Post
by cottage cheese » Mon Dec 01, 2008 10:09 am
Nice, really nice, Oleg.
It's taking shape. Maybe some graphics could be designed as a subtle prod at the brain-dead bureaucracy.
Why?- Well, the Indian Arms Act, while being severely restrictive, still allows for (or at least originally did) 'reasonably adequate' ownership. The problem is the provisions in the act allow too much latitude for interpretation by the bureaucracy and upto a good extent, the judiciary. I placed 'reasonably adequate', in quotes because its by no means ideal. One must remember that the Arms Act is just repainted version of the one that was in force in colonial India- like wise one can hardly expect it to be in tune with a free, democratic, modern nation.
Obviously, with regard to RKBA, one cannot expect 100% unregulated freedom in a country as big and diverse as India. Certainly some level of control and regulation is welcome and perhaps indispensable. The point to tackle is the unreasonable, illogical, unscientific and naive restrictions and interpretations that are afforded to the establishment by the provisions of the Arms Act.
As expected, a lot of things get interconnected- A less restrictive Arms Act will work only if there is a parallel advancement in Policing and related Crime Acts.... Our current Police Act is still mostly the Police Act of 1861- That was when the Police force was an instrument of arbitrary Colonial rule. Nobody in the establishment thought it fit for revision even after more than half a century of independence. Modifying or add-ons to the Act only complicates matters as I see. Well, to be fair, there has been efforts to formulate a new police act (with the standard establishment practice of constituting endless committees to that end) but they never went beyond the submission of the report. The political class has vested interest in seeing that the Policing remains as it is.
One must be aware, as penpusher rightly said, as of now, in India gun ownership is a privilege not a right.
He who can not think, is a fool; he who will not, a bigot; he who dare not - a slave!