Just A Few Notes About Guns


Yes... about guns.  If now is not the time to talks about guns, when can we?

As soon as you mention controlling the sale of guns, you get push back by gun advocates who warn that all that gun laws to is stop law abiding citizens from having guns.  The also want you to assume that the commerce in illegal guns is like that for drugs (unstoppable).

But guns and drugs are not at all the same.  Drugs can be transported in some really unusual ways (like in the gut of a person).  Drugs can also be made in home labs using fairly crude methods (think of math labs).  Guns are the product of careful machining.  Though crude weapons can be made with the sorts of pipe used by plumbers, and bullets can be cast at home with lead, a gun that can fire lots of bullets without jamming needs to be made in a machine shop, to close tolerances, with low expansion steel.

The bullets too must be carefully crafted.

And yes, even “modern” armies have relied on hand made bullets.  The Israelis made their own bullets in the late 40s (they were unable to secure ammunition from outside) but they managed to buy lipstick holders – the brass cover that contains the lipstick, and apparently this made a decent jacket for the gun powder and lead bullet.  So “hand made” but not completely.

Oh, one more thing.  Illegal drugs are mostly illegal for their entire life cycle (with prescription drugs excepted).  But many illegal guns start as legal with a straw man purchase in a state like Ohio.  Then the guns are trucked in the a place like Washington DC, or New York City, and sold to criminals.

My point?  Over time, if the sale of guns and ammunition is restricted, eventually even the criminals will not be able to get guns.

Ok, a few will.  And a few folks will hand make both guns and even bullets, but it won’t be easy.  Machine shops are not easy to set up.  My best guess is that few of our recent mass murderers would have the skills and willpower to secure the means of mass murder.  Sorry, it takes time and talent to learn the machinist’s skills .

Another really bad idea from the gun nuts is that we would all be a lot better off if everyone was packing heat.

No we wouldn’t.  In a recent event outside the Empire State Building, we had 2 policemen (so trained) firing at a killer.  They got him but also wounded 9 bystanders.  And these are trained shooters.  Imagine the recent shooting in the  theater in Colorado.  Suppose 15 theater goers pulled out their guns and started firing.  Instead of 12 dead we might have had dozens killed.  And what about the absurd notion that guns should be allowed in colleges (this idea emerged after the Virginia Tech shooting).  Think of a college campus with all its stress and the emotional volatility of the kids. Think of Friday evening in the dormitory.   A shouting match, then maybe a garbage can is thrown (this was a favorite weapon in the dorms of Tyler School of Art in the 1970s) then a gun.  Maybe two guns.  Pop pop pop.

And really, do we want teachers of kindergarten to 5thgrade carrying heat?

If you do, you are bat shit crazy.


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