The District and its supporters also err in extolling the supposed virtues of a world without guns, and condemning the vices of a world without gun regulations. In doing so, they set up a false set of choices. A world without guns is not an option, because hundreds of millions of guns are already in private hands and readily available across either the Virginia or Maryland borders; and even if all handguns in America magically vanished, criminals could still illegally saw off shotguns and rifles to produce concealable weapons that would be more lethal than most handguns. Thus, the District can only hope to dry up the supply of handguns for the law abiding, while criminal access to handguns remains virtually unlimited. It is against this real-world backdrop, and not against that of a utopian gun-free world, that the District’s position must be assessed.
Richard K. Willard
D.C. versus Heller
Brief Amicus Curiae Of The Heartland Institute in support of respondent
[In light of the renewed calls for more gun control after the shootings in Alabama and Germany I thought this was appropriate.–Joe]
Even if you could “un invent” guns completely, and as if all police and military worldwide would agree to give them up completely, all you’d be doing is giving the strong a monopoly of power against the weak. The non existence of guns didn’t stop the Roman Empire, to name but one example, from killing or enslaving huge numbers of innocent people.
This whole discussion is insane right from the beginning, to say nothing of our constitution which by itself makes this discussion purely academic. This was settled 230 years ago, or as Algore said, “The science is settled. The time for debate is over”.
I sure wish we could spend more of our time being productive, rather than having to fight to protect unalienable rights that we had at birth and that were specifically protected in the constitution. When do we get compensated for all this time and expense, from all those who have been violating their Oath of office? Or as Jessie Jackson said, “It’s time to cash the check!”