Gun control discussion

[Lady's Human]

Like any other city, there's a lot of shooting in Trenton. There was a story in today's paper about a 76 year old woman who shot and killed her husband. Someone was shot to death about a block from where we live. Sadly, it's a city wide every day event here. I'm terrified of all guns - legal as well as illegal.

Why be terrified of an inanimate object? It's a tool, a mindless, driveless piece of metal. It has no motives of its own. It takes a person to use the tool, and if the person who's using it is evil, it will be used for evil. However, it doesn't take a gun. It could be a knife, a car, or a semi full of fertilizer and fuel.

[cassiesmom]

I read in the newspaper this morning that a group of pastors in Chicago have gotten together and called for a "weekend of peace". I hope it truly happens. There are sad stories on the news almost nonstop around here.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...,4793404.story

I'm with momcat - guns terrify me. To be more specific- what terrifies me is that they keep ending up in the hands of impulsive young gangbangers. Or of mentally unstable people (remember the Northern Illinois University shootings on Valentine's Day 2008?) who get hold of a bunch of weapons and shoot up a public place. I should not have to be afraid every time I go out in public. I think my right to be safe and free from fear trumps the right of someone who shouldn't even have a gun in the first place to go on a shooting spree. Something has to be done to keep these incidents from happening. How to manage chronic city-based gun violence is a lot different from a mentally unstable person in a movie theater or a college lecture hall, though.

[Randi]

Because it's a right to own a gun in the US doesn't mean it's right. Have you ever wondered how other countries are surviving without everyone having one.

Yes, I know that if someone really wants to use a gun he/she will get one somehow, but it will be a lot more difficult, and the person might have had time to cool off before he kill someone.

Btw, is it allowed in all States in the US? And how about Canada?

[phesina]

That's what I've been wondering... Are the gun murder and violence rates much WORSE in countries with strict gun control laws (Canada? England? Denmark? etc.?) than in the U.S.?

.. because after all, the bad guys will always manage to get ahold of the weapons but the good people will not be able to arm themselves for protection? ....

[Alysser]

No one said it makes it right, but perhaps if you lived in "the land of the free", you'd understand where we are coming from a bit better. The US was built on a foundation of freedom, and the right to own a gun is one of the freedoms.

LH brought up another point. Elyse, you are right, you shouldn't fear going out in public. But a gun isn't the only thing that is used to kill people that is legal. Fine, make it harder for someone to get a gun...do you think that's really going to stop someone?? Not a chance. They can use an axe, a home-made bomb, gasoline and a match, even a car. The point is, you shouldn't have to fear these objects (including guns), but in today's society you have to. We can't ban every single object that you can use to kill someone with. If you ban the gun, there's always going to be something else to use. The problem does not lie with the object used. It lies with the person using it.

[robinh]

I've enjoyed reading what everyone had to say (very interesting and diverse, by the way). I don't make a big deal out of my views on this issue and I've hesitated to wade in, but here is my two cents worth.

I was terrified of guns for many years, even the small pellet gun my mom owned. My SO and his father took me to a gun range and taught me how to shoot. They taught me how to tear a gun apart and clean it. Once I understood the safety rules and how a gun fired, I felt less frightened. I also learned - guns don't kill people, people kill people using guns.

I currently own two handguns; a revolver and a semi-automatic. To acquire those guns, I had to apply for a permit to buy and go through a background check. I've taken a gun safety course and through my local county sheriff's office have been allowed to have a legal permit to carry a concealed weapon if I choose....which I never have. I go to the gun range and shoot them infrequently. I'm a law abiding citizen. I don't promote guns to anyone nor would I insist someone buy, own or shoot a gun; but I also believe that if I follow the laws, someone shouldn't be able to tell me I can't own a gun.

Criminals will always find a way to get a gun because they don't get them legally. I'm not sure that banning weapons will accomplish keeping them out of the hands of criminals, it will just make it harder for honest citizens to own a gun.


Can't tell you how many times I've edited this before posting.

[Edwina's Secretary]

No one said it makes it right, but perhaps if you lived in "the land of the free", you'd understand where we are coming from a bit better. The US was built on a foundation of freedom, and the right to own a gun is one of the freedoms.

I live in "the land of the free". Have for a long time. And I don't understand where you are coming from. Not everyone agrees that the right to own a gun is one of those freedoms. That is one interpretation of the Second Amendment.

I do not feel any need to own a gun to feel free. In fact, like Cassiemom's I am afraid of guns. I will not be in a house where there is a gun. I will leave if I find out there is a firearm in the house. It is just too dangerous. My husband would not let his children go to play in houses with guns. Too, too dangerous.

You cannot logically compare a gun to an automobile or a knife or an ax or a can of gasoline. There is a fundamental difference. A car exists to transport people, a knife or ax to cut - food, wood, cloth, etc. Gasoline is to fuel a vehicle. That they may kill is incidental to the purpose for which they exist. Bathtubs can kill too.

A gun exist to kill. Kill. Mostly people. And if you get a fancy enough gun - you can kill lots of people very fast. Guns have no other purpose. They were not invented for sport or for protection. The only "protection" they are perceived to offer is to kill. They were invented to kill.

And that is my opinion. Now the "usual suspects" will flail away saying how wrong I am, etc, etc, etc.... Don't care. I am not going to change my mind - neither will they.

p.s. Did you read about the police officer this week who thought he shot and killed an intruder? Opps! It was his son....

[Karen]

A gun exist to kill. Kill. Mostly people. And if you get a fancy enough gun - you can kill lots of people very fast. Guns have no other purpose. They were not invented for sport or for protection. The only "protection" they are perceived to offer is to kill. They were invented to kill.

I have fired guns many times. I never killed any one or any thing with one. I grew up with guns in the house, and was taught to respect them. Target shooting is a sport. Not one I am very good at, but it is a sport, and doing it well takes skill. Heck, it is an Olympic sport! Police are trained with guns, and trained when to shoot to disable a suspect, not to kill him or her. A gun can be used to do things other than kill. Honest. And the noise from a gun can frighten off wild animals without killing them.

No gun can kill many people as quickly as a single explosive device can. Like a land mine left in place years after a war is over that can go on killing and maiming without any human help. No gun can do that.

Guns are not good. Guns are not evil. Guns are tools.

[pomtzu]

I live in "the land of the free". Have for a long time. And I don't understand where you are coming from. Not everyone agrees that the right to own a gun is one of those freedoms. That is one interpretation of the Second Amendment.

I do not feel any need to own a gun to feel free. In fact, like Cassiemom's I am afraid of guns. I will not be in a house where there is a gun. I will leave if I find out there is a firearm in the house. It is just too dangerous. My husband would not let his children go to play in houses with guns. Too, too dangerous.

You cannot logically compare a gun to an automobile or a knife or an ax or a can of gasoline. There is a fundamental difference. A car exists to transport people, a knife or ax to cut - food, wood, cloth, etc. Gasoline is to fuel a vehicle. That they may kill is incidental to the purpose for which they exist. Bathtubs can kill too.

A gun exist to kill. Kill. Mostly people. And if you get a fancy enough gun - you can kill lots of people very fast. Guns have no other purpose. They were not invented for sport or for protection. The only "protection" they are perceived to offer is to kill. They were invented to kill.

And that is my opinion. Now the "usual suspects" will flail away saying how wrong I am, etc, etc, etc.... Don't care. I am not going to change my mind - neither will they.

p.s. Did you read about the police officer this week who thought he shot and killed an intruder? Opps! It was his son....

I know I said I was done with this thread, but I couldn't let the opportunity go by to say I agree with this post 100%!

[Alysser]

I live in "the land of the free". Have for a long time. And I don't understand where you are coming from. Not everyone agrees that the right to own a gun is one of those freedoms. That is one interpretation of the Second Amendment.

I do not feel any need to own a gun to feel free. In fact, like Cassiemom's I am afraid of guns. I will not be in a house where there is a gun. I will leave if I find out there is a firearm in the house. It is just too dangerous. My husband would not let his children go to play in houses with guns. Too, too dangerous.

You cannot logically compare a gun to an automobile or a knife or an ax or a can of gasoline. There is a fundamental difference. A car exists to transport people, a knife or ax to cut - food, wood, cloth, etc. Gasoline is to fuel a vehicle. That they may kill is incidental to the purpose for which they exist. Bathtubs can kill too.

A gun exist to kill. Kill. Mostly people. And if you get a fancy enough gun - you can kill lots of people very fast. Guns have no other purpose. They were not invented for sport or for protection. The only "protection" they are perceived to offer is to kill. They were invented to kill.

And that is my opinion. Now the "usual suspects" will flail away saying how wrong I am, etc, etc, etc.... Don't care. I am not going to change my mind - neither will they.

p.s. Did you read about the police officer this week who thought he shot and killed an intruder? Opps! It was his son....

You have your opinion as I have mine. I am not saying your wrong, but I don't necessarily agree with you, no harm in that. I doubt people own a gun to feel free, personally, that'd just seems like a dumb reason to own a gun.

You can compare them, because despite the function of all these objects they can kill people. If you fear a gun sitting in a safe somewhere inside someone's house, you may as well fear the knife set sitting on top of the kitchen counter. It doesn't matter that a car, gasoline, or even a bathtub weren't made to kill - in the wrong hands those things can be used for such purposes just the same as a gun. I am not arguing against the true purpose of a gun, but the purpose of something doesn't matter in the wrong hands.