A CAR GUY LOOKS AT GUNS FROM A CAR GUY POINT OF VIEW

I'm a car guy. My interests lean heavily toward horsepower over firepower. But we live in a world with enthusiasts in both camps.

So I decided to interpret the gun world from a car guy's perspective...

Guns and cars share one major similarity: they both require specific training to ensure a responsible level of public safety. That's where cars and guns hit a fork in the road. Every state requires a competency test when it comes to a driver's license. I would correctly guess that gun ownership rules vary wildly from state to state and municipality to municipality.

It would be fair to assume that there is little movement afoot to allow every person in America the right to point a car down any road on the continental map. The notion of a driver's license is considered a privilege rather than a constitutional right. This puts cars on a different philosophical freeway.

We weed out bad drivers by enforcing the rules of the road. A heavy foot or a large blood alcohol reading will eventually separate car from driver. Enough reckless behavior behind the wheel may separate driver from freedom.

The gist of gun debates seems to drift around weapon choices and the manner in which American citizens can carry weapons.

As a Canadian car guy, I don't believe Americans have an automatic right to own a weapon. That right should be earned through training and testing, and revoked for recklessness, criminality, stupidity and any other evidence of incompetence. These conditions trump that basic Second Amendment right.

Secondly, I don't believe that Americans should have the right to own any weapon of their choice. Does anybody really need a .50 caliber monster to defend their home and family? If so, they live in a neighborhood that I don't want to call home. To me, this is similar to using John Force's ¼ mile track car to go to Safeways.

Assault rifles might be appropriate if you started dating Tony (Scarface) Montana's sister, but they also seem like overkill to me. They may eradicate a chronic gopher problem with a few extra fireworks, but a .22 still covers most varmint shoots just as well.

The assault rifle is like a super-fast Ferrari-begging you to let it reach its full potential in a playground zone. A more conventional Ford Focus- type weapon won't play that game with you, yet it will get you there just as easily in a world with basic safety rules.

Automobiles are regulated and controlled. Guns should be as well.

Jim Sutherland @mystarcollectorcar.com

COMMENTS

DENNIS:"The Second Amendment. America's original "Homeland Security".If we spent half as much time worrying about what the average citizen has in his closet and twice as much time getting the guns out of the hands of those who couldn't care less about the laws in the first place, we'd be getting somewhere."