The Gun Control Debate

[rebeccajo 14]

Wouldn't it be lovely if gun ownership became as socially unacceptable as smoking?

no

Well, why not? People find it quite fashionable actually to criticize, ostracize and otherwise harass smokers. Seems to me that is done in the name of minding other peoples business, mostly.

It seems to me you are minding my business when you tell me the rights the framers of the Constitution bestowed upon you are more hallowed than the protection of my child in a public place.

The smoker in a public place is affecting the lungs of others in that public place. The law-abiding citizen with a legally-owned firearm in a public place harms nobody, unless he's a criminal or nutcase like the Illinois shooter.

The only way you could keep the guns from the nutcases would be by making all gun ownership illegal, in which case only criminals and nutcases would have the guns they got ILLEGALLY.

Guns and cigarettes aren't really apples to apples anyway. There is no constitutional right to smoke. So our local do-gooders can just legislate away all they like.

But I'll see your five and raise you a ten that if more people started socially criticizing your guns; shaking their heads and clucking their tongues at you when you walked out of WalMart carrying your new rifle; and telling their children how 'horrible' that gun is - like they do cigarettes - well then maybe Little Johnny wouldn't be so inclined to break into your gun safe and pepper-spray his classmates on a morning he woke up pi$$ed off at the world.

[garya505 2]

It's interesting to note how many of the people who want more gun control don't even know the restrictions we already have.

Just a thought.

Keep blowing that smoke up your own skirt, Gary. Does it help your justification to own a device that has no other purpose on this earth than killing to believe people who disagree with you have no knowledge of current laws on carrying or purchasing?

You're right. We don't need more laws. What we need is for self-obsessed protectionists to stop believing they need to personally own a half-dozen or more devices because each one of them has a unique and different thumbprint for death.

I don't wear a skirt.

Owning firearms is justified because the right to self-defense is justified. Some people would choose to die rather than kill to defend themselves. That's they're choice.

Personally I think owning a half-dozen or more firearms is counterproductive WRT self-defense. Not many people can learn to shot that many different firearms well, and as they say, "only hits count".

[john & jean 37]

Whe guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns. Guns don't kill people. People, kill people. What will be next, hammers, baseball bats, knives. Where would it end. I was rasied with weapons,owned one since age eight. I was tought to respect life, both human and animal alike. That bieng said, they can have my "guns" when they pry my cold dead fingers from the WEAPON .

[britty 1]

Whe guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns. Guns don't kill people. People, kill people. What will be next, hammers, baseball bats, knives. Where would it end. I was rasied with weapons,owned one since age eight. I was tought to respect life, both human and animal alike. That bieng said, they can have my "guns" when they pry my cold dead fingers from the WEAPON .

[Aymerlu 3]

Just because you don't have a criminal record doesn't mean #######.

guilty even if innocent? now that's a new one.

Well, my best friends dad was the ideal person around here. Went and bought a gun then killed them all plus himself the following week. No criminal record got him that gun

[rebeccajo 14]

It's interesting to note how many of the people who want more gun control don't even know the restrictions we already have.

Just a thought.

Keep blowing that smoke up your own skirt, Gary. Does it help your justification to own a device that has no other purpose on this earth than killing to believe people who disagree with you have no knowledge of current laws on carrying or purchasing?

You're right. We don't need more laws. What we need is for self-obsessed protectionists to stop believing they need to personally own a half-dozen or more devices because each one of them has a unique and different thumbprint for death.

I don't wear a skirt.

Owning firearms is justified because the right to self-defense is justified. Some people would choose to die rather than kill to defend themselves. That's they're choice.

Personally I think owning a half-dozen or more firearms is counterproductive WRT self-defense. Not many people can learn to shot that many different firearms well, and as they say, "only hits count".

The 'right' to self defense against the criminal element is not even in the damn Constitution. The right for individuals to bear arms was granted so that citizens could protect themselves against an oppressive government.

Maybe rifles are so popular because 'hitting what counts' is so much easier with one. Much more effective in a classroom situation I would guess. Even if you don't blow off the whole head, you might get an ear.

[garya505 2]

Wouldn't it be lovely if gun ownership became as socially unacceptable as smoking?

no

Well, why not? People find it quite fashionable actually to criticize, ostracize and otherwise harass smokers. Seems to me that is done in the name of minding other peoples business, mostly.

It seems to me you are minding my business when you tell me the rights the framers of the Constitution bestowed upon you are more hallowed than the protection of my child in a public place.

The smoker in a public place is affecting the lungs of others in that public place. The law-abiding citizen with a legally-owned firearm in a public place harms nobody, unless he's a criminal or nutcase like the Illinois shooter.

The only way you could keep the guns from the nutcases would be by making all gun ownership illegal, in which case only criminals and nutcases would have the guns they got ILLEGALLY.

Guns and cigarettes aren't really apples to apples anyway. There is no constitutional right to smoke. So our local do-gooders can just legislate away all they like.

But I'll see your five and raise you a ten that if more people started socially criticizing your guns; shaking their heads and clucking their tongues at you when you walked out of WalMart carrying your new rifle; and telling their children how 'horrible' that gun is - like they do cigarettes - well then maybe Little Johnny wouldn't be so inclined to break into your gun safe and pepper-spray his classmates on a morning he woke up pi$$ed off at the world.

You think gun owners would get rid of their guns because of social pressure? That's a stretch.

[rebeccajo 14]

Wouldn't it be lovely if gun ownership became as socially unacceptable as smoking?

no

Well, why not? People find it quite fashionable actually to criticize, ostracize and otherwise harass smokers. Seems to me that is done in the name of minding other peoples business, mostly.

It seems to me you are minding my business when you tell me the rights the framers of the Constitution bestowed upon you are more hallowed than the protection of my child in a public place.

The smoker in a public place is affecting the lungs of others in that public place. The law-abiding citizen with a legally-owned firearm in a public place harms nobody, unless he's a criminal or nutcase like the Illinois shooter.

The only way you could keep the guns from the nutcases would be by making all gun ownership illegal, in which case only criminals and nutcases would have the guns they got ILLEGALLY.

Guns and cigarettes aren't really apples to apples anyway. There is no constitutional right to smoke. So our local do-gooders can just legislate away all they like.

But I'll see your five and raise you a ten that if more people started socially criticizing your guns; shaking their heads and clucking their tongues at you when you walked out of WalMart carrying your new rifle; and telling their children how 'horrible' that gun is - like they do cigarettes - well then maybe Little Johnny wouldn't be so inclined to break into your gun safe and pepper-spray his classmates on a morning he woke up pi$$ed off at the world.

You think gun owners would get rid of their guns because of social pressure? That's a stretch.

Got a lite?

[DeadPoolX 9]

I don't even see how banning guns would be an effective piece of legislation, because...

1. Criminals don't get their firearms through legal means!

2. Anyone who really wants a gun would go ahead and get it, any way they could. There are plenty of countries that don't allow citizens to own guns and yet, there are people walking around with them who aren't part of the police or the military. How does this happen? It's because they wanted something and did whatever it took to get it, law be damned.

3. Firearms are constructed. I think some people forget guns are machines and that we don't grow them. Sure, it wouldn't be easy to build one from scratch, but if they were completely outlawed and someone (or a group of people) really had their heart set on some guns, do you think a little hard work would stop them?

[john & jean 37]

Just because you don't have a criminal record doesn't mean #######.

guilty even if innocent? now that's a new one.

Well, my best friends dad was the ideal person around here. Went and bought a gun then killed them all plus himself the following week. No criminal record got him that gun

I am truly sorry, but the father is to blame. Not the weapon. There are many instances of the same only W/ hammers or more recently a meat cleaver. Which I might add probably would not have happened had she had a " GUN "...

[Jaseball 0]

You're right. We don't need more laws. What we need is for self-obsessed protectionists to stop believing they need to personally own a half-dozen or more devices because each one of them has a unique and different thumbprint for death.

Yes, and exactly how well are Jaseball's rifles and shotgun protecting him?

That's because there are no laws on burglarizing other people's homes and stealing their property. If we have these sorts of laws in place, then criminals would not be able to.....oh, wait a second.....

[rebeccajo 14]

Just because you don't have a criminal record doesn't mean #######.

guilty even if innocent? now that's a new one.

Well, my best friends dad was the ideal person around here. Went and bought a gun then killed them all plus himself the following week. No criminal record got him that gun

I am truly sorry, but the father is to blame. Not the weapon. There are many instances of the same only W/ hammers or more recently a meat cleaver. Which I might add probably would not have happened had she had a " GUN "...

This argument always bores me to tears.

No inanimate object can due harm until a human being gets involved. Or do good.

The Sistine Chapel wasn't the result of a paintbrush getting up and moving all around the ceiling.

Two atomic warheads didn't get into planes by themselves and land on Hiroshima and Nagisaki of their own volition either.

[garya505 2]

It's interesting to note how many of the people who want more gun control don't even know the restrictions we already have.

Just a thought.

Keep blowing that smoke up your own skirt, Gary. Does it help your justification to own a device that has no other purpose on this earth than killing to believe people who disagree with you have no knowledge of current laws on carrying or purchasing?

You're right. We don't need more laws. What we need is for self-obsessed protectionists to stop believing they need to personally own a half-dozen or more devices because each one of them has a unique and different thumbprint for death.

I don't wear a skirt.

Owning firearms is justified because the right to self-defense is justified. Some people would choose to die rather than kill to defend themselves. That's they're choice.

Personally I think owning a half-dozen or more firearms is counterproductive WRT self-defense. Not many people can learn to shot that many different firearms well, and as they say, "only hits count".

The 'right' to self defense against the criminal element is not even in the damn Constitution. The right for individuals to bear arms was granted so that citizens could protect themselves against an oppressive government.

Maybe rifles are so popular because 'hitting what counts' is so much easier with one. Much more effective in a classroom situation I would guess. Even if you don't blow off the whole head, you might get an ear.

The right to self defense isn't explicit in the constitution, but it's implied in our laws. Or maybe you think that people should not be allowed to kill to defend themselves?

Personally I wouldn't go for a head shot unless I thought the perp was wearing a vest and I was at short range, or with a scope at long range. It's just common sense.

[britty 1]

Just because you don't have a criminal record doesn't mean #######.

guilty even if innocent? now that's a new one.

Well, my best friends dad was the ideal person around here. Went and bought a gun then killed them all plus himself the following week. No criminal record got him that gun

As I have stated here previously, this isnt about the gun at all. The father in this tragedy was insane, deranged, mad,... however you want to describe it. He could have easily have bought any other weapon and killed his family and himself. The gun itself is useless without an operator.

[SMOKE 1,426]

Guns and cigarettes aren't really apples to apples anyway. There is no constitutional right to smoke. So our local do-gooders can just legislate away all they like.

But I'll see your five and raise you a ten that if more people started socially criticizing your guns; shaking their heads and clucking their tongues at you when you walked out of WalMart carrying your new rifle; and telling their children how 'horrible' that gun is - like they do cigarettes - well then maybe Little Johnny wouldn't be so inclined to break into your gun safe and pepper-spray his classmates on a morning he woke up pi$$ed off at the world.

that actually happened to me.

i was buying 12 gauge shells (wearing sweatpants & an old worn out t-shirt) & a lady says to her kids "see what kind of people have guns". i looked at her kids, pointed at their mom & said "you see what kind of people think its ok to pass judgement on other people while they buy batteries for their vibrators w/ their kids at wal mart & drink whiskey while they take their xannax in front of their kids at home"....she wasn't amused...but another guy in wal mart about pizzed on himself he was laughing so hard.