Gimme That Old-Time Gun Control

I ran across this via Google Snooze Alerts. It's an anti-gun piece from 1975 entitled Limit Ammunition To Control Hand Guns written by Lindsey Williams.

Here's some of the notable stuff, all emphasis mine:

Pocket guns, capable of being concealed, are short range weapons of surprise and vengeance.

Of course, the concept of surprising a would-be attacker is foreign to him. No self-defense here, it's all about vengence, really.

Exactly three years ago in this column, I suggested that we give up trying to limit the gun and approach the problem through the more vulnerable route of ammunition.

Now comes an Illinois citizens' group called the Committee for Handgun Control, Inc., which is seeking to force the US. Government to ban the sale of hand gun ammunition as a means of controlling cheap hand guns.

The group has petitioned the new federal Consumer Product Safety Commission to ban ammunition on grounds it is hazardous, and that the commission has jurisdiction over hazardous substances.

Sound familiar? He does mention that the measure was struck down because it was looked at as a back-door attempt and a gun ban, which it is. But, our intrepid writer continues undaunted.

Cut off the supply of ammunition, and hand guns will rust into quaint souvenirs.

I bet you dream about that to this day. I also bet you're not alone.

Here is the craziest thing I have read in a long, long time:

Revolver-calibre cartridges, however, could be furnished only to the military and law enforcement authorities. Those with a legitimate need for revolver shells for their freely-owned - but registered - hand guns would have to obtain them from the police after positive identification and finger printing. Purchases might be limited to five shells, and empty shells could be returned for replacement.

Holy sheepdip, Batman, the gent's gone barmy! I'm sure the taxpayers are really comfortable knowing their law enforcement officers are being kept busy handing out pistol ammunition - five rounds at a time.

Folks, we have a level-5 control freak here.

And, to further demonstrate his progressive insanity, he goes and contradicts his entire premise:

Criminals, of course, would still obtain both pistols and ammunition from abroad or from other criminal sources. Yet, we must try to control hand guns SENSIBLY even if the odds are as hopeless as they seem to be.

Sense left this article from the jump. He continues:

Also, we must not abrogate our constitutional right to 'keep and bear arms.' The way the world is going these days, this right may not be as obsolete and academic as the gun control enthusiasts would have us believe.

Good lord, man, I understand the ability to hold opposing viewpoints is supposed to be a sign of intelligence, but this is a bit much.

Ammunition is the weak link in the chain of fire-arm use. Break it and we stop wanton shooting by citizens and criminal alike.

On one hand, I like the way he separates citizens from criminals, on the other, he lumps them right back together as wanton shooters.

This guy's something else. I find it interesting that he felt the need to re-post this after so much time. I guess he thinks his time has come again.

I think not.