Bunches of us have been working on the literacy end of things for a long time, now, and we become more organized about it every year. I’m not giving up. Others work on the other areas, too, but we all need the money.

For all the big talk about investments, investment in human capital and a healthy society don’t seem to be a concern.

My point: Bad law is particularly subject to the Law of Unintended Consequences. We have a spectacular example of bad law. Let’s learn from that one.

I’m totally onside with you here, but do you think the “nothing can be done” crowd would ever honestly get behind such an idea?

Also, depending on who they are, they are often not very good shots. Another reason not to encourage a firefight.

Eventually that law was repealed, but not before it gave organized crime a whole new model for doing business, which they transferred to other illegal activities.

Making law must always be a negotiation, in a democracy.

When it ceases to be a negotiation, then the choice to ignore the law becomes a viable alternative to the ones upon whom the will of others is imposed. We’ve also had active protests against laws, which are much more visible. That’s not just me talking: that’s the lesson of history.

There just doesn’t seem to be the will to look at people who own guns as fellow citizens with a legitimate viewpoint, and who are being asked (or maybe told) to give things up without convincing them that it’s for the greater good.

We live in a time of gun proliferation, in the US. Think about that. This will get worse and worse, as far as anyone can tell. According to the NRA, this will make us safer. What do you think?

I appreciate your concern that the mafia or whoever will not be party to the negotiations. But on the other hand, after some sort of disarmament, they will stick out more and will maybe have more violations to arrest and convict them for.

Anyhow, the hoarders of weapons aren’t really arming to defend against the mafia, right? It’s their fellow citizens they are worried about. Their solution is to hoard guns (thus adding to the climate of fear that encourages people to arm). Mine is decrease the threat over time.

In the words of the NRAs Wayne LaPierre: “So now, due to a declining willingness to prosecute dangerouscriminals, violent crime is increasing again for the first time in years! Add another hurricane, terrorist attack or some other naturalor man-made disaster, and you’ve got a recipe for a national nightmare of violence and victimization.”

His solution is a better armed and trained population than we have now. And it’s necessary because some kind of apocalypse is on the way.