Random Thoughts on the Antis’ Post-Roanake Shooter’s “Easy Access to Guns”

By Robert Farago

“If the Virginia killer did not have easy access to guns, if his scheme for murdering his former colleagues had to be accomplished with knives, hammers, or a home-made explosive device, the truth is that those murders would have been much less likely to occur.” So writes self-professed conservative Michael Brendan Dougherty at theweek.com. The conservative case for reforming America’s sick gun culture is a shambolic editorial that wants its armed IRA and gun control in America too. But Dougherty’s central argument – that the average American shouldn’t have “easy access” to guns – is making the rounds in the post-live-TV shooting in Roanoke. Let me say this about that . . .

First, let’s define “access” as the ability to purchase or otherwise acquire a firearm. Hang on. Those are two very different things. While you can tax and regulate the living snot out of a firearm purchased from a licensed firearms dealer (just ask anyone in New York trying to buy a new handgun), how to do you stop someone from “easily accessing” a gun by a private sale or theft (although stealing isn’t all that easy, really)?

I know! You make a private gun sale to …read more

Source:: Truth About Guns