flawed argument

[suchislife]

A friend of mine recently started an argument on his myspace saying that alcohol consumption should be banned just like the gun (in Australia guns have been banned). His argument? That directly after the Port Arthur shooting all guns were banned, simply due to the ONE incident (first flaw in the argument), that 2 out of 7 road accidents are directly caused because of alcohol abuse but there has been no action to stop it(second flaw) he said that plenty of people complain about gambling and it's adverse affects yet no one complains about abuse of alcohol (third flaw)

now you can probably tell what my opinion of this argument was, I disagreed MAJORLY, however I understand his argument, it's valid he just didn't back it up very well from MY personal opinion.

1. Port Arthur was not the only incident, just the most well known there were many other reasons for the ban
2. There is PLENTY being done to prevent the abuse of alcohol, adds, laws, new RBT units in ALL cop cars, curfews on pubs, clubs and anywhere that sells grog
3. yes, 2 out of 7 accidents are due to the abuse of alcohol, however, how many accidents have there been on the roads? Because of point 2, there has been a decrease in accidents from what I’ve heard (don’t quote me on that) so the number of accidents due to alcohol should have decreased as well.
4. Plenty of people complain about drinking (exhibit A being HIM)
5. More people drink than have guns in Aus, you just try banning it and see what happens...I think there will be a lot of people thrown out of parliament simply for even considering the concept.

So what’s your opinion? Is enough being done to prevent people from abusing alcohol? Should it be banned all together?

[rahmota]

Well speaking as an American who studied his history all I have to say is our little attempt at prohibition was such a smashing success.

All it did was lead to an increase in organized crime, social disruption and rampant disrespect for the law. Sort of like most nanny state actions do.

I'll make a prediction if Autralia does create prohibition you will see those firearms come back real quick as the aussie version of al capone and his crew rise up to fill the void. Backyard hooch stills and bathtub gin hits the streets.

Well good luck with that.

As for the arguments. without going o see what your frend said it sounds kinda off.

[protege]

Well speaking as an American who studied his history all I have to say is our little attempt at prohibition was such a smashing success.

Exactly. It doesn't matter if something is banned, be it booze, guns, whatever. You got the cash and connections, you can get what you need.

Quite a few people ran whiskey back in the 1920s and '30s...and oddly enough, some of those stills are still ( ) around. In fact, I stumbled across one on my grandmother's land a few years ago. Not much was left, since the valuable copper tubing had already been scavenged...but the tanks, drums, and a few 1-gallon jars on the ground. Not far from her house, there was once a brewery...which was forced to close because of Prohibition. I'm sure there are stills in other areas...if you know where to look.

[rahmota]

Yep. Look at the "War on Drugs" our government has been loosing for the past 2 decades. What has that gotten us? A rise in violent crime, an overflow of nonviolent offenders who had miniscule amounts of weed on them choking our legal system and the strengthening and advancement of gangs and gang related activities into other nonurban areas.

And as for the stills I live in Appalachia. I personally know two functioning stills right off hand. And No I will not take you there.

My hometown used to have a major distillery that had to close due to the prohibition laws too. Was a major blow to the town. Took it from a growing contender to just another small farm town.