On a separate note, without joining in further on the discussion as it had evolved since the 14th, I just want to say that, as a conservative, one of the biggest areas where I have gone to the Left has been over gun control. The biggest reason why I oppose an all out ban is because of part of the intent of the Second Amendment as a check against governmental tyranny and overreach: the people should be able to rise up against the government in the most extreme of circumstances (of course, considering the United States’ capacity to destroy, it’s hard to imagine that access to guns would even do much).

That said, there is clearly not enough legislation to control the distribution of guns. All gun owners should be licensed, all license-holders should go through mandatory training and routine re-licensing, and all weapons should be registered. The Second Amendment itself seems to lend itself to it (i.e. a “well regulated militia”). We do this sort of thing for cars, and I can’t imagine the reasoning for not holding gun usage to the same standards.