An Open Letter to Lovers of the Gun

reply to post by macman


it'll create more prisoners. And we all know that the US doesn't have hardly any prisoners.

bigfatfurrytexan
reply to post by macman

 

it'll create more prisoners. And we all know that the US doesn't have hardly any prisoners.

www.youtube.com...

Who Owns You?

Gun control is all about the gun it is all about control!

SuperFrog
Questions to all of you opposed to gun control - how do we protect our kids, as per statistic, every day 8 kids die due to gun violence. Please give me something better then your 'loud' calls for 2nd amendment Don't we agree that something is terribly wrong here?

There certainly IS something wrong, but the first step is to correctly identify the problem. The weapon is merely a tool. It is not the motivation or the root cause. For that, I would suggest most of it is gang-related, and gun laws targeted at law-abiding citizens will, by definition, be ineffective to combat that. Chicago, Baltimore, Washington DC or a number of other cities that have tried and failed miserably with such schemes are great examples of this. Address the real issue, gang activity among teenagers, and you might make a dent. Likewise, the high profile, large scale events could probably be reduced if we stopped trying to medicate away our kids' problems and actually addressed the underlying issues.

And you'll never eliminate all of it. There will always be injuries and fatalities in any activity that involves a risk of those things. 10,737 people ages 19 and under were killed as pedestrians from 1999-2010. That's almost 3 per day just from walking down the street. Its over 14,000 in the same time period from drowning, yet virtually everyone will gladly throw junior into the swimming pool or the lake. Perception is an interesting and powerful thing, it seems.

SuperFrog
Questions to all of you opposed to gun control - how do we protect our kids, as per statistic, every day 8 kids die due to gun violence. Please give me something better then your 'loud' calls for 2nd amendment Don't we agree that something is terribly wrong here?

More than that are killed ever day in CAR ACCIDENTS, so why aren't you all amped up about that? Some people even deliberately use cars to kill others....

Also cars make for terrible personal defense weapons, they're a real bitch to concealed carry, and when used to kill game usually the repair costs far outweigh the value of the meat...

8675309jenny

SuperFrog
Questions to all of you opposed to gun control - how do we protect our kids, as per statistic, every day 8 kids die due to gun violence. Please give me something better then your 'loud' calls for 2nd amendment Don't we agree that something is terribly wrong here?

More than that are killed ever day in CAR ACCIDENTS, so why aren't you all amped up about that? Some people even deliberately use cars to kill others....

Also cars make for terrible personal defense weapons, they're a real bitch to concealed carry, and when used to kill game usually the repair costs far outweigh the value of the meat...

If they were really interested in saving lives....
They would push for the government to mandate that we all wear helmets on our heads all the time.

Falls causing head trauma are a real killer if you look at the statistics.

What would it hurt anyone to wear a helmet? They have laws to force us to wear seat belts in a car.

^^ I do not support this idea, just saying.^^

God. What a load of crap.

When anyone brings up the emotional/knee jerk arguments of "its for our kids/we must protect our kids", I shake my head and roll my eyes. Abandon all logic, all ye hysterical anti-gun nuts. If you really want to protect kids, then you would limit the leading causes of death in children: vehicle accidents, household chemical poisonings, and drownings. More kids die in bathtubs and swimming pools than by fire arms.

While school shootings are tragic, the number of children killed in them is minimal compared to the number of kids killed by drowning:

Nearly 140 kids drown in one summer

Child Mortality Causes

Accidental firearms deaths are at the bottom of the list for unintentional deaths.

in Suicides, guns are second, kids seem to prefer hanging instead.

Homicides? Yep, guns lead there. However, homicides have little to nothing to do with a gun being available in the home. Many youth homicides are gang related, and stem not from the presence of firearms, but from the absence of parental guidance, care, supervision, or upbringing. Guns in those cases are acquired through illegal or questionable means.

Here's a shocker: I was raised around firearms my whole life. So were all but one of my friends. And guess what. None of us ever shot anyone, including ourselves. It had everything to do with the firearms being kept in places were were forbidden to go. As well as my elders explicitly telling me that they were not toys, that they were dangerous to play with casually, and some pretty nasty punishments awaited us if we got caught near them without close supervision and permission. As well as proper safe handling training when we were old enough.

True story: 60 years ago, guns were much more common in homes. In fact, kids often received guns as gifts. There were more kids with firearms then than now. But school shootings/youth violence was far lower. Why is that, I wonder? Could it have more to do with the mentality and values of society now, on top of the state of mental health and failure of modern methods to successfully treat it? That kids now are more medicated than they were then, and the side effects of those meds include violent and psychotic behavior?

reply to post by FyreByrd


I worry more about people like you and Pitt blaming an inanimate object for what mentally disturbed people are doing.

Focusing your time and energy on ridiculing gun owners instead of the real human problem tells me one thing, you don't give a damn about the shootings, your just propagandist's.

Really? Well a Sheriff proved 10 round limits do not make a difference and are ridiculous. It isn't about controlling guns, it's about controlling people....

themindfulpatriot.blogspot.com...

reply to post by joshua207



So just to throw this out there... would the victim still be alive if the ex policeman wasn't carrying a weapon?

Just shows how things can get out of hand.. and that was with a ex policeman who I would assume has many years experience. If he can react like that, how is it logical that other people with less experience should also be able to have guns, especially in public?

In the UK I don't know of many people who feel the need to take a gun to a cinema...to be honest I don't even know of anyone who owns a gun. I certainly don't know of anyone who has been threatened with a gun. I just think there is something sad about a country where people feel they should/need to carry weaponry into a cinema..seems like something you'd hear about from some 3rd world nation.

news.sky.com...

bluesilver


In the UK I don't know of many people who feel the need to take a gun to a cinema...to be honest I don't even know of anyone who owns a gun. I certainly don't know of anyone who has been threatened with a gun. I just think there is something sad about a country where people feel they should/need to carry weaponry into a cinema..seems like something you'd hear about from some 3rd world.

That's because in the U.K you don't have the right to walk around with a gun.

thesaneone

bluesilver


In the UK I don't know of many people who feel the need to take a gun to a cinema...to be honest I don't even know of anyone who owns a gun. I certainly don't know of anyone who has been threatened with a gun. I just think there is something sad about a country where people feel they should/need to carry weaponry into a cinema..seems like something you'd hear about from some 3rd world.

That's because in the U.K you don't have the right to walk around with a gun.

Er...you make it sound like you think that's a bad thing....which I'm assuming you didn't mean because it would be ridiculous for everyone to walk around with guns. That would be a sign of a totally broken society.

reply to post by bluesilver


Why would it be bad?
An armed society is a polite society.

I would like to invite you and any other person that is afraid of an inanimate object to come and hang with me in Arizona, this way you will see how civilized responsible gun owners are.

Walk into the local grocery store and you will see at least a dozen people walking around with their gun on their hip or if you choose you can get a ccw card and conceal it like many others do.

If a criminal can see that you are holding, chances are they will not even think about starting trouble.

bluesilver

thesaneone

bluesilver


In the UK I don't know of many people who feel the need to take a gun to a cinema...to be honest I don't even know of anyone who owns a gun. I certainly don't know of anyone who has been threatened with a gun. I just think there is something sad about a country where people feel they should/need to carry weaponry into a cinema..seems like something you'd hear about from some 3rd world.

That's because in the U.K you don't have the right to walk around with a gun.

Er...you make it sound like you think that's a bad thing....which I'm assuming you didn't mean because it would be ridiculous for everyone to walk around with guns. That would be a sign of a totally broken society.

No it wouldn't.

I cannot even provide you an argument beyond just obstinance. Perhaps if you have more base for your opinion....it can be discussed. Otherwise, it just propagates the idea that Europe has been emasculated.

bigfatfurrytexan

bluesilver

thesaneone

bluesilver


In the UK I don't know of many people who feel the need to take a gun to a cinema...to be honest I don't even know of anyone who owns a gun. I certainly don't know of anyone who has been threatened with a gun. I just think there is something sad about a country where people feel they should/need to carry weaponry into a cinema..seems like something you'd hear about from some 3rd world.

That's because in the U.K you don't have the right to walk around with a gun.

Er...you make it sound like you think that's a bad thing....which I'm assuming you didn't mean because it would be ridiculous for everyone to walk around with guns. That would be a sign of a totally broken society.

No it wouldn't.

I cannot even provide you an argument beyond just obstinance. Perhaps if you have more base for your opinion....it can be discussed. Otherwise, it just propagates the idea that Europe has been emasculated.

emasculated?
nope, just don't need a gun to feel like a man

thesaneone
reply to post by bluesilver

 

Why would it be bad?
An armed society is a polite society.

I would like to invite you and any other person that is afraid of an inanimate object to come and hang with me in Arizona, this way you will see how civilized responsible gun owners are.

Walk into the local grocery store and you will see at least a dozen people walking around with their gun on their hip or if you choose you can get a ccw card and conceal it like many others do.

If a criminal can see that you are holding, chances are they will not even think about starting trouble.

I suppose the issue is that on the whole, we don't need a gun to protect ourselves. I guess that means our society doesn't have as many criminals as you do. We certainly don't have as many gun related murders as you do.

bluesilver

bigfatfurrytexan

bluesilver

thesaneone

bluesilver


In the UK I don't know of many people who feel the need to take a gun to a cinema...to be honest I don't even know of anyone who owns a gun. I certainly don't know of anyone who has been threatened with a gun. I just think there is something sad about a country where people feel they should/need to carry weaponry into a cinema..seems like something you'd hear about from some 3rd world.

That's because in the U.K you don't have the right to walk around with a gun.

Er...you make it sound like you think that's a bad thing....which I'm assuming you didn't mean because it would be ridiculous for everyone to walk around with guns. That would be a sign of a totally broken society.

No it wouldn't.

I cannot even provide you an argument beyond just obstinance. Perhaps if you have more base for your opinion....it can be discussed. Otherwise, it just propagates the idea that Europe has been emasculated.

emasculated?
nope, just don't need a gun to feel like a man

If anyone does ANYTHING to "feel like a man", they are an idiot.

However, what If i choose to have a gun on my side just because I want to? I get that in England you guys have killed every predator that is bigger than a dragonfly. But here? Yeah...not quite the same.

It starts, for me, with the fact that the wildlife in my neck of the woods are deadly. They will kill you. And if they don't kill you, they may maim you bad enough that you wish you were dead. Or, God forbid, when they DO kill you and begin eating you, it is slow and messy, and you suffer while being eaten. Point is, there is a real reason that extends beyond "making me feel like a man".

But beyond that, why should it be anyone else's business what I am doing? The word "liberty" used to have relevance in our daily life here in the US.

Bottom line, guns are not dangerous. They are tool. Like a knife, a wrench, or a plasma torch. And like those three items, a gun can prove deadly when used as a weapon against another being.

I think a sign of a "broken society" is one that is stripped of any defense against the government that "rules" it.

A healthy society is one in which The People have all the power, all the control. For that to happen, individual rights and personal liberty MUST be observed. Otherwise, what you end up with is a "ruling" authority making your decisions for you.

If you want to talk about making yourself feel like a man....nothing does this better than not having an authority to beg permission from.

reply to post by bluesilver


Really?
Who is going to protect you when a criminal breaks into your home? Is the criminal going to let you call the police for some help?
At least with a gun I have a better chance of providing safety to my wife and I.

But you can pretend to live in crime free world where criminals follow the law.

reply to post by thesaneone


There isn't a human alive that I am aware of that can outrun a mountain lion/panther, bobcat, wild hog, or coyote. Without a sidearm, you can be in very, very big trouble out here in the less populated areas in Texas.

Even with a sidearm, a mountain lion/panther can be deadly. They are ambush predators. That is why I recommend never being in the bush alone, and both parties should be armed.

I am a fan of The Judge for bush walking. The shotgun/pistol combo works wonders on rattlesnakes.

bluesilver

thesaneone
reply to post by bluesilver

 

Why would it be bad?
An armed society is a polite society.

I would like to invite you and any other person that is afraid of an inanimate object to come and hang with me in Arizona, this way you will see how civilized responsible gun owners are.

Walk into the local grocery store and you will see at least a dozen people walking around with their gun on their hip or if you choose you can get a ccw card and conceal it like many others do.

If a criminal can see that you are holding, chances are they will not even think about starting trouble.

I suppose the issue is that on the whole, we don't need a gun to protect ourselves. I guess that means our society doesn't have as many criminals as you do. We certainly don't have as many gun related murders as you do.

Don't need a gun to protect yourself or don't protect yourself at all and hope the next guy gets victimized? Your rates of violent crime are actually higher overall. The difference is, I guess, is the mentality. Like a herd of sheep, your defense lies in the statistical probability that you will not be the one victimized...the other guy will. Also the mentality of "the life of the rapist is more important than the woman's vagina. Vaginas eventually recover from rape but death is forever so don't kill the rapist to stop him." I've seen both mentalities in the UK the various times I've been there.

The mentality of law abiding gun owners is we hope we don't have to use one but if we do we want to be able to have one and we don't care about the health or well being of the criminal. If he didn't want to get shot, he should have not decided to be a criminal in the first place.