The same folks who want more identification, and more hoops to jump through to vote, want less identification and hoops to buy guns. Seems fairly backwards to me.
Voter id laws just seem like a bunch of hubbub about nothing. It’s an issue insignificant in scale, exaggerated to fire up a specific demographic, and intended to suppress the vote of a specific demographic for political purposes.
I have never seen anyone that wants identification in voting want less identification in buying a gun.
What I have seen is them want less idiotic laws and to enforce the ones we already have and harsher sentences on those that actually commit gun crimes.
The left isn’t in favor of harsh penalties for the poor downtrodden criminals though.
I hold a class 3 and 09 FFL. I have also done ATF compliance as an attorney for a few large gun retailers. I always laugh at the misinformed comments about how the gun buying process actually works and the “gun show loophole”.
Also, you have to show more ID to get a permit to protest, buy a gun, than you do to vote? Seems backwards to me. I would argue that voting is one of the MOST dangerous areas that needs to be secured on who is actually participating.
I cannot speak for the effort required to buy a handgun in California, but having bought a handgun in Florida, I would sound like a complete idiot to have made the comment you made.
I won’t walk you through all the steps required and the wait to get one, but I will say that if it was that difficult to vote, I wouldn’t vote at all.
I disagree with many of them not contributing anything. Some of them, that is true. I used to think along these lines as well, but further thinking on a large part of the group that doesn’t pay federal income taxes resulted in me changing my mind on the matter. The group I am thinking of are people who are working, but don’t end up paying federal taxes (or receive all of it back).
The main point I have is that workers are on average producing more value than they are paid. There are workers out there busting ass that are producing multiple times the value of what they are paid. Someone is receiving the differential of the value they produced and their pay. That person is paying taxes on the workers value they produced. The laborer may not have taxes going into the federal government that are assigned to their name, but they produced value that was taxed. I have no problem with people like this voting.
You would also run into the elderly too that are retired and just on SS.
I guess I am more talking about the large swath of able-bodied working age people we have that are literally doing nothing and not trying to do anything either.
Do you own a business? I would disagree that workers are producing more value than they are paid in a lot of cases. I am sure they are out there, but I disagree overall there. The worker could literally not produce any value unless I gave them the job and created it in the first place.
If I get a good employee, I pay them well to keep them. I would rather make a little less and have ZERO headaches than put up with the garbage of a revolving door. I know I know - a lot of big corporations don’t do this or care. I can’t blame business for being business though. If you don’t like it, get a better skill or find a better job or start your own business. That is what I did.
If the SS is as a result of their earned 40 quarters, that IMO is skin in the game.
Now SSI is a more difficult situation, especially if it’s tied to a disability
I think the caveat here is on average. We have lots of businesses that are profitable. It’s not only the guy at the top that created all the value in many cases. The average person at that company produced value. More than their pay if the company is profitable.
Reservation is going to be the correct term 99% of the time. There’s some random instances where the way the land is possesed by the tribe is done in some obscure legal way that ends up with it being called something else, but reservation (rez if you’re cool, but if you’re white and say rez sometimes it’s a little #cringe, haha) pretty much always works.
Anyway, as far as I know, tribal members living on reservations are able to vote in local, state, and federal elections. On some reservations, there’s actually comparable amounts of Native and non-Native (usually white) residents. Usually in the farming/ranching areas. I imagine the non-Native residents couldn’t vote in tribal elections, but otherwise it all works the same way as a “normal” person living in, say, Florida.
All valid points.
I’m not in favor of a true democracy. However, I believe there is difference between influence and control. Over the course of my lifetime the shift toward control seems obvious. In my perfect world it would take 2/3 of the house and 3/4 of the senate to pass legislation.
Gerrymandering is certainly a problem. I’ve never understood why lines need to be redrawn to begin with.
Agree. 30 minutes to vote is not a hurdle. Although it is true that most developed countries have a national holiday for federal voting.
Exclusive public funding has as many issues as the current system, it wouldn’t be an improvement, IO.
Businesses don’t exist unless they are profitable. Unless you put up the capital for the business or had the idea to start it - I don’t think you deserve anything above what pay is offered to you and you accept.
I’ve always wondered why for every office there isn’t a ‘no confidence’ option. If a majority select it, the position is unfilled. Not the incumbent continues, unfilled elected a majority candidate is selected.
Populations shifts
That may be fair, but it is different than not contributing anything (and been seen as a biased voter for not paying federal taxes).
Add to this that once they leave office the can’t work as a lobbyist or similar, and we would be getting some where.
If the money isn’t yours and you are paying an effective rate of zero for federal income tax, what exactly are you contributing?
You have been paid for your labor on agreed terms. Nobody is forcing you to accept the job or pay.
Someone in this group is contributing to the overall economy. They are creating value for the tax paying business they work for. There are various other ways that these type of people are contributing to society.
I just don’t think “not paying federal tax” = “contributing nothing”.
Right. I understand the equal population requirement and the Wesberry v Sanders decision. However, redistricting has damn near become in industry.
It probably doesn’t matter anyways.
I don’t really think our votes do much or count anyways tbh. The older I get the more disillusioned I get with the entire political process.
I am almost to the point of just not even bothering to vote anymore.
Locally voting can make a difference that is more noticeable.
100%