It is argued, by NRA types, that "guns are a right and drivers licenses are a privilege, and that's why licensing drivers is ok, while controlling guns is not"-- I argue:
Actually you are incorrect. Over the recent past, driving licenses have been declared to be more akin to a right than a privilege, because of the essential nature of vehicle operation for the functioning of modern society.
Motor Vehicle Departments have shifted hearings and administrative litigation to this level, recognizing that removal of the right to drive is so destructive in a persons life, and to society in general, that special rules and rights must be conferred, when adjudicating or administering driving.
The point is that the evolution of our modern society, from rural agrarian to concentrated populations, dependent upon different needs and desires, reflects changes in what is reasonable one time, but not another. In the frontier West, it was reasonable to be armed most of the time. In our cosmopolitan society, with all the attendant factors, it is ridiculous and dangerous.
It is obvious and reasonable, to anyone who applies ordinary common sense, that having anyone whose qualifi-cations are limited to citizenship, having the unfettered RIGHT to bear arms, wherever and whenever they choose, without some kind of licensing or oversight, is at LEAST as dangerous as allowing anyone who wishes to operate motor vehicles, without any requirement (beyond citizenship)
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