🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <93087.205644WCBANTA@auvm.american.edu>,
WCBANTA@auvm.american.edu (William C. Banta) writes:
|> Handguns cause billions of dollars in damage every year by making
|> murder and blood easy
|> Why should manuacturers and buyers not pay
|> their fair share of that cost?  Why not tax hand guns at the point of
|> manufacture - say $1,500 per Saturday night special? 

First of all, whats a "Saturday Night Special"?  I've heard the term used
but i've never been able to actually get an objective definition of one.

Secondly, whats wrong with holding people responsible for their actions?
Consider that, for most people [1] who wish to legally own a handgun they
have to [at a minumum] establish that they are not criminals or adjudicated
mentally incompetent.  Therefore, i contend that the *legal* purchasers
are not the problem; thus the tax should be applied to illegal purchasers;
thats a bit tougher to collect (and may well infringe on their right to
avoid self incrimination).

Please note that is is already illegal to purchase a handgun out of your
state of residence [and has been since 1968]; it is, in fact, a federal
felony.  

|> Why not tax
|> permits for owning a handdgun.  Really sock it to sellers.


Actually this really socks it to the *legal* purchasers, who are seldom
responsible for the murder and mayhem.  Consider the statistics in Florida
wrt CCW permit holders:

 From the "Concealed Weapons / Firearms License
 Statistical Report for the Period 10/01/87 - 10/31/91"  issued by:
 
 	Florida Department of State's Division of Licensing
 	P.O. Box 6687, 
	Tallahassee, FL 32314-6687

 This one-page report states as follows:

 112,528   Applications Received

  85,662   New
  26,866   Renewal

 109,377   Licenses Issued

  82,756   New
  26,621   Renewal


     768   Applications Denied

     446   Criminal History
     302   Incomplete Application


     167   Licenses Revoked

      66   Clemency rule change or legislative change
      77   Crime after licensure  (10 = firearm utilized)
       6   Crime prior to licensure  (2 = firearm utilized)
      10   Illegible prints with no response
       8   Other

      12   Reinstated (no statistics maintained prior to Jan. '90)

----------- These stats are the sum total of the report ------------

What this amounts to is:

167 licenses revoked = .15% (one-sixth of 1%)  of licenses issued

    i.e. 15 in 10,000 licenses were revoked

 77 licenses revoked for a crime after licensure = .07% (seven hundreths 
    of 1%)

    i.e. only 7 in 10,000 licenses were revoked for a crime

 10 licenses revoked for crime with a gun = .009%  

    i.e. less than 1 in 10,000 licenses were revoked for a crime with a gun

So, you'd advocate "socking it to all the license holders, although 
99.991% of them didn't commit any firearm related crime?  Seems rather
extreme to me.  Would you support "socking it to" everyone who purchases
any kind of item that is used to harm others?  Kitchen knives?  Alcohol?
Baseball bats (especially those black "assault bats")?  Fuel oil and
fertalizer (the ammonium nitrate makes great bombs)?  Golf clubs?  Cars?

How about if we work on swift, sure, and severe punishment for those 
who violate the law?  That would benefit everyone; a violent criminal 
taken out of society -- reguardless of their methods -- creates a better
and safer society.  

I'm willing to be held responsible for my actions.  I am not responsible
for your actions - you are.  If I screw up, i'll be punished, not you.
If you screw up, you get punished, not me.. deal?

michael

=======================================================================


[1] more than half of the population lives in or near "metropolitan areas",
    most of which have some sort of handgun probibition (DC), virtual
    prohibition (Chicago, New York City), or licensing (LA, et al).  
    Generally the surrounding areas also have some sort of licensing as
    well (i.e. New York state, Massachusetts, Va).

-- 
Michael Phelps, (external) mjp@vnet.ibm.com ..
                (internal) mjp@bwa.kgn.ibm.com .. mjp at kgnvmy         
 (and last but not least a disclaimer)  These opinions are mine..