[QUOTE=Bob Parmenter;347489]We have sunk to such a depth that the restatement of the obvious has become the first duty of intelligent men.

-- George Orwell, 1939

I find some delicious irony in that being a 70 year old quote. The human condition continues.

In this case the obvious is that laws don't necessarily stop bad behavior, their enforcement merely attempts to maintain civil harmony. In each of the sad circumstances that Dave's cut and pastes points out a fundamental and consistent law dating back millenia was violated: Thou shalt not kill.

Likewise, licensing, training and government control don't guarantee a positive outcome. If preventing death is the primary objective then we should ban automobiles, if banning inanimate objects is considered effective. QUOTE]


The Orwell quote is indeed relavant, and I'm not one of the one's who want guns banned. Guns are fine when they are in the hands of a mentally stable, intelligent, and trained user...

If mandatory licensing similar to the requirements for a driver's license, and mandatory training much like driver's education were required would it really be that big of an infringement on anyone's rights???

Nothing will guarantee a 100% positive outcome, and certainly banning inanimate objects wouldn't be an acceptable answer... But if licensing, training, and monitoring gun owners were to prevent just some of these deaths wouldn't it be a positive move??

To save even one death of an innocent person, especially if it were a friend or family member, would to me and to many be good enough reason to implement at least some requirements....

After all, does the 2nd Amendment really trump the law of "Thou Shalt not Kill"? As with many arguments, common sense would indicate that there is a common ground and a point of comprimise on the issue of gun control. As with many other issues, perhaps it's time we ignored the extremists at either end of the spectrum, and people with common sense were to seek a comprimise someplace in the middle????