banning actions that harm no one and claiming it will stop those who engage in harmful activity despite the laws against that malum per se activity is stupid
The "action" in this case is owning a gun. How you think gun owners aren't harming anyone, I do not understand.
You have to make the distinction "legal" and "illegal" owners, but even that only cuts the number down. One relationship breakup and half a bottle of bourbon is all that stands between such a legal gun owner, and becoming a murderer.
Saying government shouldn't do ANYTHING to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, is like saying government should allow drugs to be manufactured and sold freely, but then throw people in prison for failing a drug test. In other words, it's deliberately tying government's hands until damage is actually done.
Yes, if somebody is destroying themselves and degrading society by using drugs, I wanna direct intervention in their lives.
None of your business, or mine. "Degrading society" is done by law enforcement making the trade illegal. Ie, BY YOU.
Putting people in prison is pretty degrading you know.
No, That is a silly contention. Also, a large percentage of crime including that committed with firearms in the United States is in one way or another related to drugs.
Yes because most drugs are illegal. Producers and traders can't turn to the law for protection, only to guns. And because the trade is illegal, everyone involved asks a greater markup to cover their personal risk. The more cash money they deal in, the more attractive target they are for gangsters and other criminals. Addiction does drive people to commit crimes, yes, but even that problem would be a lot less without the price of drugs being inflated by illegality.
Enforcement is causing far greater social harm than the drugs themselves are. We should have all drugs legal to produce, trade and consume and then the wider social harm would be no greater than that of alcohol or tobacco.
BC, Canada just began a temporary regime of not arresting, charging or confiscating drugs. And not just pot.
I started a thread about it.