It seems that Laci the Dog from MikeB302000’s blog is a fellow member of the tribes. I can’t begin to tell you how much that sucks. Almost as much as his manipulation of the Talmud to justify leaving Jews defenseless against their enemies. Well not his manipulation per se. As TTAG commentator Jewish Marksman points out below, MikeB302000’s scripture quoting anti-gun dietribe [sic] was cut and pasted from jlaw.com. So, anyway, here’s the argument . . .
In the Talmud there are specific regulations that resemble gun control. There is a law against owning a dangerous dog (Bava Kamma 79a). One who owns a dangerous dog must keep it tied in metal chains at all times (CM 409:3). Even if the dog is defanged or trained not to harm people, it must be chained because it may frighten strangers, and as a result may cause stress related injuries such as miscarriage and heart attacks (Shabbat 63b). One of the more pious Rabbis, Rabbi Pinchas Ben Yair, was so stringent about this law that he refused to own mules, because they can occasionally cause injury (Hullin 7b; Terumat Hadeshen 2:105).
Wow. That’s a bit of a stretch. It gets worse . . .
There is a second halacha that is relevant to this issue. The Talmud prohibits someone from selling offensive weapons to idol worshippers and suspected criminals (Avodah Zarah 15b; YD 151:5-6). The rule against selling to idol worshippers is based on an assumption that the idol worshippers will use them against Jews; however, if the Jews are allied with the idol worshippers, it is permitted to sell them arms. It is likewise prohibited to sell such weapons to anyone suspected of reselling them to criminals. This halacha requires that the buyers of firearms be carefully screened, and resembles in many ways laws requiring a national registry of gun and rifle owners . . .
Jewish tradition compels us to uphold the sanctity of life. An instrumentality like a firearm is not more valuable than a human life. The ownership of firearms must be responsible. These instrumentalities must be regulated in a manner which respects life. Anyone who argues otherwise is going against Talmudic tradition.
“Responsible ownership” as in the average man—the average Jew—shouldn’t have access to a firearm. So much for “never again,” then. Except from those of us who understand that self-defense is both a personal and a collective responsibility. But personal first.
Oh, and BTW: “If a man means to kill you, strike first! – Talmud, Berakhot.