April 06, 2009

The usual suspects have their panties in a twist about violence in Mexico, supposedly fueled by firearms illegally purchased in American gun stores. I wish I knew WHICH stores so I could shop there. In fairly predictable fashion, their "solution" to this alleged problem is to propose further infringements on the right to keep and bear arms. Not too surprising; so far as I can tell their solution to ANY conceivable problem on the planet involves more gun control. Rising crime, falling crime, violence in Mexico, lack of violence in Israel, the extinction of snail darters, melting ice caps, you name it; they always seem to work their way back to another assault on firearms no matter the subject.

Now, I have to admit that I am a bit suspicious that they actually give a damn about Mexico in the first place, since it is policies the same knuckleheads have rammed down our throats that are largely responsible for the ongoing train wreck south of the border. And, just for the record, *I* care a lot less about their problems than our own. Just as a thought exercise, though, let's take them at their dubious word. I am going to propose a solution to the "problem" they're so exercised about, one which is consistent with our laws and customs. Unlike their paranoid fantasies, this solution is supported by facts.

First, let us review a few basic facts. According to UN and BATFE figures, the American civilian population owns 40% of the world's supply of small arms. This seems to deeply disturb the UN kleptocrats and their US federal partners-in-crime, though why that would be I just can't imagine. I haven't seen the American CIVILIAN population start a war since.. well, ever. Or overthrow a government, unless you insist on counting that "unfortunate" incident starting in 1776, but I really think that worked out for the best in the end.

Despite screaming and yelling to the contrary, the 80-100 million gun owners in this country commit a vanishingly small number of crimes with that vast arsenal. Only an infinitesimally small fraction of the several hundred million firearms are EVER involved in a crime, and most of the time the way they are "involved" is by being stolen, either by freelance criminals wanting them, or by uniformed government employed criminals in the course of enforcing some unconstitutional law or other.

You can't even make the bad argument that American gun owners are accident prone, since they have far and away the best safety record in the world. And that safety record has been improving from the already vanishingly small levels every year since records were first kept - an unbroken string of over 90 years of a new record in safety each year. That record is even better if you subtract out the numerous negligent discharges each year by uniformed government agents and serving Vice Presidents.

No matter how you look at it, historically the American population has proven over and over again that they are far more responsible with their privately owned firearms than any government on earth. They also seem to have an insatiable appetite for precious metals in the form of guns and ammo. Since the election of the new beloved Maximum Leader, gun and ammo sales have been at record levels. American manufacturers simply cannot make them fast enough.

Now, with those facts in mind, let us figure out a solution to Mexico's violence. Hell, I'll be generous, and solve the WORLD's small arms problems at the same time. And throw in some serious economic stimulus too.

Step one: Repeal all restrictions on the ownership of ANY and ALL small arms by American citizens. That means no more National Firearms act of 1934 restrictions on machine guns or short barreled shotguns, no more Gun Control Act of 1968 restrictions on interstate sale or mail order of firearms, no more NICS checks. This step is not strictly necessary, but will simply multiply the benefits of the later stages immensely.

Step two: Remove ALL import restrictions on firearms and ammunition INTO America. If you wanna pay to bring it in, the only risk you take is that nobody will want to buy it. Given the way people are snapping up anything that goes bang right now, that doesn't seem like much of a risk.

Step three: Sit back and let the American market legally vacuum up as many of the arms out of the hands of irresponsible drug cartels, international arms traffickers, inept military, corrupt governments, and other unsavory sorts who can't be trusted with them as they can afford. With just a little luck they might even clean up some of the above on THIS side of the border, too. One way or another.

The resulting economic boom should help stimulate the economy of the world immensely. I suspect that almost the entire world's supply of small arms will vanish into the gun safes of American gun owners within just a few years. The shipping industry should reap significant benefit hauling all the ironmongery here. A definite win-win all around.

There are a few downsides, of course. The assorted barbaric thugs of the world will have to content themselves with machete massacres and burning a tire around people's necks to oppress them. They'll get by; they always seem to come up with one ingenious method after another. Wars might become a tad more expensive, but then what are they good for anyway?

Now, see, that wasn't so tough, was it? Look at all the problems I solved for you, and I didn't have to violate anyone's rights to do it. But, then, the statists don't REALLY want to solve problems, do they? They just want power. Which is my favorite part of this solution. It solves THAT problem, too -permanently. Glad I could help out.

Hunter's Seventy Seventh Rule: The measure of the menace of a man is not what hardware he carries, but what ideas he believes.

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