# Gun Control Poll Closed - That Sucks **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [March 3, 2010, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-control-poll-closed-that-sucks/531183 "2010-03-03T21:43:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-control-poll-closed-that-sucks/531183/61 "2010-03-10T01:36:49Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > **mangeorge** said: > > Fine, I vote for regulation, but the regulation I vote for is that everyone is given a .22 and a box of shells at age 4 provided by the state and they can buy anything they want after that, and their parents can’t say no. That’s regulation. Is that what you had in mind? C’mon, **Irishman**. That would only be so if one of the regulations would be as you say. I’m pretty sure support for your regulation would be in the minority. But if you voted “no”, and there were no regulations, you could indeed give your 4 year old any gun you wish. You might note that there is regulation right now, but the state isn’t handing out guns to kids. No, what I have in mind that if one thinks regulation is good, one votes (in the poll) “yes”. If no, vote “no”. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-control-poll-closed-that-sucks/531183/62 "2010-03-10T02:47:10Z")
Sorry, in my above post “mangeorge said” inside the quote isn’t supposed to be there. I deleted part of **Irishman’s** post but left that behind. I previewed, I really did. Gettin’ old. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-control-poll-closed-that-sucks/531183/63 "2010-03-10T22:29:43Z")
That be my point. If the only limitation I want is that anyone under 4 cannot own a gun, otherwise everything goes, that is “yes, I want regulation”. I’m fairly certain there are a _vast_ majority who want _some_ regulation. Even if that regulation is “minors can’t buy guns without their parents’ permission”. That’s a regulation, a limitation. So as I said, “Yes, I want regulation” is so broad as to be meaningless. Of course the vast majority of voters want _some_ regulation, the argument is over how much (a smidgeon, or whole hog). Saying you can only have some or none doesn’t really do much of anything, because all the people who want _no_ regulation and get outvoted can just switch to “Fine, I _DO_ want regulation, now let’s argue over how much. I vote for nobody under 4 can own a gun, everyone else can own anything they like.” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-control-poll-closed-that-sucks/531183/64 "2010-03-11T00:48:34Z")
[Moderating] Guys, starting a debate about gun control in this thread isn’t really suitable for ATMB. If you want to engage in a discussion about gun control itself, start another thread in GD, please. Colibri ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-control-poll-closed-that-sucks/531183/65 "2010-03-11T01:04:05Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > That be my point. If the only limitation I want is that anyone under 4 cannot own a gun, otherwise everything goes, that is “yes, I want regulation”. I’m fairly certain there are a _vast_ majority who want _some_ regulation. Even if that regulation is “minors can’t buy guns without their parents’ permission”. That’s a regulation, a limitation. > > So as I said, “Yes, I want regulation” is so broad as to be meaningless. Of course the vast majority of voters want _some_ regulation, the argument is over how much (a smidgeon, or whole hog). Saying you can only have some or none doesn’t really do much of anything, because all the people who want _no_ regulation and get outvoted can just switch to “Fine, I _DO_ want regulation, now let’s argue over how much. I vote for nobody under 4 can own a gun, everyone else can own anything they like.” But this, right here, isn’t about regulation. It’s only about a _poll_ about regualtion and comments about one’s vote on that poll. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-control-poll-closed-that-sucks/531183/66 "2010-03-11T01:12:48Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > [Moderating] > > Guys, starting a debate about gun control in this thread isn’t really suitable for ATMB. If you want to engage in a discussion about gun control itself, start another thread in GD, please. > > Colibri If you’re talking about me’n ol’ **Irishman** , we’re talking about polling, and whether we can have a poll without comments. Gun control is an example of a poll. At least I thought it was. Still, I guess we were debating polling. 😉 I’l backtrack and see. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-control-poll-closed-that-sucks/531183/67 "2010-03-11T01:42:22Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > If you’re talking about me’n ol’ **Irishman** , we’re talking about polling, and whether we can have a poll without comments. Gun control is an example of a poll. At least I thought it was. Still, I guess we were debating polling. 😉 You might have started out that way, but your subsequent posts have an awful lot of side discussion about gun-related issues. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-control-poll-closed-that-sucks/531183/68 "2010-03-11T03:23:19Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > You might have started out that way, but your subsequent posts have an awful lot of side discussion about gun-related issues. Not really. That’s what you get for speed-reading, you miss a lot. But, I’ll stop. My finger’s tired anyway. 😛 [(LSMFT)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lsmft) became “Let’s stop, my finger’s tired” back in the day. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-control-poll-closed-that-sucks/531183/69 "2010-03-11T22:19:25Z")
Yeah, we did kinda go too far into a specific case. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-control-poll-closed-that-sucks/531183/70 "2010-03-12T18:25:53Z")
So, who would I talk to about enabling polling in GD, if I were so inclined? I mean this in an entirely sincere and non-snarky way, but might it not be best if the suggestions regarding board policy that are posted in ATMB garnered responses from the appropriate mods/admins? Maybe it’s just that I haven’t noticed, but in my experience that has tended not to be the case. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-control-poll-closed-that-sucks/531183/71 "2010-03-12T19:51:48Z")
The idea was discussed – we tend to believe that polling is an opinionator function and therefore is appropriate for IMHO but is not at all appropriate for GD. Debating is more than giving your opinion. Opinionating is not debating. The two areas can overlap somewhat but we really want to make a serious distinction between the two. So if you wish a poll about something, it goes in IMHO. If that poll turns into a discussion that runs into debate, then it’s a GD situation. It’s possible that a topic can run in both forum areas at the same time, as is appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-control-poll-closed-that-sucks/531183/72 "2010-03-12T20:05:02Z")
So you guys are, like, determined to have **Czarcasm** ’s head explode by mid-May? Apparently it’s a settled matter, but I want to stress again that the idea that a poll in any way inhibits debate is totally wrong and backwards. Obviously, we’re unable to STOP people from debating poll topics, _hence the issue at hand_. Thanks for the response, though. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-control-poll-closed-that-sucks/531183/73 "2010-03-12T20:43:37Z")
> [@VarlosZ](#): > > Thanks for the response, though. This is ambiguous and could be construed as sarcastic. Replace with: “I do appreciate the response, however.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-control-poll-closed-that-sucks/531183.md?page=3)