Gun interests WANT criminals to have guns

[Decoy of Fenris]

163. Agreed.

I do agree that the cost necessitated by the exercise of given civil liberties (Let's be intellectually honest for a moment; "right" is a bit strong a word for this stage of the debate) is inherently imposed on a case by case basis determined by the nature of the liberty in question. You raise a valid point also in regards to the immaterial liberties, such as they are, in that while they may not have value, they certainly have worth. It is my belief, then, that in the exercise of given liberties, the worth of the exercise of a right, be it voting or firearms or speech, should not be outstripped by actualized value arbitrarily legislated. Keeping the point topical, the value of exercising the 2nd Amendment liberty may be measured by worth if not in value; a $100 gun's worth may be immaterial if, at some point, one uses it to save their own life, and in that particular instance, the actualized value means little. The ability to exercise that right has been cemented over any actualized value.

In that vein, it is my honest belief that legislation in regards to the 2nd Amendment should encourage, but not mandate through value or worth, positive behavior that betters the overarching worth of society and associated wellness. More curtly, encourage positive action, and positive results will manifest themselves. I would say that if one wished to evaluate the cost of exercising the 2nd Amendment, the cost in value would be the price to purchase the firearm itself (in the same way as one must purchase health care to exercise your right to wellness). However, perhaps less a valued imposition than intangible wealth, encouragement to engage in safe behavior and overall gun safety might be rewarded through tax incentives, such as buying a safe and a lock, or by the same breaks/rebates for voluntarily entering a non-compulsory gun registry.

My objection to "making such a practice safe" is not in the safety at all, but in the negative reinforcement. Why do gun control bills fail? Because they are inherently negative, attempting such things as banning and arbitrary restrictions. If the gun control movement could begin to establish more positively-reinforcing legislation that would encourage safety and personal responsibility over legislative restriction, I would be much more likely to actively aid such endeavors.