What would be 'ample justification' for carrying a Glock around with you? They look quite nice and I'd really like to demonstrate ample justification for having one on me. It'd take care of those freakin' charity collectors and 'just five minutes' market researchers for a start - perhaps I could claim their takedown as a community service?
And, really, Powerscourt - much as I love most of your posts (well, those which agree with me, anyway) - c'mon - if the majority of the population want something or don't want something, you don't seriously believe Congress is going to dish it out or withold it, do you? Think a few million demonstrating against the Viet Nam war, against the invasion of Iraq, trying to get pensions rights sorted, veterans' disability payments... uhhh, no. Didn't see your government giving the people, no matter their will, what they wanted there! There were how many civil rights marches before those damn pesky blacks got a few laws enacted to give them nearly equal rights to the white man, an issue I'd put just slightly ahead of people paddying to carry around lethal weapons.
And how often do gun holders have their mental health checked, I wonder? How often are they checked to see whether, since initially taking out their licence, they have developed a drug dependency or a medical condition (let's say schizophrenia for starters) which should preclude them handling guns, where the sole reason for their existence is to injure or kill? You can't ban kitchen knives, rope, axes or hammers, even if they are used frequently in attacks and murders. You'll always get someone employing non-guns to carry out their lethal assaults, but you don't buy a gun for any other purpose but to maim or kill. Well, okay, in the case of clays, blast something inert to tiny pieces, but you get my drift!
