No attacking straw men does not "make a case" for Manchin-Toomey #2ndamendment #tcot #gunrights #tlot

RRD: In a op-ed in the NYT & again today in CATO Robert Levy argues for resurrecting Manchin-Toomey. In doing so however he either evades--or demonstrates his ignorance of--the criticism leveled against the bill.

A Libertarian Case for Resurrecting the Manchin-Toomey Compromise - NYTimes.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/27/opinion/a-libertarian-case-for-resurrecting-the-manchin-toomey-compromise.html?_r=1&;

Further Thoughts on Sensible Gun Legislation | Cato Institute

http://www.cato.org/blog/further-thoughts-sensible-gun-legislation?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Cato-at-liberty+%28Cato+at+Liberty%29

RRD: The "Libertarian case" seems to consist of arguing that we should placate the alleged majority (see below) In this he is not alone. Indeed his article could have been lifted from the pages of Commentary Magazine, where Jonathan Tobin etal continue to attack some straw man that they call "the slippery slope argument" while ignoring--or remaining ignorant of-- the actual arguments of the "tone-deaf gun lobby".

Toomey and the Tone Deaf Gun Lobby « Commentary Magazine

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2013/04/11/pat-toomey-and-the-tone-deaf-gun-lobby/

While it is true that some opponents of the Manchin-Toomey bill invoke a "slippery slope" as one of their arguments,that argument is not the main argument made against the bill.
David Addington at Heritage, David Kopel at The Volokh Report ,& the Legal Counsel of Gun Owners of America (whose name escapes me) have all presented detailed legal arguments against the bill & explained why they regard the bill as being dangerous.

David Addington Schumer-Toomey-Manchin Gun Control Legislation: Bad Law on Federal Gun Registry

http://blog.heritage.org/2013/04/11/schumer-toomey-manchin-gun-control-legislation-bad-law-on-federal-gun-registry/

The Volokh Conspiracy » The “Pro-Gun” Provisions of Manchin-Toomey are Actually a Bonanza of Gun Control

http://www.volokh.com/2013/04/15/the-pro-gun-provisions-of-manchin-toomey-are-actually-a-bonanza-of-gun-control/

Problems - Gun Owners of America (RRD: Website currently down)

http://gunowners.org/congress04082013.htm

Nor is opposition to the bill limited to the "gun lobby" :

ACLU: Reid gun bill could threaten privacy, civil liberties | The Daily Caller

http://dailycaller.com/2013/04/04/exclusive-aclu-says-reids-gun-legislation-could-threaten-privacy-rights-civil-liberties/

If there are counterarguments to be made by Levy etal they are not apparent. In addition to the arguments made against Manchin-Toomey above I can add several more:

1. This regime has given us the Fast and Furious scandal & cannot be trusted to respect our rights,particularly since--as Kopel etal note-- the AG will be the one responsible for the enforcement & prosecution of the anti-gun registration provisions. (fn1)

2. An argument can be made that--at least under a broad interpretation of the Second Amendment-- the Federal Government should have no role in conducting background checks at all. (Particulary on intra-state purchases) and that if background checks are to be carried out ,that they should be done by the States--which could then share information with one another. One could also note that as the Federal Government has no power to regulate intra-state commerce that it has no right to mandate background checks on intra-state purchases.

3. I think that it is plausible to argue that background checks are a form of preventive law like licensing & should be opposed by Objectivists on those grounds (fn2) . (See Ayn Rand's views on licensing) .

Finally one of the key "arguments" for Manchin-Toomey is that the alleged 90% of the populace who support background checks will turn on the GOP & destroy it. Therefore those poor,brain dead hicks who don't understand the bill but are "agin it" anyway should drop their silly opposition. Leaving aside the abject cowardice of arguing that something should be done so as to appease the majority ,the claim is false:

The Gun Control Poll That Might Finally Shut the Media Up

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2013/04/24/The-Gun-Control-Poll-That-Might-Finally-Shut-the-Media-Up?utm_source=e_breitbart_com&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Breitbart+News+Roundup%2C+April+24%2C+2013&utm_campaign=20130424_m115859899_Breitbart+News+Roundup%2C+April+24%2C+2013&utm_term=More

.......” A poll released by none other than the Washington Post Wednesday is likely to finally put a stake in the heart of The Media Issue That Will Not Die. According to the poll, only 47% of Americana are as angry or disappointed as the corrupt media. On the flip-side, 39% are happy the bill failed, 10% were "none/other," and 3% had no opinion".....

Footnotes:

fn1.

Fast and Furious: Barack Obama's Bloodiest Scandal and the Shameless Cover-Up:Amazon:Kindle Store

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007OVTD7E

fn2.

Dictatorship —Ayn Rand Lexicon

http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/dictatorship.html

.....” The legal hallmark of a dictatorship [is] preventive law—the concept that a man is guilty until he is proved innocent by the permissive rubber stamp of a commissar or a Gauleiter.”.....

“Who Will Protect Us from Our Protectors The Objectivist Newsletter, May 1962, 20

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