The Gun Guild Response To Stephen Lewis

On a previous posting, Mr. Lewis made some comments and asked some questions that require a more lengthy response than to try and post within the comments section of said posting.

I will respond now to Mr. Lewis, as saliently as possible, in the hope of beginning and maintaining a proper dialogue regarding guns, gun rights, our Constitution, and how these issues relate to The State of CT.

Here is the original dialogue between Mr. Lewis and myself. I am posting this for the sake of integrity:

Stephen Lewis February 20, 2014 at 06:22 PM with rights come responsibilities....for example helping to pass a common sense background check law nationally that the majority of Americans and the majority of gun owners support. Keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, children, and the mentally ill should be a major focus so that the gun culture can continue to enjoy its liberty responsibly. Lawful gun owners need to do more to influence NRA policy to help to reduce the mayhem associated with the prevalence of loose and hard to track guns in our society. Just because the NRA has the muscle to stop any law it does not like does not mean that is the right thing to do. Until gun owners steer the NRA to a more moderate position, they will continue to feel compelled to explain themselves in blogs like this.


The Gun Guild February 20, 2014 at 08:49 PM @Stephen Lewis: You cannot legislate morality. You can only punish immorality. Besides, what makes you presume this gun owner has a thing to do with the NRA? Furthermore, it is surely not my fault (or any of my gun-owning friends) when an illegal gun is used to murder innocents. To purchase a legal gun in CT, one must pass a background check done by the FBI. If a person wants an illegal gun, obviously they kinda skip that requirement, go and shoot someone, and then watch as legal gun owners are punished. Neither you or myself can stop gun violence through legislation, Stephen. And what makes you think that legal gun-owners want guns in the hands of the mentally ill?


Stephen Lewis February 21, 2014 at 05:37 AM what are you doing to help? do you agree with the Brady Center on closing the national background check loopholes? Do you agree that their needs to be tighter controls to prevent tens of thousands of children being killed by guns from "responsible" gun owners? Of course violence can be stopped through legislation and has. The number of deaths due to Tommy guns during prohibition fell to zero due to the ban on machine guns. What do you propose to stop guns in the hands of the mentally ill? I have not heard anything from you that suggests you plan to support the common sense gun controls that the majority of Americans and the majority of gun owners support. If you do support any of them, please state them.


The Gun Guild February 21, 2014 at 08:29 AM @Stephen Lewis: You have asked several questions that will require lengthy answers. I am off to work as of this moment, but I will be writing a response to your questions in the form of a stand-alone Patch posting.

Now then, onto the response.

1.  what are you doing to help?
Mr. Lewis, I engage in dialogues such as this one to show that not all legal and Constitutional gun owners in CT are the stereotype the media would have us to be.

2.  do you agree with the Brady Center on closing the national background check loopholes?
Mr. Lewis, I do not support a closure on said "loopholes". Have you yourself ever attended a gun show and purchased a gun there? Do you yourself know the  process it takes to buy a legal gun in CT?

3.  Do you agree that their needs to be tighter controls to prevent tens of thousands of children being killed by guns from "responsible" gun owners?
Mr. Lewis, how can any of us enforce such things? Will you come to my house or send personnel to my house to monitor and regulate all of my private guns, making sure they are kept securely as to your requirements? Gun safety starts at home, Mr. Lewis. My children are not at all ignorant about my guns, and I would daresy they know more than the average anti-gunner knows.

4.  Of course violence can be stopped through legislation and has. The number of deaths due to Tommy guns during prohibition fell to zero due to the ban on machine guns.
Mr. Lewis, this is an off-topic statement. The Tommy Gun, as you say, was phased out of usage due to the advent of more efficient and safer firearms. Much like the musket, it has disappeared from common society. Legislation did not remove the Tommy Gun; technology did.

5.  What do you propose to stop guns in the hands of the mentally ill? I have not heard anything from you that suggests you plan to support the common sense gun controls that the majority of Americans and the majority of gun owners support. If you do support any of them, please state them.
Mr. Lewis, the current required paperwork from the ATF is enough to stop the mentally ill from gaining legal access to a firearm. There is an FBI sponsored background check that goes along with said ATF paperwork. Not one person in recent history who used a firearm to attempt or complete a mass shooting had any verifiable or traceable record of mental illness. The FBI couldn't stop these mentally ill people because technically they didn't exist on record. Now then, if you can find a way to make sure no mentally ill person, without a record of said mental illness, can be stopped from buying a legal gun, let me know.

As to what I support, unlike the knee-jerk reactionism of the anti-gun crowd, I do not believe it is best to simply "do something, anything!" for the sake of action without logic. As I said, one cannot legislate morality, one can only punish immorality. By rushing to implement this new SB 1160, here in CT, the only people affected are law-abiding, legal, and Constitutional gun owners. No criminal was affected or inconvenienced.

Thank you for your time, Mr. Lewis. I hope to hear from you again!