C’mon, Jethro, I know you can follow along. The common-sense laws I’m suggesting are universal background checks for every gun sale — no loopholes, no time limits, more stringent checks for domestic violence arrests and mental illness. Annual registrations, fees, and safety training, laws requiring guns to be locked up separately from ammunition, gun owners obligated, upon request, to account for the guns they have registered. You’re the only one who has mentioned taking everyone’s guns away (twice now, that I recall). Remember me? I’m the guy who pointed out that Australia’s gun buybacks reduced gun ownership only one-fifth, and it was still enough to significantly reduce gun homicides and all but eliminate mass shootings in a decade. I guess cipherin’ isn’t your strong suit.

As I mentioned previously, it takes only a small obstacle to deter many crimes, which are born of opportunity. Don’t take my word for it. Read the studies about how they’ve reduced crime in New York City. As you yourself noted in your first comment, violent crime is at a record low rate. That’s because of policing tactics, to a large degree — yes, certainly you should read the studies, you can find them in about two minutes, but why kid ourselves about that happening? You — the guy who’s never studied crime or criminal behavior — you know in your gut that laws won’t work. Because shitloads of guns. Shitloads! And criminals stealing!

There’s no reason for your pessimism — you could educate yourself if you wanted to, and eradicate this gut feeling that a minority of men playing Army is going to plunge us into civil war rather than submit to background checks or gun registrations. You’ve gotten yourself so thoroughly dug into a foolish position that you finally reached for the thing that the gun nut always reaches for— the violent fantasy of civil war in which the patriot hero mows down the jack-booted government thugs. It’s the last gasp of the gun nut (or his lackey) when he’s run out of ammo.