Reply #67: no, it's a belief

[iverglas]

There actually is no reason to believe that your firearm will ward off any, let alone all, harm in future.

Nonetheless ... I believe that shooting anyone I encounter on a dark street late at night will ensure that I do not get murdered. Pretty solid grounds for that belief. Shall I be permitted to do that?

The issue was whether your belief is the be-all and end-all when it comes to public policy.


I don't care if you agree that I should be permitted to act on that belief the state of Colorado does so I'm good.

Now, transport yourself back 150 years and substitute "slave-owning" for gun-toting -- a belief that owning slaves is morally good and economically beneficial for you, say -- and the state of, oh, Virginia for the state of Colorado. We get:

I don't care if you agree that I should be permitted to act on that belief the state of Virginia does so I'm good.

See how appealing to "how things are" just isn't a good argument, really and truly?

Your response rises to the level of "nyah nyah". Almost.

I don't give a flying fuck how things are in the state of Colorado. So we're even, I guess.

Robert Kennedy was quoting somebody else, but he'll likely be the familiar source.

There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why...
I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?