Gun control discussion

[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.

[Edwina's Secretary]

I absolutely agree with you Karen. Guns are tools. I just don't like the function that particular "tool" is designed to do - kill.

A gun is not designed to scare off a wild animal - Heck...I can scare off a wild animal without a gun...a whistle maybe? Two metal garbage can lids? Won't kill them either.

I oppose land mines every bit as much as I oppose guns. Perhaps even more. I also oppose nuclear weapons. All tools. All designed to kill.

It is not the trained police I am worried about...it is the Rambo wannabes out there!

[mrspunkysmom]

I absolutely agree with you Karen. Guns are tools. I just don't like the function that particular "tool" is designed to do - kill.

A gun is not designed to scare off a wild animal - Heck...I can scare off a wild animal without a gun...a whistle maybe? Two metal garbage can lids? Won't kill them either.

I oppose land mines every bit as much as I oppose guns. Perhaps even more. I also oppose nuclear weapons. All tools. All designed to kill.

It is not the trained police I am worried about...it is the Rambo wannabes out there!

I looked for a LIKE button! Yes, the wannabe heroes are scary. And there is just no reason for anyone to own an assault rifle. Or carry a gun. I think these "tools" make it too easy to kill and not make it up close and personal.

Off my soapbox. Have a great night!

[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%!

[blue]

The freedom is the Right to Protect Yourself. Be it with a hammer, a bat, a screwdriver, and yes a firearm. So if you are afraid of a firearm, you should be afraid of all house hold tools as well. As Charles Manson once said, "I can kill you with this book!"

[RICHARD]

The freedom is the Right to Protect Yourself. Be it with a hammer, a bat, a screwdriver, and yes a firearm. So if you are afraid of a firearm, you should be afraid of all house hold tools as well. As Charles Manson once said, "I can kill you with this book!"

You can kill someone with a magazine, too.

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Proper training with a firearm, any firearm, educates and puts the 'power' into a person. Not the 'power' of being able to kill something, but the power over the object.

Ever wonder what the "United States" would be like if we didn't have firearms?

Well,

We'd probably speak 'British', stop for afternoon tea and Tex/Mex food would be served with scones.

Yeah, We'd have more Native Americans, buffalo and Mexico would own the Alamo now.

------------------------------------

I grew up near Lost Angeles, where we invented and perfected the "drive-by shooting". That never kept me from going outside - yea, I lived in an area where gangs were about.

If we do outlaw guns and only let the Police depts carry?

Do we trust them to do the right thing?

People in Anaheim CA -in the Orange County area are pretty ticked off over a shooting incident, actually two in the last week. Alledgedly an unarmed person was shot in the back fleeing from a cop and another shot at the police.

Interesting.

------------------------------

In the Olympic Games there are comps with airguns, small bore rifles and shotguns.

There are also archery competitions, but we'll leave that for the Hunger Games fans.

[Edwina's Secretary]

.

Ever wonder what the "United States" would be like if we didn't have firearms?

Yes, I do...and a beautiful dream it is!


There is curling in the Olympics too. But that does not make the purpose of a broom anything but a tool designed to sweep the kitchen floor!

It is interesting no one can come up with a purpose for a gun that does not involve killing, threatening to kill, maiming or threatening to maim...

[cassiesmom]

Can the increase in gun violence be attributed to the increased depictions of violence we see in movies, video games and on TV? I also think guns are still too easy for convicted felons, dangerously mentally ill people and teenage gangbangers to get their hands on -- despite changes to gun laws. When I was a staff nurse I learned that in the gang world, it is considered a mark of honor for a gang member to shoot another person with the result being a head or spinal cord injury. Your opponent doesn't die, but his life is changed forever. You move up on the gang totem pole because you're the one who did it, even if you spend the rest of your life in prison. An honor student going home from school on a CTA bus was shot and killed. What is wrong with that picture. He was mis-identified as a rival gang member, shot and killed. There are the incidents like the one where Rep. Giffords was shot and then there's the chronic daily gun violence affecting Chicago and I am sure other cities too. Just no easy answers. I think it is going to take a combination of the right laws, better use of technology to make sure the wrong people aren't obtaining them in the first place, plus improved access for kids to get jobs, good education no matter where they live; better extra-curriculars like arts, sports and other activities, and just hope for a future other than ending up dead or in prison. I heard about one group that was having inner-city elementary school children work in community gardens. The food they grew went to their homes and food pantries, they had fun doing it and learned to work together to make a garden grow.

[Karen]

It is interesting no one can come up with a purpose for a gun that does not involve killing, threatening to kill, maiming or threatening to maim...

I don't think target shooting kills, threatens or maims anything! Last I knew, paper or wooden targets did not have fears or emotions.

And after all, nail guns help build houses, and might not have been invented without gun technology being improved and developed ... just a thought!

[blue]

Yes, I do...and a beautiful dream it is!


There is curling in the Olympics too. But that does not make the purpose of a broom anything but a tool designed to sweep the kitchen floor!

It is interesting no one can come up with a purpose for a gun that does not involve killing, threatening to kill, maiming or threatening to maim...

Holmes could kill you with that curling broom.

[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.