Star Trek and Gun Control

But unusual this one, but I dislike seeing something I love being misappropriated to support the foolish notion of unfettered access to deadly weapons as somehow being a good thing.

Regarding Star Trek and civilian gun rights, this thread will be my running list of examples, since a lot of people are mistakenly claiming that Trek's future is one of gun control.#StarTrek #2A #GunControl #NeverAgain #SecureOurSchools

— ST-v-SW.Net (@STvSW) February 26, 2018

Shall we take a look at Exhibit A?

1. Lily Sloane in ST: First Contact, 2063 USA, had a submachine gun capable of full-auto, presumably firing 9mm per the prop's origin.https://t.co/2gr0kZJRLR

— ST-v-SW.Net (@STvSW) February 26, 2018

Yes, Lily had access to a submachine gun. In a post-nuclear war, virtually lawless society. It’s hardly a valid comparison to the present day situation.

Exhibit B:

3. Guinan, civilian barkeep, in "Night Terrors"(TNG4), 2360s UFP, possessed a beam-shooting long gun she picked up on Magus III & kept behind the bar in Ten-Forward. She was also proficient with a phaser in another ep, noting she'd been practicing long before Worf's birth.

— ST-v-SW.Net (@STvSW) February 26, 2018

Guinan was also extremely old and would have had ample opportunity to learn how to use weapons. This doesn’t go to prove that access to firearms is unregulated, as it currently is in the USA. Guns are available in Canada, France, Germany and the UK – there are regulations in place in all these nations but its typical of anti-regulation activists to assume otherwise.

Exhibit C:

4. Kevin Uxbridge, Federation colonist, in "The Survivors"(TNG3), 2366 UFP, possessed a low-yield phaser, not of a Starfleet model. The unit was inoperative but no suggestion was ever made that it wasn't legal to possess a weapon.

— ST-v-SW.Net (@STvSW) February 26, 2018

See above. Having unrestricted access to virtually any type of firearm is not the same thing as regulations and controls.

There’s more (a lot more), but I grow weary of having to point out the obvious every time someone puts up these false dichotomies about guns and regulations, whilst it annoys me greatly that people would take Star Trek and twist it to suit such an agenda.