Is owning Guns good or bad?

[FFH]

I'm also reminded of Ashley Smith's story, which she told on at least two occasions, one being on Oprah www.Oprah.com and the other on TBN (www.TBN.org).

Read her compelling story: Hostage (Ashley Smith) reads 'Purpose-Driven Life' to alleged Atlanta killer

 

[jmaster78]

FFh is right, you should put your faith in G-D not guns, if you buy a gun for protection what are you trying to say? 'I don't trust G-D to protect me.' as for owning one for sport, whats wrong with playstations, your 4 year old son can't shoot you with them cos he doesn't destinguish between his toy gun and your real one. and your teenage son can't use a playstation to kill the school bully!or your teenage daughter can't use a playstation to kill her cheating ex! i know these examples may be extreme, but there are extreme people out there, maybe living under your own roof! you may be Mr Sensible but what about those around you? All this talk of 'I own a gun but i'm responsible'. your irresponsible for owning a gun. If your american, ask yourself how many innocent americans are dead because of Mr Sensible and his responsible gun attitude! Not all gun related deaths are because of car jackers, burglers and gangs!

I watched a program about a group of rich Texans who met up on saturdays on each others ranches to let rip with anti aircraft guns mounted on the back of their pickup trucks. ANTI AIRCRAFT GUNS!!! yes, very handy tool, every household should have one. (this kind of attitude might explain in part why the rest of the world doesn't sleep at night)

 

[YmirGF]

I watched a program about a group of rich Texans who met up on saturdays on each others ranches to let rip with anti aircraft guns mounted on the back of their pickup trucks. ANTI AIRCRAFT GUNS!!! yes, very handy tool, every household should have one. (this kind of attitude might explain in part why the rest of the world doesn't sleep at night)

Yeah, I think I saw something about that. Me? I'm holding out for handheld tactical nukes for use in the home and garden.

*Chuckles*

"Never bring a gun to a nuke fight, son."

 

[SoyLeche]

I think it's probably a good idea to have a gun. The only gun I own is a .22 rifle, and it's 3000 miles away at my parent's house.

I'd like to get me a hunting rifle - just on the off chance that the world goes nuts and I need to hunt for food. That type of rifle isn't really useful for home defense though. If I were going to get something for that it would probably be a shotgun. I don't really see a need for me to get a pistol.

As far as protecting against despots... that may have been true in the past, but I don't see hunting rifles being all that useful against tanks and F-16s...

 

[jmaster78]

quote<"in America gun crime claims, on average, a life every eight seconds.">unquote

Seriously folks there's somthing wrong with that!

 

[SoyLeche]

BTW, if you are really concerned about children and guns - there are plenty of easy ways to make sure your kids can't use them. You can get locks that go over the trigger (that's what my dad did). My dad also took the bolts out and hid them. Also, 2 words - gun cabinet.

 

[Todd]

Do you think owning guns is good or bad. (generally).

Depends on who's trying to own the gun. It's a big responsibility that some can't handle properly.

Would you personally ever own a gun? why?

Yes. I own a 38 special and a 22 remington rifle. It's not much, but I enjoy shooting them at the shooting range.

Is an armed populace good or bad? Does it protect against despotism?

Neither good nor bad. I'd much rather a world that didn't need guns, but unfortunately, bad people can get there hands on a gun at any time. I just figure it's good to have something for home protection, but nothing crazy like machine guns or anything like that.

 

[Bishka]

BTW, if you are really concerned about children and guns - there are plenty of easy ways to make sure your kids can't use them. You can get locks that go over the trigger (that's what my dad did). My dad also took the bolts out and hid them. Also, 2 words - gun cabinet.

Or gun safe.

My grandparents have a gun safe in their basement...there is absolutley no way anyone could get in (we tried).

 

[FFH]

Unlikely Angel
By Ashley Smith
From the show Held Hostage by the Atlanta Spree Killer: How Ashley Smith Survived

From The Publisher:

In March 2005, Ashley Smith made headlines around the globe when she miraculously talked her way out of the hands of alleged courthouse killer Brian Nichols after he took her hostage for seven hours in her suburban Atlanta apartment. In this moving, inspirational account, the 27-year-old widowed mother of a six-year-old girl shares for the first time the little-known details of her traumatic ordeal. Juxtaposing the minute-by-minute tale of her experience with the never-before-told tragedies and triumphs of her own life, Unlikely Angel is Ashley's gripping, powerful account of how this nightmare scenario developed into a remarkable connection between a man wanted for multiple murders and a single mother struggling to make a fresh beginning from her troubled past.

 

[SoyLeche]

In "Freakonomics" it talks about this a bit:

There are enough guns in the United States that if you gave one to every adult, you would run out of adults before you ran out of guns. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. homicides involve a gun, a far greater fraction than in other industrialized countries. It would therefore seem likely that our homicide rate is so high in part because guns are so easily available. Research indeed shows this to be true.

But guns are not the whole story. In Switzerland, every adult male is issued an assault rifle for militia duty and is allowed to keep the gun at home. On a per capita basis, Switzerland has more firearms than just about any other country, and yet it is one of the safest places in the world. In other words, guns do not cause crime. That said, the established U.S. method of keeping guns away from the people who do cause crime are, at best, feeble. And since a gun-- unlike a bag of cocaine or a car of a pair of pants -- lasts pretty much forever, even turning off the spigot of new guns still leaves an ocian of available ones

 

[YmirGF]

Also, 2 words - gun cabinet.

2 words - NO GUNS!

Do you folks all have bumper stickers like, "I pack heat for Jesus" or summin?

 

[SoyLeche]

Also from Freakonomics:

If you both own a gun and have a swimming pool in the backyard, the swimming pool is about 100 times more likely to kill a child than the gun is.

 

[SoyLeche]

Or gun safe.

My grandparents have a gun safe in their basement...there is absolutley no way anyone could get in (we tried).

That's actually what I meant when I said cabinet. Your word is better

 

[FFH]

2 words - NO GUNS!

Do you folks all have bumper stickers like, "I pack heat for Jesus" or summin?

Mormon's like their guns, but mainly because they are into hunting.

I remember going to a local skeet shooting range as a 13 or 14 year old Boy Scout and ripping it up with a shotgun...

We Mormons are pretty good shots, so don't mess with us..

 

[SoyLeche]

FFh is right, you should put your faith in G-D not guns, if you buy a gun for protection what are you trying to say? 'I don't trust G-D to protect me

Quick question - do you wear a seat belt in the car?

 

[FFH]

Quick question - do you wear a seat belt in the car?

Sorry, gonna have to disagree with that analogy.

Guns don't make a home or person any more safe than someone without one, just makes you more likely to go to prison if you actually shoot someone or just fire off a shot..

You better have a good witness that the assailant shot first or you're both going to prison for using or brandishing a deadly weapon...

 

[love]

I personally have never owned a gun. Alot of my family members are into hunting but I have never had the desire for bloodsport. If it could be possible to take all handguns off the street it would make a safer world. Guns dont deter criminals and they are to easy and deadly to use in the heat of angry. If they are outlawed only outlaws will have them. What are you going to do?

 

[SoyLeche]

Sorry, gonna have to disagree with that analogy.

Guns don't make a home or person any more safe than someone without one, just makes you more likely to go to prison if you actually shoot someone..

You better have a good witness that the assailant shot first or you're both going to prison for firing a deadly weapon...

It's not an analogy, it's a question.

 

[jonny]

Coming from a country where guns are illegal (unless you have a license for a specific purpose, eg. farmers have guns for shooting vermin) i'd say they were bad. Just look at the number of gun related deaths you have in the US compared to here in the UK.

There wouldn't be any car related deaths if we got rid of all the cars either. That doesn't mean we should do it.

 

[FFH]

It's not an analogy, it's a question.

Question, in the form of an analogy, which no one will respond to.