No debates

Jay Carney, via ThinkProgress:

Q: The President made a campaign promise to work to renew the assault weapons ban. Why won’t you stand up here today and say that that remains a commitment of his?

CARNEY: It does remain a commitment of his. What I said is, today is not the day, I believe as a father, a day to engage in the usual Washington policy debates. I think that that they will come, but today of not that day, especially as we are awaiting more information about the situation in Connecticut.

I'm in total agreement. As a father. No usual Washington policy debates: no little of what you want and little of what I want, no pretend respect for the other side, no "if only we could talk this over over a drink". No lies about the Constitution, no lies about the data, no lies about what the Bible says, as if that were relevant to a discussion in a republic, no false equivalences. No fake grassroots groups weighing in. I'll just inform you what I think:

• There is no reason, ever, to bring a gun into a school.
• There is no reason, ever, to bring a gun into a place of worship.
• There is no reason, ever, to bring a gun into a place of public entertainment.
• There is no reason, ever, to bring a gun to a public park.
• There is no reason, ever, to bring a gun to a place where alcohol is being served.
• There is no reason for any individual to own an automatic or semi-automatic weapon.
• The Second Amendment to the US constitution does not apply to individuals, and if it did it should be repealed (it should probably be repealed anyway, a militia of 300 million people could never be "well-regulated").
• Children should be allowed around firearms—at shooting ranges or gun shows—only with the most extreme caution; their ears must be protected too.
• No individual should be allowed to own a gun without certification that he or she has attended a firearms training course no more than five years previously—I don't care if the NRA does the training, I had one of those myself and it was effective.
• No individual should be allowed to own a gun without an insurance policy covering any damage the gun might do. (I'm looking at you, Big Dick Cheney.)

And then anybody who wants to argue on any of these points can save it for another day.

Image from Elev8.