Reply #221: Homicide is a "mala in se" crime... [View All]

[DoNotRefill]

Homicide is wrong, in and of itself. By keeping laws against homicide, you're not infringing upon the rights of the law abiding, who are not likely to murder anybody. The only people punished by homicide being a crime are people who commit homicide. Gun control is the exact opposite, a malum prohibitorum law. Guns are not inherently evil, any more than chainsaws or shovels or baseball bats are inherently evil. Guns are simply tools. And gun control laws only apply to non-criminals, since holding criminals responsible for violation of gun control laws would violate their 5th amendment rights (U.S. v. Haynes, 1968). So when you pass a gun control law, the only people it affects are people who you don't need to control. The criminals can ignore it. Now, if your goal is simply to take guns away from people who don't misuse them, fine. Just say so up front, and don't lie about it.