Monday, July 07, 2008
Guns, Law, and Order
Here is the kind of thinking that drives me to distraction. A Washington D.C. Councilman, Phil Mendelson, stated:
"I think an individual possessing a handgun that can fire 18 rounds — that is loaded and can fire 18 rounds semiautomatically — is a problem for public safety in the District," Mendelson said. "I don't know what the correct number is, but something less (than 18 shots)."This means that an individual carrying a weapon with 18 rounds in a magazine is a bloodthirsty, kill-crazy nut, while another person with only, say 15 rounds is not a problem.
Where do people come up with this stuff? Is there some critical-mass of lead and brass that affects the mind of someone who is carrying a weapon? I'm guessing at the point of the eighteenth cartridge, the mass has increased enough to suck the blood from the brain of the weapon owner, turning him into a mindless, cold-blooded killer? Whereas some trash talking, meth taking drunk, with nicotine for brains with a six round revolver is a happy camper?
Here's my outlook on this. If you carry a weapon; whether it be rock, knife, one shot derringer, 100 round belt fed semiautomatic, or even a small tactical nuclear weapon, and you commit a crime against another person - you go away to jail for a long, long, long time. And if you hurt that other person, and I don't care if it's because you dropped your rock on his toe, you get a short trip (and please make it a short wait) to the gas chamber.
I'm getting tired of hearing about people shooting people and getting off with a few years in the hoosegow, then returning to their 'hood as a hero. I don't care what, if someone is old enough to carry a weapon and use it against someone else, they're old enough to take the punishment - and the punishment should be harsh.
