Gun ownership poll

[G1911]

Originally Posted by cgjackson222

For all of your knowledge, I haven't found any of your arguments against gun reform convincing.

Please enlighten me as to how it is a good idea for an 18 year old to be able to buy an AR-15 the day they turn 18?

You don't have to find them convincing. Many of us will disagree. My primary position is that we should disagree on rational grounds, and that claims to fact, which are distinct from opinions, should be actually true instead of complete fiction.

I think an 18 year old should have the right because they are an adult. The line between adult and child is arbitrary; not everyone ages the same or matures the same (many of us never do). I am distinctly uncomfortable with arbitrary law, but I don't see a better way to do it. Whether the age of adulthood is 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 I think an adult should be able to fully exercise their rights as an equal citizen. A 3 year old isn't old enough, an adult is. What exact year we draw the line is arbitrary, but I do not see how we should restrict core constitutionally protected liberties to a second class of adulthood. If an 18 year can enlist and be given a machine gun, I do not see why they can't have a neutered civilian version.

A factor is that the civilian AR-15 is not mechanically special, it's a neutered down version of the best tech of 60 years ago. It holds a special place as scary in the narrative, but it is not any more 'dangerous' if misused than dozens of other platforms.