Reply #93: Absolutely YES! [View All]

[Pert_UK]

I find that this is even a debate to be bizarre.

A few points:

1. The objections to the government keeping a list seem to be focused mainly on the possible misuse of such a list, i.e. widespread confiscation. I don't believe that this will ever happen, but I also don't believe that it is reasonable to reject something simply because it might be misused or misapplied. Nearly every law could be misused, but we still have lots of them.

2. Even if I agreed that being allowed to own a gun was a "right", I fail to see any evidence that it should be an unfettered right. A law to keep lists of owners and their guns has no material impact upon people's right to own guns.

3. Rejecting a list of gun owners and their weapons simply because it could possibly be used to confiscate some/all guns in the future seems tantamount to saying, "No matter what changes in society and in law occur, I'm going to keep my guns." Now, I know that's what a lot of people on here ARE saying, but that essentially means that you will definitely break a law of your own country if you happen to disagree with it, which I find odd - you don't get to pick which laws you obey.

4. A gun list might actually HELP gun owners - it seems likely that a list of guns and their owners (or vice versa) would only lead to trouble for careless and irresponsible gun owners who allowed their weapons to go missing or be misused. Removing guns from these people can only make society safer, and would help pro-gunners prove that responsible gun-owners prove no risk - at the moment, you get tarred with the same brush as any twat who shoots himself whilst cleaning his revolver.