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<br>> > That argument can only really hold water when it comes to the U.S.,<br>> > though, and there has been disarmament in a number of other countries that<br>> > I think would be difficult to attribute to racism.<br>> <br>> But easy to attribute to Fear Of The Lower Orders, or the Southerners (in<br>> Italy).<br><br>I have no problem believing that some people favor gun control for fear of the "lower orders", or for racial reasons. But I do not buy into this as a general explanation of the entire phenomena; I do not see massive support for gun control in the Deep South, for example. And for every person that doesn't like guns because they're afraid of poor people, there's another who *owns* a gun (or five) due to fear of poor people and will fight for their right to keep it.<br><br>I am not a gun control activist, but I am not emotionally invested in thinking that people on either side of the issue take the stance they do due to ignorance, fear or just generally being Bad People.<br><br>> > It surprises me that nobody has brought up the urban/rural divide on the<br>> > gun issue. I think there are definite, pragmatic reasons why city-dwellers<br>> > all over seem to be in favor of gun control in greater proportions than<br>> > their rural counterparts.<br>> <br>> No there aren't. Washington DC has 400,000 people. Tucson AZ has 400,000<br>> people. Tucson AZ has, like, twenty, thirty murders a year. There is a<br>> thriving drug trade in both cities, a minority majority in both cities,<br>> and Tucson has also *huge* amounts of illegal humans coming through as<br>> well as guys who will come up the fifty miles from Mexico to steal cars to<br>> order.<br><br>I am not at all certain what your point is with this passage. <br><br>> > And personally I don't think it would be<br>> > unreasonable to accommodate both parties by limiting those who can carry<br>> > firearms in dense urban areas while leaving the rural areas alone.<br>> <br>> This would make sense if the murder rate in Tucson was higher than it is<br>> in DC.<br><br>Tucson and Washington DC have similar populations, but Tucson sprawls out over three times the area of DC. Population density is kind of an important part of the point I was making. I can't tell if your point was to elaborate on the similarity of the areas or the differences, and I cannot tell why the relative murder rate in Tucson and DC has anything to do with it. I never said that gun ownership was the sole factor determining the rate of violent crime.<br><br>> I don't see anything wrong with requiring a permit to carry a concealed<br>> weapon, as long as the issuing authority cannot refuse to issue save for<br>> cause. I note that in Tucson there is no concept of legal concealed carry<br>> except for cops (or there didn't use to be): your weapon must be exposed<br>> to public view. When I drove the taxi there, I would put a clip-on sheath<br>> into my left pants pocket (southpaw) and leave a half-inch of the grip<br>> poking out to satisfy the legal requirement.<br><br>Well that is not horribly different from what I said.<br><br /><hr />Windows Live™ Contacts: Organize your contact list. <a href='http://windowslive.com/connect/post/marcusatmicrosoft.spaces.live.com-Blog-cns!503D1D86EBB2B53C!2285.entry?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_UGC_Contacts_032009' target='_new'>Check it out.</a></body>
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