Molly Ivins: "The first rule of holes: When you're in one stop digging."

Hey now, that pretend-Hitler won't take care of himself!

i'm looking forward to the many aneurysms that Biden's milquetoast recommendations will cause among Slog's 2nd amendment absolutists. take them home to the great arsenal in the sky, RKBA Jesus!

No edict on gun control is enough. We must increase penalties and foster mental health screenings as well as mandatory incarceration for those showing the signs of psychopathy.

@3: I'm not sure I've seen many second amendment absolutists on here. I've seen some people (myself included) who are probably a bit right of center on the issue. If you look through the history, you'll find that most of us have been advocating exactly what Biden is promoting as his top priority. It's a step in the right direction.

@3 Well, I am looking forward to the sloppy wet kiss that Constant will plant on the Administrations' metaphorical phallus in response to their "bold" plans.

@6: You're trying to marginalize my political beliefs; I get it. Just be aware that your stance is nowhere near the political center in this country. Moderates don't care for the NRA, either, especially as of late.

Let's be clear: your stance is that I need to organize 5 million people to fund congressional races, or you'll continue to dismiss centrist opinions as "nuts," and you're threatening ME with marginalization? Good luck with that.

@8: Arguing with the gun troll is useless. It's more fun to point and snicker while he froths away.

@5: a "bit right of center", when the center has been moved so far to the right, is no longer a meaningful term. Obama is "a bit right of center", and he's apparently the second coming of Trotsky.

do you oppose ANY new control measures? do you think there are TOO MANY limits on the RKBA now? do you think that nothing can be done about the 30,000 firearm deaths each year? that high-capacity magazines are super cool and constitutionally protected?

there's plenty of Slog posters who do.

do you oppose ANY new control measures?

No, as I'd explicitly stated in the post you're replying to, I believe that the priorities that Biden outlined are a good start.

do you think there are TOO MANY limits on the RKBA now?

No. I think that some current/proposed limitations are misplaced, and some needed limitations are overlooked. We worry a lot about "assault weapons" when they account for something like 4% of gun violence, and not enough about handguns, which account for the vast majority of firearm deaths. But generally, no I don't think there are too many limits right now.

do you think that nothing can be done about the 30,000 firearm deaths each year?

I think that reduced availability of guns would likely accomplish that. As about half of gun deaths are from suicides, and studies have shown that having a gun present in a home increases the likelihood of a suicide occurring, I think that an overall reduction in the number of homes with firearms easily accessible would at the very least help with that figure. Measures such as gun buybacks help with that. Add secure storage requirements and you start to reduce the problem of theft and teenage (and preteen) kids getting ahold of firearms unsupervised.

that high-capacity magazines are super cool and constitutionally protected?

I think they're super-cool, but I'd support limitations on them. It's one of the few parts of the "assault weapons" ban that went after something besides a cosmetic feature. In addition, California's ban on detachable magazines is another example of a way of putting an upper cap on how many rounds per minute someone can fire.

That last part might put me at odds with some of the posters here that you think are anti-all-gun-control, but I think you'll find that the majority of what I just posted is digestible by enough people that you could start getting laws passed a lot faster than if you start trying to legislate flash hiders and barrel shrouds, and get bogged down in that mess.