Amanda: “One of the most irritating things about a good number of gun lovers I know is that they often seem certain that the pigs will be kicking down their door any day. The gun culture as it is now is a manifestation of the paranoia of the privileged class—the last people who have cause to fear being rounded up as subversives are the ones most likely to have huge artilleries in their houses.”

I do definitely agree with you here. Gun culture in the United States is creepy and fear-mongering and, not to put too fine a point on it, frequently frankly misogynist and white supremacist. I don’t want any part of them (and I don’t care to ever own a firearm, personally, if I can avoid it), but at the same time I’m deeply worried about the objective effects that gun control has.

And also, quite frankly, the degree to which white liberals have become comfortable with a political idea that has itself always been driven, historically, by racist fear-mongering (whether explicit—as in the post-Civil War South or in the 1930s, or coded in terms of Uzi-toting gangstas and cop-killers).

Of course, I think there are good arguments against gun control even aside from the historical arguments.

Ron: “An assult rifle is more of an offensive weapon than a defensive one. I don’t have any problem banning them.”

The rationale behind the Second Amendment (which I happen to agree with) is that a free people should be able to defend themselves by forming a citizen’s militia, without the aid of a permanent standing army (which the Founders thought was corrosive to freedom and encouraged dangerous military adventurism). It follows from this that the more a weapon is like the sort of weapons carried by modern soldiers, the more reason you have to bring it under Second Amendment protections, not less. Of course, the Second Amendment isn’t a Commandment from God; you might very well think that it ought to be qualified or repealed. But then the argument should be for an appropriate amendment to the Constitution, before any further gun control legislation is passed. I think there are solid Leftist reasons (historical reasons, and philosophical reasons) to hold to the position.

Amanda: “Call me pro-choice when it comes to guns, then.”

This is an awesome way to put it. Can I rip it off shamelessly? :)

I notice that they are pretty murky on the mechanism that’s causing the increased cancer chance. There are some speculations that it might be lactose, but you have to wonder whether it’s connected to rBGH or other hormonal additives to milk. Higher levels of sex hormones and growth hormones always have been connected with increased risk of reproductive system cancers…

Inquiring minds want to know!