beard@unc.UUCP (David Beard) (04/24/85)
There seem to be two prevailing opinions as to the modivation for gun control: 1) it will make the country safer by reducing the number of guns, 2) it is another example of moral regulation. ( Given the lack of border control in the US and given the fact that any reasonably competent individual with a bridgeport and a few hours can make a functional equivilant of a handgun I find *1)* as bit hard to believe dispite its obvious appeal. ) Thesis: Gun control can be thought of as an attempt to try to force the country to be a *moral* sort of place (closer to utopian world where no hating or killing etc) in the same way that some wish to use drug control, prayer in schools, laws against spitting in the streats, etc to force the country to be a *moral* sort of place. The only difference is in the definition of *moral*, the methods ( I know what is best for you ) are the same.