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Comment by bronson | Hacker News Reader

If food has harmful uses, and I think any one sensible would have to agree that it does, then giving everyone unrestricted food is likely to make it worse.

You can do this with cars, tools, computers, ... whatever you want. So, no, I think your point is wrong.

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We do in fact have car and food safety laws. Regulation is normal.

Guns are highly regulated. Try getting a gun in liberal California, where Reagan screwed us.

Now, what I want to regulate are accordions.

I am a responsible accordion owner and I think we’re doing ok :)

Haven’t tried getting a gun in California. How bad is it? How could it be improved?

> Haven’t tried getting a gun in California. How bad is it? How could it be improved?

You have to pass a basic knowledge test, have a clean background, prove residency in the state, be 21 (or 18 for hunting rifles, IIRC) and then wait 10 days.

Which is to say that it’s a very burdensome process if you think you should be able to go to Walmart, exchange cash for goods, and walk out with a gun, but pretty simple by the standards of regulated goods. The basic knowledge test is very basic, so the pain points are just that sometimes background checks are incorrect, the waiting period can be inconvenient, and just the general annoyances of government bureaucracy.

A gun is not a good. It’s a right.

It’s not like we ask to wait for 2 weeks when you have something to say or when you want to pray to your god.

> It’s a right.

Not if you're a felon or have mental health issues.

Free speech is a right, too, but we regulate that.

It depends on the county. Some Sheriffs think it’s them who gives you your RIGHT to own a gun or a concealed weapon license. They don’t understand they are servants.

LA just settled the Fed lawsuit over their terrible practices:

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-08-13/doj-la-s...

I have purchased a gun in California, and I thought the process was pretty reasonable. Maybe even too lax.

Safety laws are the wrong category, the equivalent regulations would be those that forbid the use of cars for drive-by shootings or as robbery getaway vehicles, and regulations against the use of food to provide crime energy.

Yes, it makes sense to be against bad regulations. We should try to do better than that.

Nice try Philipp Mainländer!

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