Ellington

The following exchanged occurred under Donna Ladd's editor's note last issue about poverty and guns: "Where There's a Will ..."; find it at jfp.ms/opinion to weigh in:

Scott62: Well, to start with someone's going to have to grow a pair and go public admitting that selective gun control is useless. So-called "assault rifles" are nothing more than small calibre arms manufactured cosmetically to resemble a military-grade rifle. But the two are worlds apart. To me, getting shot by grandpa's 12 gauge instead of a gun made to look "tough" that cannot begin to match the destruction of the 12-gauge just isn't an attractive option. ... I honestly believe the gun laws enacted in the past are a joke. But if you want to accomplish what so many people are calling for right now there exists only one way: absolute gun control or elimination of every single gun in the United States. ... I would give up hunting to know my children lived in a gun-free country, but I cannot imagine who has the balls to stand up and say that. Anything less just doesn't add up.

Brjohn9: Scott, I also am skeptical that measures like banning assault rifles and high-capacity magazines will do much good. As you say, a shotgun is probably a more effective weapon for killing people at close quarters, and a skilled shooter can be just as deadly with a semiautomatic pistol as with a semiautomatic rifle. The thing that puzzles me is the hysteria these measures illicit among many gun advocates. I am skeptical of the proposals because I question how much difference they will make, but that cuts both ways. Gun advocates have to know these measures don't amount to much in the big picture. But many of them claim that these measures put us on the "slippery slope" to tyranny. This kind of talk is so patently ridiculous it's amazing they don't bust out laughing at themselves. There is a kind of absolutism on the right these days. It's not enough to dislike Obama for his policies--he's actually a secret Muslim communist.

Similarly, it's hard to have a real discussion about gun policy when one side regards even trivial concessions as dangerous attacks on freedom.