There is a common “mistake” advocates of anti-freedom legislation make. In many cases I doubt that is an actual mistake but more likely just a deceptive method of argument but I tend to give people a chance or two before coming down on them for deliberate deception.
They insist that “no one needs” X, Y, or Z and hence there is little or no downside to restricting or banning X, Y, and Z. Brady Campaign Board member Joan Peterson made this mistake (I’m giving the benefit of the doubt here) in her most recent blog post.
I left a comment on her blog and reproduce it here because of the danger that it will fall victim to “Reasoned Discourse”:
Japete,
Your understanding of things is a little mixed up. It's called a Bill of Rights, not a Bill of Needs. Because of this it is required that the government demonstrate that any gun law pass scrutiny. There are various levels of scrutiny and the level of protection the specific enumerated right to keep and bear arms is given is still somewhat ambiguous. But basically it is up to the advocates of a restriction on the right to keep and bear arms that they need the law. It's not up to the defenders of the right to demonstrate they need the freedom the constitution guarantees.
In other words it is not within the power of our government to "allow" the sale of products related to the right to keep and bear arms. The government must demonstrate they have both the authority and the need to restrict them.
Even if you can demonstrate the government has the authority you are going to be hard pressed to demonstrate the need to restrict standard capacity magazines. I have put together a little video to explain why such a restriction actually does harm with near zero potential for good: http://bit.ly/f2C8Vl.
And in case you haven't heard anyone other than the NRA say something about 30 round magazines (and I don't think they have said anything either), I think 30 round magazines are a good idea in some situations. I have several of them for some of my guns. And I have more magazines than I can easily count that are of capacity greater than 10.
If there weren't a substantial number of people that thought that then there wouldn't be a market for them and they would only exist as novelties, engineering prototypes, and museums of failed products. Since they are quite common there must be a large number of people that disagree with your desire to ban them.
I know, I know--Almost for certain I’m wasting my time attempting to deal rationally with the person who is the defining case of Peterson Syndrome. But it’s for the others that might be reading, right?
Update: She allowed the comment and responded:
No Joe, I am not at all mixed up. I believe what I wrote. Most in the public also believe it after this shooting especially. Your video only indicates to me that you must expect to be in some situation where you will need to fire off a lot of bullets in case you intend to shoot a lot of people. I very much doubt that you will need to do that in a situation of self defense. You are the one who is mixed up. Because I don't agree with you does not make me mixed up. It just makes me someone with an opinion different from your own. It won't do anything for the discussion, which you don't want to have about this one, to call me mixed up or anyone else who disagrees with you. I will disagree and I won't say you are mixed up again if you stop saying it about me. O.K.?
Okay. I give up—again. She simply cannot understand a train of thought that differs from her own. I tried to explain to her a simple portion of the constitution relating to enumerated powers and protected rights and she comes back with “I believe what I wrote”.
There is a reason why she is the defining example of Peterson Syndrome.