Quote:
Originally Posted by chillrob
I think the country would be better off if there were no state governments at all. There is really no good reason why people living in one state should have to follow different laws than those in another.
There are some things better settled on a state level. Water management in California, for instance, is something neither the federal government should be concerned with nor local governments empowered to handle.
But there are things better handled on the federal level - making sure that our shared labor pool has some baseline educational level, for instance. And obviously foreign policy and national defense.
And some things better handled on the local level. Since we have abortion and gay marriage in the thread already, I'll just add guns to the mix.
Constitutionality aside, the general rule should be anyone you can hit gets a say in whether and how you own a gun. So it makes sense that shoulder-mounted anti-aircraft rockets are banned nationwide, AK-47s are allowed in rural districts but not urban ones, handguns with hollow tipped bullets generally allowed but with background restrictions/training requirements, and non-concealable small caliber rifles allowed basically everywhere. It doesn't make sense for a gang-infested neighborhood in Oakland to have the same gun laws as a farming community in Idaho.