Thomas Paine, WiltonPatch: The best gun control rebuttals I have seen

Thomas Paine, a wonderfully accurate and rational poster over at WiltonPatch (Wilton, CT), has been issuing forth brilliantly-worded and well-thought responses and statements to the gun-grabbers of CT.

His postings are many, to be sure, but in the spirit of transparency Thomas Paine has put together a compendium of all his statements thus far. I highly, highly recommend you take the time to read his offerings. They are brilliant. The skill in which he dissects the anti-Second arguments is legendary.

So, for your perusal and enjoyment, allow me to present The Compendium of Thomas Paine’s Firearms-Related Patch Posts. Click on link to access the wholeness of his brilliance.

Some teasers:

These are indeed times that are trying our collective souls. As a nation and a state, we are have been horrified by the events in Newtown and have collectively vowed to do what we can to prevent such slaughter in the future and/or reduce its carnage should we fail to stop the next homicidal maniac. However, in this heightened emotional state, we must seek solutions that are practical, enforceable and effective while not trampling our many freedoms and rights as citizens. Sadly, I do not see us on this path at the moment and I believe many citizens, even non-gun owners,  sense that as well.

As way of background, I have lived in Fairfield County for 20+ years and have four kids between 2^nd grade and high school.  Thus, the horror of Sandy Hook struck a nerve as it exposed the vulnerability of all our children. I am also a long-time, law-abiding gun owner who holds a valid Connecticut Pistol Permit and I shoot on a regular basis. It is these two perspectives that have spurred me to officially contribute to The Patch (I have been a commenting on several Patch articles as “Concerned Parent & Gun Owner”).

Over the past several weeks, I have attended over a half dozen “gun violence education” sessions and we well as engaged dozens of folks directly and online. At this point, I can make several observations:

1. Everyone involved wants to prevent future rampage shootings or, failing to stop them before they start, mitigate the resultant carnage. Where we diverge are disparate views on how we can effectively and realistically protect our children.
2. It seems that gun owners are from Mars and gun control advocates are from Venus, not necessarily in the context of gender but perspective.
3. The professional, full-time gun control lobby has sensed a once-in-a-generation opportunity and is recruiting heretofore concerned but not necessarily anti-gun parents and others to push for its long-held political agenda in Hartford.
4. Few politicians, even those nominally strong on firearms and Second Amendment issues, want to get steam-rolled by the “gun control now” juggernaut they see coming.
5. The current proposals being rushed through in the name of preventing “gun violence” and protect our children have been proven ineffective in the past and, while expedient, will provide little more than a false sense of security.

And:

The most extreme gun control proposals seek to make certain classes of firearms illegal to posses, including all those already legally in citizen’s hand prior to the law becoming effective. This the is the core of the proposal of CT Against Gun Violence which is supported by March for Change. This proposal seeks to withdraw from the public’s hands certain firearms and magazines of greater than 7-round capacity. NO GRANDFATHERING means existing owners will have to sell (out of state), surrender or destroy such items, voluntarily.

Putting aside the constitutionality of such a defacto confiscation (4th, 5th and 14th Amendment arguments), what happens in CT if a significant part of the currently law-abiding public decides to NOT COMPLY with the new laws. I am not suggesting this is a good idea nor am I condoning such a thing. I am just bringing up something I think few supporters of such laws have considered.

Based on research out the the Connecticut Office of Legislative Research, it is estimated that there are over FOUR MILLION legal and illegal firearms owned in the state. Of those, approximately 1.5 MILLION are those that can accommodate magazines of greater than 7 round capacity. It is further estimated that these CAGV-illegal mags are owned by over a HALF MILLION RESIDENTS of the state (CT has ~3.5million residents).

So how realistic is it to expect strong voluntary compliance across this significant population?

These are just the briefest of glimpses into this man’s mind, and a mind worthy of attention, I will say.

While it is true that this particular “Thomas Paine” is a screen-name only, the man who writes under it is a joy to read. My hat’s off to you, Thomas Paine. Whoever you might be.