Comments on: On guns, adulthood, and freedom http://philwelch.net/2008/08/18/on-guns-adulthood-and-freedom/ the adventures of phil welch, student of philosophy Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:39:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: MIB http://philwelch.net/2008/08/18/on-guns-adulthood-and-freedom/#comment-1680 MIB Thu, 27 Nov 2008 16:03:59 +0000 http://philwelch.net/?p=208#comment-1680 I agree with you trust is at the core of the gun debate. However, I don't think it's over the responsibilities of the people vs. those of the state, per se. It has to do with what one believes about human behavior. The idea of negative liberty is predicated on the belief people are usually rational and fair-minded in their actions. We give the state authority to intervene when a person or group establishes otherwise. The qualifier here is, 'usually'. The radicals among us -- I'm not sure the term anarchists accurately describes them -- demagogue the issue for political gain. I agree with you trust is at the core of the gun debate. However, I don’t think it’s over the responsibilities of the people vs. those of the state, per se. It has to do with what one believes about human behavior.

The idea of negative liberty is predicated on the belief people are usually rational and fair-minded in their actions. We give the state authority to intervene when a person or group establishes otherwise. The qualifier here is, ‘usually’. The radicals among us — I’m not sure the term anarchists accurately describes them — demagogue the issue for political gain.

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