Gun Control on the Left

From Instapundit, Blogometer is reporting that the major bloggers on the left have been silent on the subject of gun control.

If you were expecting for the netroots to join more traditional Dem calls for increased gun control following the tragedy in Blacksburg, VA, don't hold your breath. At deadline, none of the top five netroots sites (Daily Kos, Eschaton, TPM, AMERICAblog, and MyDD) have called for any changes to gun laws...

By the end of the day this claim was no longer accurate. AMERICAblog actually called for a 'revisit' of gun control before the statement was made and then wentafter Bush for being a lackey of the NRA. More importantly though DailyKos goes into more detail:

I support licensing each gun owner after an extensive background check that explores possible criminality and mental instability. I support relicensing periodically. I think guns should be registered and that we should require extensive training for safety and proficiency in their use before a person is allowed to purchase one....

Such laws might - might - have stopped Cho Seung Hui from acquiring the two weapons he used to commit his murders at Virginia Tech. Or he may have acquired them illegally, as so many criminals do. But while there are legitimate concerns that these laws may constitute a slippery slope toward outright confiscation - an action that some Kossacks support - I still think it would be wise to pass them.

Essentially Kos proposes is an extensive licensing and registration scheme. These are generally bad ideas which raise the barrier for entry into firearms ownership (not to mention carry) and also have the effect of turning a fundamental right into a privilege which can be revoked by government authorities. As Kos himself points out, this is also a known slippery slope towards gun confiscation which has occurred in both US localities and foriegn countries.

The sad this is that he even acknowledges, it probably won't work. A fundamental abridgement of rights that won't even work. But hey we should try it anyway. It's for the children or something. Brilliant.

UPDATE: Heh. Indeed. And a resounding rant from Mrs. du Toit for once.