AstroGeek wrote:
Banning SUVs in cities wouldn't be such a bad idea. It would cut down on a lot of pollution.
How much do they pollute in comparison to aircraft, commercial trucks and buses? The difference you'd see in hydrocarbon emissions would likely be insignifigant, at best.
AstroGeek wrote:
But I'm not so much calling for an outright ban on gun ownership as asking why it needs to be a constitutional right. We don't have a constitutional right to drive Hummers. I guess I figure things in the constitution should be more fundamental, like freedom of speech, freedom of religion, etc.
I know you weren't advocating an outright ban, as I'm familiar with your stance from other posts. The point I was trying to make was that when most people argue whether something is really "needed" and attempt to codify it into law, the "greater good" they frequently enjoy invoking is really nothing more than a euphemism for imposing their own personal conceits upon everyone else.
Speaking in the context of the American Constitution, our Bill of Rights was not envisioned as a "buffet" where we get to pick and choose only the items which we find "palatable" and shun or disregard the ones we don't. Rather, it was intended to be a "package deal" meant to be enjoyed in its entirety.
Also, while there isn't a "constitutional right to drive Hummers" to the best of my knowledge, I also believe that people have the right to make poor decisions just as you and I have the right to chide, ridicule, or ostracize them as circumstances warrant.