Gun Control

[Jayhawker Soule]

What do you need an assault rifle for?
Do you really need high capacity weapons?
Semi Auto's are unnecessary.
Revolvers are semi automatic. By the way, we need that 22 your grandfather left you in his will.
Handguns are dangerous, ban them all.
Rifles are dangerous, ban them all.
All you really need is a shot gun anyway.
Sorry Son, I have to take the shotguns now.

GUN CONTROL MEANS BEING ABLE TO HIT YOUR TARGET!

This is ludicrous. At the very least we should be able to agree that no one capable of such irrational drivel should be trusted to bare arms.

 

[sandandfoam]

Okay, I might want a gun if I lived in a rough neighborhood. Or during wartime. Or for hunting. Or skeet shooting. I'd like to able to defend myself if the country declares martial law and decides to round me up for an interrogation (believe it or not I will not automatically agree with my government, and should they go to far I would defend myself. I doubt it will happen but it's a possibility). There are tons of reasons I could think of to have a gun. And I would want to teach my kids about them because they exist. Guns are real, they are out there, they can kill you, and ignorance will not save them from reality. I'd feel much better knowing my kids understood guns and how to handle them properly then if they didn't and perhaps found one in a friends parent's closet one day while playing.

But most of all I prefer to be responsible for my own welfare. Ultimately I am the one who is held accountable by me in regards to my safety. I don't allow others to make that judgment call for me whenever possible.

Fear and a need for security are at the heart of it so?
If this is the case there are other ways to address these issues.
If you need to take up arms against your country I cannot see privately owned weaponry being a match for the US military.

 

[McBell]

Why do you want to own a gun?

I have the firearm my father used in Nam.
Well one of them anyway.
I enjoy hunting and going to the shooting range.
I do not have my fire arms for self protection.
Or even to protect my family.
They are for my enjoyment, either in knowing I have the side arm my father carried as a tunnel rat, the enjoyment I get from hunting, or the satisfaction of my shooting range outings.

 

[Reverend Rick]

This is ludicrous. At the very least we should be able to agree that no one capable of such irrational drivel should be trusted to bare arms.

That is close to a personal attack Jay. I don't have a beef with you, please keep it civil so we don't have to involve Mod's every time one of us feels passionate about an issue.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

That is close to a personal attack Jay. I don't have a beef with you, please keep it civil so we don't have to involve Mod's every time one of us feels passionate about an issue.

It was a very serious observation. I do not want people capable of such nonsense licensed to carry assault weapons around my grandkids.

 

[cardero]

I have the firearm my father used in Nam.
Well one of them anyway.
I enjoy hunting and going to the shooting range.
I do not have my fire arms for self protection.
Or even to protect my family.
They are for my enjoyment, either in knowing I have the side arm my father carried as a tunnel rat, the enjoyment I get from hunting, or the satisfaction of my shooting range outings.

My father was an ex-policeman and has a surplus of excess weapons he keeps at the house. He once told me that fear is no reason to own a gun but that the possibility for survival is. In his past line of work I guess that would be acceptable. Hunting would be another good argument until someone points out to the gun owner that there is a Hannaford's down the street.

 

[sandandfoam]

I have the firearm my father used in Nam.
Well one of them anyway.
I enjoy hunting and going to the shooting range.
I do not have my fire arms for self protection.
Or even to protect my family.
They are for my enjoyment, either in knowing I have the side arm my father carried as a tunnel rat, the enjoyment I get from hunting, or the satisfaction of my shooting range outings.

That sounds reasonable to me. Is there a chance of a gun control law that will allow the type of activity you outline above but stop an eighteen year old buy an assault rifle for who knows what?

 

[cardero]

That sounds reasonable to me. Is there a chance of a gun control law that will allow the type of activity you outline above but stop an eighteen year old buy an assault rifle for who knows what?

When my father passes away, I guess that there is a good chance that I will probably have to inherit these guns. I'm wondering if I could encourage that same sentimentality as Mestemia. I'll be honest, I despise firearms just as much as Batman.

 

[McBell]

My father was an ex-policeman and has a surplus of excess weapons he keeps at the house. He once told me that fear is no reason to own a gun but that the possibility for survival is. In his past line of work I guess that would be acceptable. Hunting would be another good argument until someone points out to the gun owner that there is a Hannaford's down the street.

I do not go hunting because I need the meat.
I go hunting because I enjoy the outdoors.
If I actually get to shoot something and harvest the meat, then it is an added bonus.

That sounds reasonable to me. Is there a chance of a gun control law that will allow the type of activity you outline above but stop an eighteen year old buy an assault rifle for who knows what?

Lat I checked, the vast majority of crimes committed with a fire arm involved, the fire arm was illegally obtained.

I know of no place in the United states where a teenager can legally purchase a working assault rifle.
However, perhaps our definitions of 'assault rifle' are different?

When my father passes away, I guess that there is a good chance that I will probably have to inherit these guns. I'm wondering if I could encourage that same sentimentality as Mestemia. I'll be honest, I despise firearms just as much as Batman.

I suspect that my father being in the service till I was 16 gave me a bigger opportunity to learn about fire arms than most people get.

I used to hang out at the base firing ranges and because of such, I have had the opportunity to fire all kinds of weapons.

Growing up around firearms I have an appreciation for the arguments both for and against them.
What I find interesting is that those who know the least seem to be the ones talking the loudest.
And this applies to both sides of the issue.

 

[cardero]

Mestemia writes: I do not go hunting because I need the meat.
I go hunting because I enjoy the outdoors.
If I actually get to shoot something and harvest the meat, then it is an added bonus.

I totally understand, whether it is for the sport or whether it is for food, I understand why some people enjoy hunting.

Mestemia writes: I used to hang out at the base firing ranges and because of such, I have had the opportunity to fire all kinds of weapons.

Growing up around firearms I have an appreciation for the arguments both for and against them.
What I find interesting is that those who know the least seem to be the ones talking the loudest.
And this applies to both sides of the issue.

My father used to take me to the shooting range but I wasn’t quite interested. If there is one thing that my father did impart in me about firearms, it was the respect that one should have for the weapon.

 

[McBell]

If there is one thing that my father did impart in me about firearms, it was the respect that one should have for the weapon.

The guy in charge of the firing range was a good friend of my fathers.
He was the type that wanted to know all about the various fighting styles and techniques.
Not only with fire arms but with sticks, swords, bare hands, knives, pencils, etc.

I learned tons from him.
But the single most important thing I learned, is the one thing that is more important than knowing how to use a fire arm, is knowing WHEN to use a fire arm.

 

[Ciscokid]

I'd be in support of outlawing certain guns if I really thought it would make a difference. I don't see how it would. Inform a druggie that doing illegal drugs is illegal...what is his or her response? Who gives a *&^%?

 

[PureX]

I have the firearm my father used in Nam.
Well one of them anyway.
I enjoy hunting and going to the shooting range.
I do not have my fire arms for self protection.
Or even to protect my family.
They are for my enjoyment, either in knowing I have the side arm my father carried as a tunnel rat, the enjoyment I get from hunting, or the satisfaction of my shooting range outings.

If I were to own a gun, that's probably the way I would view it as well. I feel no need to have one around the house for protection, but it might be fun to go to the shooting range for the sport of target shooting, or perhaps skeet shooting.

 

[Lindsey-Loo]

Why do you want to own a gun?

Self defense and hunting. Of course I don't own one now (too young) but I will when I'm older.

In my area, it takes the police on average 4.3 minutes to arrive at someone's home. Do you realize how many people could be killed by a gunmen, or an armed robber by then? We're talking my entire family of five and then some. Guns in self defense and defense of family/home=good.

 

[yossarian22]

That sounds reasonable to me. Is there a chance of a gun control law that will allow the type of activity you outline above but stop an eighteen year old buy an assault rifle for who knows what?

Assault weapons already have fairly strict regulation on them as it is. Legally aquiring a submachine gun (for example) is difficult, but not impossible. First a rather extensive background check is done (more stringent than usual) and a group of inspectors come to your house and to make sure you have a place to put the gun so it can't be stolen.

 

[cardero]

Guns in self defense and defense of family/home=good.

Provided your offenders give you the opportunity to retrieve them.

 

[PureX]

Regarding assault weapons (meaning automatic weapons that can fire many rounds per minute); I can't think of any legitimate reason for a citizen to need or want to own one. I can, however, think of a number of legitimate reasons that citizens should not be allowed to own them. And lastly, I am convinced that the people who want to own them are the very people we should least want to have them. So when I add this all together, I have to favor a total ban on automatic weapons except for the police and military.

Regarding the analogy of gun rights to automobile rights, I think it's an apt analogy. Someone pointed out that cars kill far more people than guns do, which is true of course, because far more people own cars and used them far more often than own or use guns. But the lesson here is not what the poster intended. If we follow the logic, then the conclusion must be that as more and more people come to own and use guns, more and more people will be killed by them. And I don't think this is what we want to be advocating, is it?

As with automobiles, the goal is not to stop people from owning and using guns if they so desire, the goal is to have as many people who want to own and use guns do so responsibly. And likewise, to keep those who cannot or will not own and use them responsibly, from having them at all. This is the reasonable goal regarding guns, cars, planes, boats, and many other potentially dangerous machines. I see no more reason to let an alcoholic own a gun than to own a car or an airplane, given that alcohol is known to effect good judgment, and as alcoholics are inclined to ignore any laws we impose on their usage of such deadly machines when they drink (which we know they will do on a regular basis). So it would seem logical and reasonable to me that if someone is convicted of DUI, for example, they should not only lose their ability to drive a car, but their ability to fly a plane, carry a gun, perform surgery, etc., etc., as they cannot be trusted to make good decisions regarding the use of such dangerous machinery. In a free society, we are free to become drunks if we want. But we are not free to behave in a dangerous and irresponsible manner toward other people because we're drunks. Or because we're drug addicts. Or because we're emotionally impaired in some way. Or because we're physically handicapped. Or because we're just plain idiots.

Everyone has a right to drive a car. Everyone has a right to get drunk. But no one has the right to drive their car while drunk. It's just common sense that these rights must be managed, and limited, for the safety of everyone. And that's what "gun control" is all about - the necessary management of our ownership and use of dangerous machinery.

 

[Quiddity]

Just look at London...enuff said.

 

[Lindsey-Loo]

Provided your offenders give you the opportunity to retrieve them.

Every gun owner I know (and living in Tennessee, I know a lot of them) keep their weapons handy at all times. Hey, even if they don't, it's worth a shot, right? No pun intended...

 

[yossarian22]

Regarding assault weapons (meaning automatic weapons that can fire many rounds per minute); I can't think of any legitimate reason for a citizen to need or want to own one.

Same.

I can, however, think of a number of legitimate reasons that citizens should not be allowed to own them. And lastly, I am convinced that the people who want to own them are the very people we should least want to have them. So when I add this all together, I have to favor a total ban on automatic weapons except for the police and military.

A few interesting statistics. Since the ban of assault weapons has ended, the use of assault weapons in crimes have increased some 18%. (depending on your source of data)
Now, does this support a ban of assault weapons? The answer is, quite simply, no.
Gunfights using solely semi-automatic weapons have more bullets fired, and more people killed than fights with automatic weapons present.
Why? Several possible reasons. A likely reason is that many criminals are poor with firearms. Another reason could be assault weapons tend to bring an end to a gun fight quickly.