As near as I can determine people who desire restrictions on firearms have zero connectivity with reality.  They haven’t looked at the history of gun control to determine what happens in the real world.  This determination is the basis for my Just One Question–which no one has ever attempted to answer.  In addition to the safety and security issues which are my main concerns there are the enforceability, corruption, and abuse of power issues.  The current situation in South Africa is just the latest example of what happens when you allow the government to attempt implementing “common sense” restrictions:

The Black Gun Owners’ Association says it is preparing to sue the Minister of Safety and Security, Charles Nqakula, on behalf of thousands of prospective gun owners who have paid fees in advance to comply with new firearm licence legislation, only to have their applications and requests for refunds refused by the South African Police Service.

…

To comply with legislation, applicants paid up to R1 500 for training courses, safes and competency certificates, only to have their applications denied.

“Everything has been planned for people not to obtain licences. The government has made a big blunder. The minister (Nqakula) said he does not want illegal firearms, so why is he refusing people legal firearms?

“The new law is encouraging people to support illegal firearms. In South Africa, firearms are readily available and some of the people selling illegal firearms are police (disposing of) amnesty firearms,” he said.

…

Durban Guns and Ammo owner Justin Willmers said more than 1 000 applications submitted via his shop, after waiting two years to be processed, had been refused on appeal.

He said applicants had received identical response letters saying they had not given a “substantial reason” as to why they could not use alternative means of protection.

“Since July 1 last year, I have not sold one gun,” Willmers said. He said when customers realised the lengthy processes involved in obtaining a firearm legally, they simply turned to the black market.

…

Suter claimed the police had neither the capacity nor the expertise to administer licence renewals from the country’s roughly 2,5-million gun owners. And with three and a half years left to renew 4,5-million firearm licences, at the current pace of work, it would take 26 875 years, he said.

“This is a day in America when the little guy lost out to powerful special interests.”

– Michael Barnes, President, Brady Campaign to Prevent Handgun Violence

That is the lead to this article by Howard Nemerov.  You know Barnes is full of crap just from his association with the Brady bunch.  But I didn’t know the other details outlined in that great article.  Nemeroy also says this about Barnes:

He is a Washington insider, having been a congressman from 1979-1987. He is a lawyer who has an association with the law firm of Hogan & Hartson.

He thens goes on to tell how much money lawyers have been donating to our politicians and how those politicians are a “Who’s Who” of those that voted against the bill to outlaw frivolous lawsuits against firearms manufactures.

If you like well documented, hard facts kind of reading go read the rest of it.

A bit of a side note–I haven’t crowed about this bill passing the Senate for various reasons.  Stephanie sent me this link which articulates some of the reasons not to be overjoyed about passage of this law.  I agree with everything in the article but if I were to vote on the bill I probably “hold my nose” and vote “Yes”.  The reality is the Federal government exercises way more power than it was granted by the Constitution.  But failure to exercise that power for good does not lessen the evils that excess of power brings.  That excess of power must be reduced in a manner which reduces evil as much or more than the good that can be done with that power.  Failure to accept this good does not accomplish that.