Well...in the "red zone" regions most people already have the right to carry handguns (in 33 states, I think.) It is those of us in the "blue zone" who want what our brethren in those 33 states already have. As for the tax burden - well, we all pay taxes for things far away. City people pay federal taxes for all those rural people living in flood plains in river valleys every 10 or 20 years to rebuild their houses after they get flooded out, the huge agricultural giveaways that go right to the rural states, the big interstates that cross those rural states; all those tax dollars going to national parks in rural states (very few in cities), etc. So that goes both ways.
Actually, I'm not all that impressed with light rail in general. It tends not to work that well in Northern cities that get lots of snow. But I was speaking to the general case of some horsetrading compromise as opposed to a specific case.
As for the interstates, I think you'll find that city folk tend to benefit as much if not more than those out in the country from their existence. I don't beleive that the federal government should be in the flood insurance business. And I agree with you that you ought to have the right to carry concealed (and you do if you don't get caught - sort-of). But as for tax money and where it comes from and where it goes, you will find that for the most part, taxes at the federal, state, and local level tend to flow from the red zone to the blue (keeping in mind that not all "red" zones are way out in the country).
Actually, I'm not all that impressed with light rail in general. It tends not to work that well in Northern cities that get lots of snow. But I was speaking to the general case of some horsetrading compromise as opposed to a specific case.
Well, light rail does have its usefullness in some areas, but I don't know that it is really more efficient than a good bus system, given that busses can travel much closer to the homes of the people that would ride them. To the extent that people have to drive to the train station, the savings is negated. Plus, busses can use the same road network that cars and trucks can use so the infrastructure costs are much lower.
Well...in the "red zone" regions most people already have the right to carry handguns (in 33 states, I think.)
Even in Minnesota, most people in the "red zone" counties have the right to carry. (And it's 32 states, right now. New Mexico passed a law, last year, but it was overturned by their Supreme Court).