Can somebody explain to me why our laws state that you must be 21 to purchase a handgun, but only eighteen to purchase a rifle or shotgun? Now, to me it seems if some troubled punk kid was to go around and shoot people, wouldn’t a shotgun cause more damage due to the fact that the shot spreads whereas a pistol can only shoot one bullet at a time?? Can someone please put some logic into these laws? Thanks.
Because handguns, unlike nearly anything else, have the amazing ability to control your mind and make you pick them up and go shoot people. So by restricting their access, the laws prevent young people and weak minded people from falling prey to their telepathic powers, thus saving lives. “Long guns” simply do not have this ability, unless of course it is an “assault weapon”, and those, like handguns, are inherently evil in themselves.
Hope this helps.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Turbo Dog, you said it better than I ever could have. 
AMM9132, like Turbo said, it’s arbitrary. Here’s how it works:
[list=1]
[li]You decide that you want to ban certain Constitutionally protected rights. Examples: Guns. Free Speech. Right to Privacy.[/li]
[li]You declare particular instances of said Rights to be EVIL, and make people scared of them.[/li]
Examples: HANDGUNS KILL!!! WE HAVE TO STOP HATE-SPEECH!!! ASSAULT-WEAPONS ARE ONLY FOR TERRORISTS!!! “FIRE” IN A CROWDED THEATER!!! GET A WARRANT??? IF YOU HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE, WHY WON’T YOU LET ME SEARCH YOUR HOUSE???
Even if your “facts” are totally false (assault-weapons are defined cosmetics, not function), it doesn’t matter! The trick here is that you have to deliver your messages in overkill mode. If the people aren’t constantly flooded with your message, they will be able to see it for the B.S. that it is and ignore it. If they hear it every waking moment, it will eventually sink in and they’ll start to take it seriously.
[li]You use the fear you created in step 2 to pass specific bans and regulations, thereby creating legal precedents for further regulation. Examples: Gun Control Act of 1968, Assault Weapon Ban of 1994.[/li]
[li]Cross the first item off your list, choose a new terror to sweep the nation, and repeat from step 2. Example: After banning “assault weapons”, next to go will be one of either handguns or all autoloading (semi-automatic) rifles, followed by the other.[/li][/list=1]
And if any step fails (your ban is not approved by congress, for example), go back one step and try, try again.
OH, I almost forgot one really important one:[ul]
[*]School. If you don’t teach children about the Constitution or their rights, they’ll grow up thinking they have none. And if you start them early on having their rights violated (suspension or arrest for a paper gun or for un-PC speech, zero-tolerance rules, etc), it will seem natural when they grow up, and the battle is nearly won![/ul]
TurboDog’s right; it’s mainly hysteria and fear of those ever-so-evil handguns.
The political reasons are mainly based on who uses what kind of gun. Many hunters and older sportsman, i.e., people who actually vote, would go nuts if you took away their duck-hunting shotgun.
On the other hand, urban criminals (gang members, particularly) who are underclass and don’t vote, or are convicted felons and can’t vote, prefer handguns for their concealability.
Politicians see handguns being abused, decide that it must be the tool, not the criminal, and get strident about banning them. And since the people effected are disenfranchized, the politicans have no opposition. Fait accompli.
Oh yeah, and of course the politicians can claim they’re doing it for the children!!! :rolleyes:
-Ben
Well, just to be fair here, there may be some rationale that handguns are more easily concealed than longarms. If you’re walking around with a shotgun or a rifle, people will notice you and tackle you or call the cops in short order, whereas a pistol can be easily concealed right up until the point you do Something Awful.
Oh no, do I have multiple personalities again?
AMM9132, please accept my apologies on behalf of the Straight Dope Message Board that apparently our entire membership is physiologically incapable of answering a question about gun regulation without descending into polemics.
I thought we were better than that. I’m honestly saddened, and a little depressed.
Sorry again.