Gun 'Control' in D.C.

Here's the latest story about the proposed ban on handguns in D.C.

I'm pleased the justices are being intelligent about this issue, rather than reactionary.

This seems like such a simple issue, I cannot understand why people have such a hard time just accepting it -- gun ownership is a right. Just because some people abuse that right, which leads to various crime problems, doesn't mean the government should just automatically take that right away from everyone.

The key is to severely punish the people who abuse the right to have a gun -- especially those people, like felons, who have because of their past actions are no longer legally allowed to own a gun.

There are lots of things that a person can abuse to the point of it having negative consequences. A car with a moron behind the wheel can be just as dangerous a weapon as a firearm, but no one would think of banning cars.

How many stories from around the country have you seen where elderly drivers run people over and crash into buildings? But where is the legislation that bans the elderly from driving, or at least makes them get retested at certain points?

How many times do you see idiots on cell phones endangering others as they cruise down the street? So the legislature creates a toothless law to stop people from physically holding the phone, which did nothing but drive up the sale of hands-free headsets while giving the cell phone idiots with the ability to talk and drive and still have a free hand for something else, like playing with their GPS unit or putting on makeup.

But there is no ban on 'doing other things' while driving.

There is no ban on overeating or obesity.

There is no ban on alcohol, even though a host of crimes can be attributed to people abusing the right to consume it.

I can put a hammer into someone's skull, but no one would ever ban hammers.

Marijuana and cocaine and PCP are banned, but there's plenty available. Prostitution is banned, but people still participate in it.

I know, I know ... it's because a gun is made for only one purpose, and that purpose is violent, and that freaks people out.

But, banning anything only affects the people who voluntarily obey laws, and those are not the people spurring the perceived need for a ban. The only thing that achieves is giving criminals -- who would still have guns -- even more of an advantage as long as they prey on the law abiding folks and not other criminals who may be armed.