Re: Guns

Michael S. Lorrey (mike@lorrey.com)
Wed, 02 Jun 1999 09:40:48 -0400

Chuck Kuecker wrote:

> I am sure there were some who bewailed the end of coal use for heating
> homes as the end of the American way of life, and I personally know people
> who hate Diesel locomotives because they killed off the majestic (and
> filthy!) old steam engines. Both were the result of the inexorable march of
> progress, but some cannot let their minds change to keep up. When something
> that makes guns totally unneeded (personal force field?) is invented, there
> will still be those who will not give up their guns, or their hate of those
> who still keep guns...

I think though that if technology obsoletes guns, then their proponents and users will merely be looked on as quaint historical preservationists, much as users of muzzle loading weapons and civil/revolutionary war re-enactors are looked on today. Who, for gods sakes, considers archers to be a deadly threat to society, even though one can kill just as easily with a compound bow, and far more silently, as with a gun? There are about as many archers as there are gun owners in the US. I think that if I were the type to want or need to do someone in, I would prefer using bow and arrow. Its as silent as a silencer, but you don't need a permit to use it, and there are no federal regs requiring background checks to purchase them. You can easily coat a hunting arrow with any poison you like just to ensure that you acheive your goal. That more people are not killed with bow and arrow I think is a testament to how stupid most criminals are.

Mike Lorrey