# Portland, OR: What is an "illegal gun"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 19, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portland-or-what-is-an-illegal-gun/550745 "2010-08-19T15:53:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portland-or-what-is-an-illegal-gun/550745/21 "2010-08-22T13:52:07Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > > [@Susanann](#): > > > > Weren’t nearly all handguns “illegal” in Chicago until the recent Supreme Court decision? > > > > Bottom line: With the severest gun restrictions in the country, Chicago became the most dangerous place in the country to live. > > Yeah, you would have thought a city with a rash of gun crimes would loosen the laws, maybe just give them away at birth to every citizen. Obviously, making guns “illegal” in Chicago, making law abiding decent citizens defenseless, disarming law abiding citizens, meanwhile Chicago criminals have guns, has been counter productive. The people of Chicago are stupid and are dumb as a doornail. Maybe the people of Portland want to be just as stupid? ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portland-or-what-is-an-illegal-gun/550745/22 "2010-08-22T14:38:58Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > > [@DanBlather](#): > > > > I don’t know if adding more rules on registering guns will have an affect of crime, but I’m shocked at how shocked everyone is about the prospect of treating guns like we do cars. > > I dont think anybody said that, because there are cars everywhere in this country, and cars are everywhere, even though there is no Constitutional right to own a car. Furthermore, there is no “need” for citizens(other than police) to actually privately own a car. Cars are not needed for self-defense. > > I dont think anybody said that, because just about anybody can buy a car. A child can buy a car if he has the money. He might not be able to get a drivers license, but he can buy a car. > > There is no background checks done when somebody buys a car. People sell cars that are parked on the street. If a car is bought for cash and the buyer tells no one, then there is no record of that car even being bought. > > An ex-convict can buy a car. > > A person who was convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence charge 50 years ago can still buy a car. > > A person with mental illness history can buy a car. > > Anybody can buy any car they want, the fastest and the most powerful ever built. There are no limits on the size and power of a car that can be bought. > > There also are no limits as to how many cars somebody can own, and no limits to how many cars a person can buy in a single month. > > A foreigner in this country or even an illegal alien can buy a car. > > NOt only are our laws on cars so lax that anybody buy a car, but anybody can get th parts and build a car. > > If guns were anywhere as easy to get as cars(they are NOT!!!), then there would be guns all over this country. I was looking for signs of irony and could find none. Do you realize that most of your points are either wrong or make no sense? Sales of care require a change of title, you can’t just sell cars to your friends without telling anyone. The restrictions on cars are far more complicated and onerous than on guns. Cars imported from other countries must meet safety and emissions requirements. Even though anyone can buy a car, using a car is filled with restrictions. There are roughly the same number of guns in the US as there are cars, perhaps more. And I’m sorry, I don’t think there is any sane person who would think that guns are more “necessary” than cars. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portland-or-what-is-an-illegal-gun/550745/23 "2010-08-22T15:41:04Z")
I don’t want to pick and choose which post to report, so could a Moderator please weigh in on whether this thread has turned into yet another gun control clusterfuck which is inappropriate for **General Questions?** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/portland-or-what-is-an-illegal-gun/550745.md?page=1)