Assault Vehicles
This may be the dumbest thing I’ve read in a while. He is right that cars don’t kill people. I would love to treat guns just like cars. If so, then I could:
I could buy any gun I wanted without any paperwork and make any modifications that I wanted so long as I used it only on my property. Machine guns included.
I would be licensed in my state to carry my gun. Then, that license would be valid in all other states and on all public thoroughfares.
Shooters education required in school.
A muffler would be required by law for my firearm so as not to create a nuisance.
The analogy fails on many levels. This, however, is a more appropriate analogy.
Update: In comments, I’m reminded of this piece by Dave Kopel on comparing car ownership to gun ownership.
January 31st, 2011 at 11:21 am
The best recourse to this kind of nonsense comparison is to point the author to Dave Kopel’s old but still good analysis:
Taking It to the Streets: Why treating guns like cars might not be such a bad idea.
http://reason.com/archives/1999/11/01/taking-it-to-the-streets
January 31st, 2011 at 11:34 am
Remember that a license is not required to BUY a motor vehicle, only to operate one on city streets. If we were to treat cars like guns, I could own whatever guns I want, I just could not carry them on city streets without a license. We could even name this license. Call it a carry permit.
January 31st, 2011 at 12:46 pm
Hmmm… guns = cars you say???
There is a Dick Cheney/Ted Kennedy joke in there somewhere. 😀
January 31st, 2011 at 2:14 pm
They don’t teach drivers ed in school anymore. ‘leastwise, not anywhere I’ve taught.
January 31st, 2011 at 2:55 pm
Driver’s ed isn’t required. Hasn’t been for ages, at least around here. (Some places don’t even offer it, IIRC.)
February 1st, 2011 at 1:33 am
There’s also this, from LawDog:
http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2007/04/we-license-cars-yackyackyack.html
February 1st, 2011 at 10:33 am
I LOVE having the “guns should be regulated like cars” discussion with antis. It makes life worth living.
However, I don’t think the muffler idea has ever occurred to me. I’ll make a note. Thanks.