cliff@unmvax.UUCP (12/26/84)
> >By my observation, the people who want handgun control are generally > >the same ones who are against locking criminals up and throwing away the > >key, against allowing private citizens to defend themselves and/or their > >property with deadly force, ... > > Dead right! And in a democracy, we SHOULD be against those things. Of course democracy doesn't imply any set of morals. In a democracy unhampered by untouchables like a bill of rights, a majority of people could vote in the complete annihilation of any minority much less the things mentioned above. Some people (including the writers of the U.S. Constitution) were or are in favor of well defined limitations on what the government can and can't do. --Cliff [Matthews] {purdue, cmcl2, ihnp4}!lanl!unmvax!cliff {csu-cs, pur-ee, convex, gatech, ucbvax}!unmvax!cliff 4744 Trumbull S.E. - Albuquerque NM 87108 - (505) 265-9143
faustus@ucbcad.UUCP (12/29/84)
> Of course democracy doesn't imply any set of morals. In a democracy > unhampered by untouchables like a bill of rights, a majority of people > could vote in the complete annihilation of any minority much less the > things mentioned above. Some people (including the writers of the U.S. > Constitution) were or are in favor of well defined limitations on what the > government can and can't do. No matter what sorts of rights the government guarantees to minorities, if a majority of the people in the country wanted to kill a large percentage of the population we'd be in pretty bad shape. Besides, all it takes is a few 2/3 majority votes to rescind the constitution altogether... Wayne