Gun Control

tgreyz

Thoughts on the subject?

If we were to outlaw civillians being able to have guns it really wouldn't do anything. The people who shouldn't have guns (ex. criminals) will still be able to buy them off of someones truck in a back alley. Leaving everyday people even less protected.

A gun has never walked out of someones house and killed someone. Guns don't kill people, people kill people.

I have contemplated getting a gun permit. Because if anyone were ever to stalk me, or if I ever felt in fear of my life and needed one, by the time I applied for a gun permit I'd be dead.

Yes there are a lot of stories in the media about children who find a gun and bring it to school and shoot someone. But that is not the guns fault, it is the parents fault for not watching their kids, and not keeping tabs on their gun. A gun should never be stored in a place where a child could find it and injure someone.

battinlash

It's a complicated subject. I was taught to shoot handguns, shotguns, and rifles as a small child. I knew that they were not toys, that I should NEVER point them at anyone, and I knew how to tell if the safety was on. Education is definitely key. I respected guns and I still do...but I know an awful lot of people who don't. They, of course, are the ones screaming about their guns rights.

JuicyTube

I'd rather live in a world w/o guns but these days we need them.

Cherish

Did you all see Bowling for Columbine?

battinlash

Cherish wrote:

Did you all see Bowling for Columbine?

Yes, I've seen it. I think it's a great movie.

Lucille

Most Norwegians own guns. Very little gun crime. It is illegal for most to own guns in Mexico. Very high gun crime, making the U.S. gun crime rate look miniscule. There is very little correlation between gun legality in a country and the country's gun crime rate. Guns exist. Criminals will get them and use them.

Rheanna

Lucille wrote:

Most Norwegians own guns. Very little gun crime. It is illegal for most to own guns in Mexico. Very high gun crime, making the U.S. gun crime rate look miniscule. There is very little correlation between gun legality in a country and the country's gun crime rate. Guns exist. Criminals will get them and use them.

I agree completely. I watched Bowling for Columbine; I got a different message about it. From what I saw, Michael Moore completely disproved himself. He went to Canada (somewhere in Ontario if memory serves me right..?) and asked people if they had guns. Most people did, but the crime rates were lower. He then asked about video games, etc. I got the idea that he was trying to prove that guns cause violence, but did not. Maybe I have not remembered it well as it's been awhile though... so please correct me if I totally screwed up the facts

I agree with the OP also; if its made illegal to get guns, it won't stop people who plan on killing someone with a gun. Obviously they don't care about the law. Making it illegal to buy guns won't solve the problems. Its incredibly sad when a child picks up a gun that was (shouldn't have been) just lying about the house, and takes it to school or anywhere... I definitely think this is the parents fault. I was educated about guns from a young age, coming from a family that hunts, fishes, etc. I learned how they work, how dangerous they were, and how to use them properly. I Knew never to point them at anyone, as the OP said. That being said, my grandfather kept a loaded handgun on his nightstand, and from the time I was 4 or 5, I was allowed in the room, and I knew not to touch it. I would't do the same; I don't think loaded guns should be left lying about, but I think the bigger issue here is that parents don't educate their children about guns and all they know about them is what they see on TV...

/soapbox

Jaxie

I think guns should be legal. I grew up in a family where there was hunting and I was taught to shoot and handle a gun. You never point one at some one, you handle it carefully and with respect to what it can do. I don't think that people should blame guns for what is happening. A person needs to pull the trigger. What people should be worrying about is why parents (and society) aren't teaching children to respect life! ~~jax

notegal

2nd Amendment supporter all the way!:blob7: I agree that we should be able to protect ourselves. Gun control does not...let me repeat DOES NOT stop criminals from acquiring weapons. If you're interested in knowing more check out Women and Guns website. They have lots of posts for pro gun followers.

I will carry to protect 1st myself, and then anyone else. I do not believe in the government taking away my right to carry arms and never will.
With proper education and training carrying isn't a big deal. It's the idiotic criminals that you have to watch out for. It's called being aware of your surrounding 24/7.
These quotes sum up things well...:toothy7:

“An armed society is a polite society.”

Robert Heinlein

“Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.”

Plato

notegal

Rheanna83 wrote: »

Lucille wrote:

Most Norwegians own guns. Very little gun crime. It is illegal for most to own guns in Mexico. Very high gun crime, making the U.S. gun crime rate look miniscule. There is very little correlation between gun legality in a country and the country's gun crime rate. Guns exist. Criminals will get them and use them.

I agree completely. I watched Bowling for Columbine; I got a different message about it. From what I saw, Michael Moore completely disproved himself. He went to Canada (somewhere in Ontario if memory serves me right..?) and asked people if they had guns. Most people did, but the crime rates were lower. He then asked about video games, etc. I got the idea that he was trying to prove that guns cause violence, but did not. Maybe I have not remembered it well as it's been awhile though... so please correct me if I totally screwed up the facts

I agree with the OP also; if its made illegal to get guns, it won't stop people who plan on killing someone with a gun. Obviously they don't care about the law. Making it illegal to buy guns won't solve the problems. Its incredibly sad when a child picks up a gun that was (shouldn't have been) just lying about the house, and takes it to school or anywhere... I definitely think this is the parents fault. I was educated about guns from a young age, coming from a family that hunts, fishes, etc. I learned how they work, how dangerous they were, and how to use them properly. I Knew never to point them at anyone, as the OP said. That being said, my grandfather kept a loaded handgun on his nightstand, and from the time I was 4 or 5, I was allowed in the room, and I knew not to touch it. I would't do the same; I don't think loaded guns should be left lying about, but I think the bigger issue here is that parents don't educate their children about guns and all they know about them is what they see on TV...

/soapbox

:thumbdown:Michael Moore isn't trustworthy...

battinlash

Rheanna83 wrote: »

I agree completely. I watched Bowling for Columbine; I got a different message about it. From what I saw, Michael Moore completely disproved himself. He went to Canada (somewhere in Ontario if memory serves me right..?) and asked people if they had guns. Most people did, but the crime rates were lower. He then asked about video games, etc. I got the idea that he was trying to prove that guns cause violence, but did not. Maybe I have not remembered it well as it's been awhile though... so please correct me if I totally screwed up the facts

No, you're way off. Bowling for Columbine was a general study about gun culture in the US, and was not intended to present a pro-gun or anti-gun message. He didn't show the Canadian perspective in the movie because he thinks guns are violent; on the contrary, he used it to illustrate that American gun crime rates may be high because of something in our culture, not because of our laws (or lack thereof). Canada's laws are different from ours, yet they still have gun crime...so, it might not be the laws. It might be us.

Riot Crrl

Yeah, lots of countries have much higher gun ownership than the US, and much lower gun crimes. That is what got shown in Bowling for Columbine. The real point of it was our culture of fear here, and how that leads to violence. As Yoda would say.

battinlash

notegal wrote: »

:thumbdown:Michael Moore isn't trustworthy...

Well of course not. Do you trust everything you see in the movies or on tv? Bowling for Columbine is called a mockumentary for a reason. Watch it, enjoy it, maybe learn enough from it that you are intrigued into doing your own research. Have you ever seen it? It's a good movie, IMO.

Perhaps you just gave a big thumbs-down because you dislike him (why am I not suprised). You may know this, or not, but Moore is a member of the NRA. Like most Democrats, he supports gun control, not gun elimination. Many right-wing crazies think that us mean nasty Democrats want to take all the guns away and replace them with puppies and kittens. Not true - we really don't want to repeal the second amendment. It's important and it's there for a reason. However, I think I speak for a majority of Democrats when I say that I don't think you should be able to own a gun if you have been convicted of a bunch of gun-related felonies, or if you have a violent mental illness, or if you refuse to partake in any sort of background check. There's nothing wrong with having some reasonable measures in place to make sure that gun ownership stays safe.

midgi

I don't like guns but I support the 2nd amendment. If guns were illegal, citizens who abide by the laws wouldn't have them, but criminals still would. What kind of chaos would THAT create?

Riot Crrl

I'm liberal and I would not consider myself Michael Moore's greatest fan. I usually agree with his main points, but he always has to go over the top with his cheesy, heartstring-tugging, contrived methods to "prove" them. I'm glad his movies exist, but he always comes across as a DB to me at some point during them.

But as you said, this is the status quo for media, so I can't blame him too much.

KookyCurl

I get lots of crap from my BIL about this (being the only Dem in a family full of small town republicans) but I'm ok with guns for hunting. Target practice is tons of fun! I just don't believe you need to have a semi-automatic weapon to shoot a woodland creature! (I'm also against bear-baiting but that's a whole other issue!)

I think that kids today see guns on tv but most have never handled one. It's very important to have better education about guns, how to handle them, and to have respect for them and the damage they do. I have a much greater respect for firearms since learning how to shoot one.

notegal

I have to agree because I don't think kids get the right education for firearms as they use to. There is no respect. It's a tool and nothing more, it's a use for protection or hunting. Criminals will continue to gain them ILLEGALLY may I add and with this we need to be able to acquire the same weapon of choice LEGALLY. The ones who do take safety course and are taught the basics on safely handling weapons of any kind learn respect and not to use them as toys because they are NOT toys.

“Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.”

Plato

susancnw

Gun control - tight 5 shot grouping, right? :laughing7:

2nd Amendment women's group. Pretty cool.

http://www.2asisters.org/

>>Many right-wing crazies >>

Tantrum, you proved a point that I've had privately about this site for quite a while. You can't make a point or statement about someone who has a different view or opinion than you without name calling. You made a generalization about a group of individuals. Now, you might live in an area where there are a lot of right wing crazies, but I can call and raise you the left wing nutcases in my part of Colorado. Like the college age 'child' who flipped me off when he saw my bumper stickers. Had my daughters in the car with me also. Now, if he had wanted to stop and discuss them with me, I'd have been more than happy to.

And no, I don't need a semi-automatic weapon for hunting. But that shouldn't mean I cannot have one if I want it. My old boss (an attorney) hunts pheasant in the fall. Well, mostly he walks in the woods with his friends and carries his gun. His 'hunting' dog waits in the SUV since she is afraid of pheasants. He commissioned my husband to build him a gorgeous cherry gun cabinet. When he dropped the guns off for 'fitting', I told him it was cool, then asked him why he had it. "Because they told me I couldn't." He bought it the day before the ban went into effect. At the firm Christmas party I walked down into the basement with one of the sr. partners and Fred asked me if that was an assault rifle. When I said yes, he asked me why A had an assault rifle. "Because they told him he couldn't." Fred looked at me, looked at the cabinet, shook his head and went to the bar for a drink.

BUT, I don't know if there can be enough background checks on people getting guns. People slip through, fall through the cracks. Thought about going to a gun show this summer and picking up a shotgun and handgun so I can take advantage of those mysterious 'loopholes' that are supposedly there for buyers. OTOH, I could probably call a friend or my uncle........

I understand the need for checks, but I am not happy that I have to account to the government for any that I have. Don't like it at all. Of course, I'm not happy they have my SS number either, but that's another issue, another day, another discussion.

notegal

They do have background checks. There are serious background checks. People don't slip through the cracks because the ones that acquire the guns are acquiring them illegally. PEOPLE, this is how criminals acquire EVERYTHING!

If you need more facts search away I have one site called women and guns and I get real facts there.

susancnw

notegal wrote: »

They do have background checks. There are serious background checks. People don't slip through the cracks because the ones that acquire the guns are acquiring them illegally. PEOPLE, this is how criminals acquire EVERYTHING!

Okay, guess my sarcasm switch wasn't on....that is one of the 'points' that I keep hearing about gun control.

"what about all those rednecks that buy guns at the gun shows and they slip through the 'loopholes'. Like I said, I'd rather talk to some folks I know or call my uncle ;D