:12 PM
Mar 2021

I mean, objectively speaking, if all guns on earth magically disappeared overnight and it became magically impossible to make another one...

Wouldn't that be an objectively GOOD thing?

I'm not talking realism. I'm talking goals. You don't aim to make nuclear bombs safer. You aim to abolish them completely.

Aren't guns an objective evil? A machine designed specifically to kill? Not a car, not a screwdriver, not a swimming pool?

mzmolly

(50,985 posts)
63. It's futile.
Wed Mar 24, 2021, 09:58 AM
Mar 2021

The argument isn't whether or not guns are good, bad, evil.

The OP asked if we should abolish the 2nd Amendment.

 

Dial H For Hero

(2,971 posts)
68. There's a fantasy book by S. M. Stirling called "Dies the Fire" in which something like that happens
Wed Mar 24, 2021, 01:07 PM
Mar 2021

In a moment, all gunpowder stops working worldwide. Artificially generated electricity also stops working, as does steam power and artificially generated nuclear power.

Needless to say, 99% if people are dead within a year.

To your point, though, a few hours after "The Change" occurs, a policeman comes upon a woman being assaulted by a man. He tries to shoot him. *Click* (racks the slide, chambers a new round), *Click* (tries again), *Click*.

He barely manages take the guy out with his nightstick. After discovering that no guns work anywhere, he thinks something to the effect of, "I really never liked guns....but I think I'm really going to miss them."

Most of the the novel (and all of the sequels) are set decades later. People are still having conflicts, but they've had to resort to learning how to use swords, bows, and catapults again.

EX500rider

(10,839 posts)
73. "Wouldn't that be an objectively GOOD thing?"
Fri Mar 26, 2021, 05:04 PM
Mar 2021

I don't think so, if several men break into a lone woman's house in the middle of the night, what is your solution for her?

AnrothElf

(567 posts)
75. What is the solution now? Fear mongering...
Fri Mar 26, 2021, 06:39 PM
Mar 2021

Doesn't work on me any better than handguns work on home invaders. Read the statistics.

EX500rider

(10,839 posts)
77. Disarming all the law-abiding citizens
Fri Mar 26, 2021, 06:51 PM
Mar 2021

Last edited Fri Mar 26, 2021, 08:03 PM - Edit history (1)

Will just make the criminals/gangs much more aggressive and less afraid to do whatever they want.
See Mexico for an example

AnrothElf

(567 posts)
78. Disarming everyone means that
Fri Mar 26, 2021, 08:26 PM
Mar 2021

Sentencing enhancements can be applied. An extra trained Armed Police like the UK ensure that the government will be in a position to combat armed criminals.

Everyday citizens have nothing to fear from Mexican gangs.

I'm 48. Never owned a gun. Never will. Guns are for cowards.

Never once been worried that Mexican gangs are gonna kill me. Because I'm not paranoid or racist

EX500rider

(10,839 posts)
81. I've never needed my fire extinguisher yet yet I have one
Fri Mar 26, 2021, 09:39 PM
Mar 2021

.. But when you need it you really need it

Straw Man

(6,623 posts)
86. You're missing something.
Sat Mar 27, 2021, 01:46 AM
Mar 2021
Comparing a device designed to save lives with one designed to take them.

Guns can save lives too, and they don't have to take lives to do so. Ponder that if you're so inclined, which I doubt that you are.

yagotme

(2,919 posts)
99. There are other gangs other than Mexican.
Mon Mar 29, 2021, 04:57 PM
Mar 2021

Mexico was used as an example, as Mexico has very strict firearms laws, but the Mexican gangs run roughshod over the military and police in that country. The gangs there have no problem obtaining firearms, including full auto. Only one gun store in the whole country, so where are they getting them?

LaMouffette

(2,023 posts)
6. Unfortunately, I think trying to repeal the 2nd Amendment would only help Republican politicians.
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 08:06 PM
Mar 2021

They already whip Republican voters into a frenzy by telling them the Dems want to take their guns away.

I think a more round-about way of getting stricter gun control laws might work:

1. Repeal Citizens United.
2. Do a scorched-earth campaign finance reform, so that the best candidate wins, not the best-financed candidate.
3. Make all lobbying illegal. All of it.

So, basically, don't make it illegal to own a gun. Make it illegal to own a politician. Then and only then might Republican Congress members feel capable of doing the right thing instead of doing the thing that gets them elected or that lines their pockets.

LaMouffette

(2,023 posts)
112. You stumped me! I was going to say, "Just do whatever they do in Europe!" but then found out
Sun May 23, 2021, 01:27 PM
May 2021

they have lobbying in Europe, too.

But I did find this on the website Represent.us:

So, why don’t we just ban lobbying all together? Well, constitutionally, we can’t — and we shouldn’t have to.

Lobbying isn’t inherently evil. After all, a lobbyist is just a professional person hired to represent their client’s interests to an elected official. All kinds of groups, from major businesses to unions to nonprofits, pay for lobbyists.

The act of lobbying itself — that is, simply advocating a position to an elected official — is not the problem, and it’s actually protected by the First Amendment. Individuals and groups have every right to express their opinions to Congress about how proposed legislation might affect them and to try to convince lawmakers to take their side. The problem is that lobbyists routinely use money, favors, gifts, or lucrative job offers to do the convincing for them.

You can lobby, and you can donate to a politician. But you shouldn’t be allowed to do both.

Luckily, that’s something we can fix with a single law. The unseemly and terrible behavior we’ve covered in this piece may be legal now, but it doesn’t have to be. Reforms to ban lobbyists from coordinating fundraising, close the revolving door, and end “shadow lobbying” have already been proposed at the federal level, and they’re currently picking up momentum in cities and states around the country. As the anti-corruption movement grows, we get closer and closer to ending lobbyist corruption for good.


[link:https://represent.us/action/5-facts-lobbyists/|

But, as with all three items in my list, much easier said than done. It would take several back-to-back Democratic/Progressive presidents and Democrat/Progressive-controlled Congresses for major reforms to happen.

sop

(10,156 posts)
8. A good first step would be to repeal the Gun Industry Immunity Law.
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 08:15 PM
Mar 2021

This 2005 law gave the gun manufacturers and sellers protection from litigation. Sue them out of existence.

AnrothElf

(567 posts)
14. Sounds like a good first step!
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 08:47 PM
Mar 2021

I didn't know that, so I'll read up on it.

If we could legislate our way out of this problem, though, wouldn't we have had better success by now?

hack89

(39,171 posts)
15. You can sue gun manufacturers if they break the law
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 08:48 PM
Mar 2021

You can not sue them for selling legal products in accordance with all applicable laws. Not complicated.

hack89

(39,171 posts)
19. Can you list the 6 circumstances that the PLCAA allows you to sue gun manufacturers?
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 08:54 PM
Mar 2021

The PLCAA happened because gun control groups tried to sue gun manufacturers out of existence. They failed and this was the blowback.

AnrothElf

(567 posts)
21. Doesn't this tell us that legislative and judicial solutions won't work?
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 09:10 PM
Mar 2021

What better options? Is repeal of the 2A really that onerous?

hack89

(39,171 posts)
23. The 2A is irrelevant to the conversation
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 09:15 PM
Mar 2021

All gun control with the exception of a ban on handguns in the home is perfectly legal and constitutional. AWBs, registration, bans on carrying in public, magazine size limits are not stopped by the 2A.

hack89

(39,171 posts)
37. Read Heller
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 09:45 PM
Mar 2021

The only right the 2A protects is the right to own a handgun in your home for self defense. That is it.

AnrothElf

(567 posts)
40. And that right could be preserved, if desired
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 09:53 PM
Mar 2021

Via legislation. The 2A is an impediment to the cultural and societal shifts necessary to make such legislation possible.

A long-game movement, from the left, to undermine and eventually repeal the 2A would be bad exactly how?

hack89

(39,171 posts)
42. If you can't pass gun control the 2A allows
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 09:57 PM
Mar 2021

Why waste your time repealing the 2A? Seems like an absolute waste of political capital.

AnrothElf

(567 posts)
43. That's why I framed the original question the way I did
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 09:59 PM
Mar 2021

If we weren't spending our capital, but playing the long game by letting the left flank spend theirs (they can afford it, as the Republicans already despise them) then over time... decades perhaps... sufficient states could accumulate to repeal the 2A.

The cultural effect would be profound.

sop

(10,156 posts)
24. Under the PLCAA the gun industry cannot be held liable for the damages resulting from negligence,
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 09:19 PM
Mar 2021

only when they break the law. The gun industry has been granted immunity from civil litigation for selling lethal products that cause the deaths of tens of thousands every year. This has to stop.

sop

(10,156 posts)
38. You obviously believe the gun industry bears no civil liablity for the sale of lethal products that
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 09:48 PM
Mar 2021

cause the deaths of 30,000+ Americans every year, just because they are not breaking the law. I strongly disagree.

Among other things, the First Amendment specifically prohibits Congress from abridging "the right of the people...to petition the Government for a redress of grievances". The US Constitution grants citizens the right to seek redress (sue) using the courts, and the PLCAA completely takes away that right.

If the gun industry believes they are not guilty of negligence, then they have nothing to fear from the public's right to sue them. I say let the courts decide.

hack89

(39,171 posts)
39. That logic can also apply to brewers and distillers
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 09:52 PM
Mar 2021

Their products do a lot more damage to society than guns.

sop

(10,156 posts)
47. If negligence can be proven, then the public has the right to sue brewers. That's how it works.
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 10:06 PM
Mar 2021

However, unlike all other industries, gun manufacturers and sellers enjoy immunity from civil litigation. I would argue but for this unprecedented degree of immunity, the gun industry would have already taken steps to prevent the sort of carnage occurring in this country as a result of their lethal products.

Straw Man

(6,623 posts)
87. Correction.
Sat Mar 27, 2021, 01:54 AM
Mar 2021
However, unlike all other industries, gun manufacturers and sellers enjoy immunity from civil litigation.

Not true. Gun manufacturers can be and are sued for defective products that cause injuries and death, just like any other manufacturer. The cannot be sued when someone commits an illegal act with their product, resulting in injury or death.

If I drive my car into a crowd, causing death and injury, should the victims' families be able to sue the car manufacturer? They may try, but it would be thrown out of court. Most of the gun cases were similarly dismissed, but they cost the manufacturers a lot of money. This was the main goal behind the efforts: to bankrupt the companies, or at least causing them severe financial headaches. If there were advocacy groups dedicated to suing car makers out of existence, as there are with firearms, the auto industry would need similar protections.

Here's where you start telling us that the analogy isn't apt because guns were "made to kill," etc. There are a lot of purposes for owning guns, not the least of which is protection of oneself, which is a universal human right. The analogy stands.

yagotme

(2,919 posts)
28. If I drive 90 MPH down the road,
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 09:29 PM
Mar 2021

hit a puddle, and take out a minivan with 5 people in it, can I sue Chevy? I mean, they designed a vehicle that can do 90 MPH, therefore they must be negligent, right?

sop

(10,156 posts)
44. Congress has not granted Chevy, or the entire automotive industry, immunity from civil litigation.
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 10:01 PM
Mar 2021

If someone can prove Chevy was negligent, then they can sue them. It's not a question of whether the auto or gun industry are negligent, or not. The problem with the PLCAA of 2005 is that it immunized the entire gun industry from any sort of civil litigation...you simply cannot sue them.



yagotme

(2,919 posts)
49. Yes, they can be sued.
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 10:21 PM
Mar 2021

If they make a defective product, they can be sued. If Chevy makes a defective product, they can be sued. If you MISUSE a Chevy, you won't have standing to sue Chevy. That is the point in the PLCAA. Gun industries were being sued for MISUSE of products, not defective ones.

sop

(10,156 posts)
52. It's not just "making a defective product," there are many other things manufacturers or sellers
Tue Mar 23, 2021, 10:51 PM
Mar 2021

can do, or not do, to be found negligent. The way an industry markets its products and to whom, how aggressively they resist safety measures or fight legislation intended to make their products safer, and so on.

Straw Man

(6,623 posts)
88. Wrong again.
Sat Mar 27, 2021, 01:56 AM
Mar 2021
However, unlike all other industries, gun manufacturers and sellers enjoy immunity from civil litigation.

They can still be sued for faulty products that result in injury or death. They can't be sued for the results of illegal acts committed with their legally produced and sold products. That's the difference.

sop

(10,156 posts)
62. "The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, or PLCAA, grants broad immunity from liability
Wed Mar 24, 2021, 09:13 AM
Mar 2021

to gun manufacturers and dealers in federal and state courts. PLCAA prevents plaintiffs from filing lawsuits against gun manufacturers or dealers in many cases when these parties have been negligent and there has been 'criminal or unlawful misuse' of a firearm or ammunition."

 

RotorHead

(63 posts)
66. Your error....
Wed Mar 24, 2021, 11:44 AM
Mar 2021

...is in believing that a firearms company, three steps removed from a retail cutomer, and with a Federal background check in the process, is responsible for the criminal acts of an individual.

sop

(10,156 posts)
67. Your error is in confusing the debate over negligence with the right of citizens to sue.
Wed Mar 24, 2021, 12:30 PM
Mar 2021

One has nothing to do with the other. Whether negligence exists, or not, is a matter for the courts to decide, not NRA lobbyists.

 

RotorHead

(63 posts)
105. Apologies for the late reply....
Thu May 20, 2021, 11:05 PM
May 2021

....but how is a manufacturer "negligent" when a criminal misuses a firearm?

discntnt_irny_srcsm

(18,479 posts)
65. So many people don't seem to understand.
Wed Mar 24, 2021, 11:41 AM
Mar 2021

The Bill of Rights is a document that lists generic actions of individuals and specific protections of individuals in relation to our government. This list echoes the type of individual freedoms expressed in the Declaration of Independence. The BoR is a nationally foundational document. It is part of the Constitution because many people wanted it to be part of the Constitution. Some articles are there because of specific abuses by former government. A case in point would be the Third regarding the quartering of soldiers.

The 2A has been acknowledged to be an individual right. It is a consequence of the right to life in that it is a protection of the authority of an person to acquire and maintain a means of self-defense. Lots of people not just those of the political right will view your end goals with suspicion for suggesting a repeal. Any actions to that end will be utterly divisive, generally distracting and mostly counterproductive.

Assault is an attack on the life and freedom of another person. It's not wrong because there's law against it. There's a law against it because it's wrong.

Why blame the 2A for the ongoing problem of assaults in this country?
Why blame guns for the ongoing problem of assaults in this country?

IMO government exists to do for us that which we are unable to do for ourselves. By working together we become able to deal with and mitigate the sources of assault and abuse in society. Assailants are imprisoned and rival abusive or warring governments are deterred or dominated and disarmed. Our government helps in cases of natural disasters such as floods, fires and pandemics.

So how can government best help with the problem assaults and deadly attacks? Since most of these assaults and the most deadly of them involve guns, some folks have concluded that efforts to control who can acquire or keep a gun will have an effect. These efforts won't work, at least not with the sweeping visibility which proponents claim or hope that they will.

The 2A repeal is a hollow hope. It's not going to happen. There are exactly zero instances of changes to the BoR. You could point at a few instances of subsequent Amendments that expand the groups protected by the BoR but none of the Articles has been changed or removed.

There are many potentially productive things which can be done. Working to nullify the 2A is a hostility provoking distraction at best.

CDC data shows that the almost 38,000 people dying via gunfire represent a loss of over 900,000 years of human life. I think we owe political capital to actions that will best and most likely mitigate those numbers.

The Mouth

(3,148 posts)
70. Futile, would hurt Democrats.
Fri Mar 26, 2021, 01:12 PM
Mar 2021

not going to happen, exactly like the fools who prattle ignorantly about abolishing the Electoral college.
You have to get more states than will ever go for such a thing.
Thank goodness.

Karl Marx
“Under no pretext should arms and ammunition be surrendered; any attempt to disarm the workers must be frustrated, by force if necessary”


discntnt_irny_srcsm

(18,479 posts)
71. Good advice:
Fri Mar 26, 2021, 03:15 PM
Mar 2021

"But when you disarm them, you at once offend them by showing that you distrust them, either for cowardice or for want of loyalty, and either of these opinions breeds hatred against you."
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince

The Mouth

(3,148 posts)
93. LOL
Mon Mar 29, 2021, 11:18 AM
Mar 2021

Well, hopefully we will have the SCOTUS eliminate the 1934 and 1968 gun control acts and make Constitutional Carry legal everywhere in all states, so I will deeply look forward to another insightful, historically nuanced, and useful opinion from you and other gun restrictionists when that happens. Cheers.

The Mouth

(3,148 posts)
95. We've noticed
Mon Mar 29, 2021, 03:02 PM
Mar 2021

You don't like them, want to get rid of them, think people who want them are nuts, evil, and/or bad and support anything that gets them out of people's hands.

Fortunately we have these things called "rights" and gun-grabbers can sit and fulminate until hell freezes over and I will find it funny. The second amendment isn't going away and hopefully will be greatly strengthened.

There is simply no extrinsic action, circumstance or situation that will ever justify a single additional hurdle. pause or requirement to any law-abiding citizen owning any firearm they wish as far as I am concerned; I have exactly the same utter contempt for anti-gunners that I do for racists, sexists, and religious fanatics.

discntnt_irny_srcsm

(18,479 posts)
100. Actually, this is complicated looking at the big picture.
Mon Apr 12, 2021, 10:24 AM
Apr 2021

So here are some considerations, thoughts and questions:
First, thinking about "the left flank" it seems questionable how much attention a proposed Constitutional Amendment would receive at all if not actually backed by a major party. Are you certain that there isn't already a far left group backing a 2A repeal? I'm guessing there may be.

Second, by "Hurt or help?" I infer that you mean hurt or help the cause for further gun regulation. I've already addressed the expected results should such a movement gain any traction with any degree of Democratic support. [ https://www.democraticunderground.com/1172210113#post65 ] However, if the party would overtly distance itself or denounce that movement, we would gain some real traction with many middle of the road gun owners.

Last, as a bit of a less relevant side effect, there will always be the extremist RWNJ who will lump together and condemn every group to the left of the Birchers and blame them all for the very idea of a repeal.

discntnt_irny_srcsm

(18,479 posts)
102. I'm not sure why the thread author is ignoring both of my replies.
Mon Apr 19, 2021, 03:55 PM
Apr 2021

Other than the moveon petition which has gathered less than 6,000 signatures in a year, all of these seem to be thoughts of individual pundits and politicians that lack an organized group advocating the same.

yagotme

(2,919 posts)
103. What hurts, though, is our Party members,
Mon Apr 19, 2021, 07:55 PM
Apr 2021

however few, push for this. When the right comes out, and says the Democratic Party wants to take your guns, and there are our representatives, in plain view, going for broke, that does not help us at all.

discntnt_irny_srcsm

(18,479 posts)
111. Many Democrats favor at least to some degree the spirit of "defund the police".
Fri May 21, 2021, 05:46 PM
May 2021

Some folks view the police as having a special status such as the unquestioned ability to carry firearms and a greater degree of assumed respect. I have read about some folks that had special status in the mid 18th century. They carried guns and became progressively more unpopular as time went on. These folks were British soldiers.

I have read also that the term "soldier" meant one who serves for pay. The redcoats, as they were disparagingly called, were sent by Parliament and the King to fight in the French and Indian War. These soldiers remained after the war and in 1765 the Quartering Act required the colonies to feed and house these soldiers. In 1774, this act was expanded. This and other punitive actions brewed the Revolution.

This isn't a perfect analogy but it's worth considering. Redcoats were housed and provided for by local governments. Law enforcement is a paid occupation and due to cops being allowed to carry without question and having qualified immunity, it's basically a special status. I think Orwell that all are equal but some are more equal than others.

This is the sort of situation that inspired the Third Amendment.
Today there are calls to defund the police.

This is the kind of thing that develops from having a group with special powers and rights.
Making guns less available to the average law abiding citizens or taking away certain guns while passing on to the police M-16s and APCs at a discount makes sense how?

Forget defining what qualifies as an assault weapon. Where is the line between cop and soldier?

yagotme

(2,919 posts)
114. I believe there is a need for "police".
Mon May 24, 2021, 08:31 PM
May 2021

Perhaps not defunded, but funding put where it is needed. APC's? Give/sell them to dept's, they will think of a way to use them. "If you give someone a hammer" saying, per se. Training needs improvement. The difference between a Glock and a Tazer, and being trained, by muscle memory, which area of belt to grab for each one, for just one example. Most dept's have limited funds for range training, and a lot of cops that aren't "gunny" are actually pretty poor shots, compared to the general gun culture. 1-200 rounds a year, (if that), do not make a good marksman. I have done some training with some local dept's (prior corrections), and could outshoot 99.9% of them.

As far as the "quartering", IIRC, soldiers were actually living with colonist families, who had to provide room/board for them. Law enforcement is paid a salary to perform a certain job, same as a politician.

Police serve a need, if you completely defunded them, and "got rid" of them, something totally different, (but actually the same), would replace it. Vigilante committees. "Community protectors". No one actually wants to be without some type of law enforcement, otherwise, civilization would become not so civil.

And the defining line between cop and soldier, is that cops are used internally, and soldiers externally, to the nation. "Supposed" to, anyway. A lot of NG troops being deployed internally, lately. Posse comitatus, (if followed).

discntnt_irny_srcsm

(18,479 posts)
115. I don't support ending police departments.
Mon May 24, 2021, 11:25 PM
May 2021

I do, however, have a problem when officers and departments have little to no accountability.

I see that situation as analogous to the colonial redcoats living off the colonists and having no accountability to them.

Governments are a compromise between tyranny and anarchy. Government's most important obligation to the people is expressed in the Declaration. "That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness." (Emphasis mine)

IMO the most effective and valid means to maintain freedom is the respect for the rights of the people. I suggest that freedom is not like some volume knob to be used to try to adjust errant behavior of society's problem children.

melm00se

(4,990 posts)
109. I am going to guess that many
Fri May 21, 2021, 07:25 AM
May 2021

if not most of the "take 'em away" crowd are urban dwellers.

They have no idea what it is like to worry about apex predators or pests appearing near your house or attacking your livelihood.

I have a friend who owns cattle out west. When he goes out onto his property to take care of his cattle he never leaves without a weapon as he runs into dangerous animals on a very regular basis. I was with him when he was fixing fences and he was never more than a few feet from his gun. He pointed out the coyotes that I never saw but were within a 50 or so yards on us he grabbed and shot got 2 and scattered the rest.

But nope, he needs to have his guns taken away or else....

discntnt_irny_srcsm

(18,479 posts)
110. Urban dwellers in many cases I suppose.
Fri May 21, 2021, 01:01 PM
May 2021

But, of course, in urban settings, when seconds count, law enforcement is minutes away.

Just some random wise thoughts:
"If you’ve got to resist, you’re chances of being hurt are less the more lethal your weapon. If that were my wife, would I want her to have a .38 Special in her hand? Yeah." (Health Magazine March/April 1994)

"If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun." (May 15, 2001, The Seattle Times)

"The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man. (Chapter 40 of On Crimes and Punishment, 1764.)

"Without doubt one is allowed to resist against the unjust aggressor to one's life, one's goods or one's physical integrity; sometimes, even 'til the aggressor's death… In fact, this act is aimed at preserving one’s life or one’s goods and to make the aggressor powerless. Thus, it is a good act, which is the right of the victim." (I think Summa Contra Gentiles, 13th century)

"Though defensive violence will always be 'a sad necessity' in the eyes of men of principle, it would be still more unfortunate if wrongdoers should dominate just men." (Writings of Augustine of Hippo, 4th century)

"But now whoever has a purse or a bag, must take it and whoever does not have a sword must sell his cloak and buy one." (Luke 22:36)

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