Hollowway
Extended Ranger
Well, let's try a more rational angle to the anti-regulation argument.
What are the regulations being proposed? How would we implement said regulations? In particular, how would owners of guns bought pre-implementation be effected, if at all?
Are the proposed regulations practical, or is it too late to try since so many people own guns as it is?
Yeah, but you can't bring up regulations without those being regulated getting antsy. In this case it's the NRA immediately assuming a slippery slope scenario. I get it, because there are hobbies I have that I might get antsy about if someone wanted to regulate them. But, I'd also like to think that I could stand outside myself, and judge things based on their merit, not a, "Yeah, but what's in it for me?" standpoint. In this case (gun regulations), I think the idea that the NRA wants no regulations seems so ridiculous, because the other side is trying to save lives. It's a, "We want to save lives," vs, "I like guns" argument. So, instead, the NRA has to make a pitch that gun regulations won't save lives. And while it's true that guns don't kill people, people kill people, that argument can't go very far. You could make the argument that seat belts, driver licenses, and other car regulations won't help reduce car accident fatalities because "cars don't kill people, people kill people," but we all agree that's ridiculous, and the data backs it up. Plus, imagine if the AAA started saying that requiring people to take a test to get a license, or wear seat belts, or any of that other stuff, was just an attempt to "take our cars away." Or, if they said, "Well, the break light requirement is anti-American, because Americans like cars. They're trying to take away our cars. But, it won't do any good, because there are already way too many cars out there, so we shouldn't have any regulations." It all sounds ridiculous. But it's exactly what the NRA is doing. They refuse to even discuss any regulation at all. Trump himself believed in some sort of regulation. Most Americans, most military, and most cops believe in some regulations. Why? Because, as Science Penguin said, a discussion of the regulations being proposed is reasonable, and the next step. It's how normal people communicate. The NRA doesn't want us to be normal people, so it's spinning every discussion into, "They're taking away our guns, and don't believe in the constitution."