Episode 66 – Guns and the Law – the paradise paradox

The Episode: Guns and the Law

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The Story:

The simplest argument against gun control is an argument for justice, an argument that a person who has harmed no-one should not be punished. If you accept as a premise the maxim of law that the burden of proof falls on him who claims, not on him who denies, then likewise you will accept the principle of the presumption of innocence, because in the absence of evidence of guilt, one must be assumed to be innocent. Then, if you accept the premise that innocent people should not be punished, then you must draw the conclusion that gun-owners, weapons manufacturers and retailers should not be punished unless there is evidence of their guilt. That means there should be no violence or threats of violence against them, no fines imposed, no restrictions on their liberties, and certainly no imprisonment, unless there is evidence of wrong-doing.

If you formulate a law that says everyone who owns a certain model of firearm should be arrested, then you have made a declaration contrary to justice, for even if a single person possesses that model and only ever uses it responsibly, you have declared that that innocent person should be punished. You might make the argument that, even an excellent court system is not going to be absolutely correct, 100% of the time, and that doesn’t make it a bad court, and likewise, the failure of this law does not make it a bad law. I agree no court system is perfect, however, that is a failure of implementation, not a failure of principle. If a court is good, then the intent of the court was to provide justice, whether they do or not in any individual case. However, the intent of this hypothetical law, and all gun control laws, is to punish people – whether or not they’re guilty, and there is no way that it can ever improve the state of justice.

In this episode, Kurt explores some of the ideas about gun control, why some people think control of firearms is a good idea, and why they are very wrong. Join us in a transcendental journey to freedom, in the next explosive, on-point, hollowpoint episode of … The Paradise Paradox!