gun acquisition<\/a> meant that I have learned a little about the economics of gun ownership. \u00a0That is, a pistol will run you about $500, give or take. \u00a0An hour at the shooting range is about $20. \u00a0The ammunition works out to maybe another $20 per session \u2014 my husband\u2019s best guess, anyway, based on ammo prices and how much you\u2019d use in a typical shooting range session. \u00a0As hobbies go, it\u2019s not outlandishly expensive (on an hourly basis, far cheaper than our sailboat, considering how hard a time we have making it up to the marina, since you need to both have an empty weekend day on the calendar as well as the right sort of weather), but not as cheap as, say, crochet or drawing.<\/p>\nSo here\u2019s my hypothetical, a way of discussing the priciples behind the Little Sisters\u2019 religious objections to the contraception mandate: \u00a0what if Congress decided that, in order to enable the American people to better defend themselves, they needed protection against the high cost of self-defense pistols?<\/p>\n
In order to remedy this problem, imagine that\u00a0Congress decreed that all employers are required to provide for their employees who wish to avail themselves of the opportunity, one handgun per adult family member, upon request.<\/p>\n
Now, the Brady Campaign finds this prospect rather upsetting, as do various corporations who believe that it\u2019s morally wrong to own handguns (facebook, twitter, Bloomberg\u2019s Bloomberg empires, etc.), and they start seeking injunctions exempting them from the ASDA provisions.<\/p>\n
The Cruz administration proposes a compromise: \u00a0employers will not have to buy handguns directly, but simply contribute money to a \u201chandgun fund.\u201d \u00a0In fact, the money in that fund can be used to purchase firearms, or pepper spray, or, for those employees who choose not to arm themselves, or even fund other kinds of self-defense, say, self-defense classes, or a home security system, up to a maximum annual benefit.<\/p>\n
Supporters of the ASDA say that this is just another piece of employee compensation, and that without its provision, their handgun access is unfairly being denied to employees. \u00a0They claim that, since no employee is required to buy a handgun, and the funds can be used for other purposes besides handguns, the employer isn\u2019t really complicit in handgun provision, they\u2019re just following the law, same as everyone else.<\/p>\n
What would Bloomberg\u2019s legal arguments be? \u00a0What would the government\u2019s claims be? \u00a0And how would those arguments stack up against the Little Sisters case? \u00a0Remember, in our hypothetical, to make it work as a means of discussing the issue, we\u2019ll take it as a given that the government believes it has a \u201ccompelling government interest\u201d in having everyone be armed.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
(Image: \u00a0own photograph)<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My husband\u2019s gun acquisition meant that I have learned a little about the economics of gun ownership. \u00a0That is, a pistol will run you about $500, give or take. \u00a0An hour at the shooting range is about $20. \u00a0The ammunition works out to maybe another $20 per session \u2014 my husband\u2019s best guess, anyway, based […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":4137,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[255,361],"class_list":["post-4208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-little-sisters-of-the-poor","tag-tenuous-hypotheticals"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n