I Am Too Extreme For California

I wasn't gonna do politics. Politics ruins a good blog. And this one isn't even a week old yet.

But what the hell. I've got two. I'll let the other one be all serious and writerly and that. No off the cuff remarks there, just, you know, writerly stuff. Stuff I've given more than half a minute's thought to. Here it's more, like, whatever.

And whatever is going on this election year? No less than that our beloved Governor Moonbeam is running for Attorney General. Not a bad choice. He did some interesting things as Mayor of Oakland. He is an independent thinker. But there's something interesting about his opponent.

Brown says Pachoogian is too extreme for California. He's kicked off this message by focusing on his record as a legislator opposing the assault weapons ban. Police chiefs go on TV and explain the damage a .50-calibre bullet can do to police cars.

I know we have an epidemic in this state of police cars getting shot with .50-calibre weapons, but we have to balance any solutions to this problem against our liberty. Liberty is too easy to take for granted and too easy to lose. Big huge slippery slope that anyone who uses the internet knows all about already.

The thing with the assault weapons ban is it bans ownership of an object not because it is a strong factor in violent crime, but only because of its individual destructive potential. This is wrong: It presumes criminal intent without any evidence for criminal intent -- not even the sort of epidemiological evidence used in attempts to ban possession of handguns; and we know how well that's worked. In fact, of guns used in crime prior to the nationwide ban enacted in 1994, only 1% to 2% were assault rifles. Here's more on that.

Consider a fast car. In the wrong hands it has the potential to be a very destructive object. Sometimes fast cars do get in the wrong hands (often drunk) and cause horrific destruction. What sort of logic would lead to banning ownership of cars above a certain horsepower? Criminally bad driving does not correlate to the horsepower of the vehicle. At any rate we have speed limits; and I can't discharge a firearm within the County. I believe the law against unjustified discharge is sufficient gun control. If you disagree, ask any criminal what he thinks about it.

(Disclosure: Yes, I own one of the damn things. I registered it with the DOJ per CA law back in about 1990. I still don't know if registering it was a good idea or not.)

Just in case anyone is inclined to pigeonhole me politically as some kind of wack conservative, liberal or even libertarian, well, it's true:

a) Marijuana trade and possession should be legal, with cultivation subject to licensing
b) Sex work should be legal and subject to OSHA
c) Rent control is a bad idea
d) The "living wage" concept is evil
e) Public schools deserve our full support
f) The military has way too much money already
g) Subjecting religious institutions to property taxes is worth thinking about
h) The Second Amendment applies to you and to me and to our neighbors and for good reason
i) Atheists can oppose abortion too
j) Homosexuality does not disqualify marriage, parenting or adoption

Clearly, I am too extreme for California and you should not vote for me for Attorney General!