I've been around guns my whole life and I believe the people should have firearms...against criminals or against the GOVERNMENT. This is where I'm torn though...I know a lot of idiots that have multiple guns and the way they "play" with them pisses me off! I was trained to respect guns, but I've seen too many people get reckless with them...getting drunk and shooting at stupid stuff...shooting at the sky for no reason...their need to treat them like toys. If they live out in the country, that helps, but still. My parents live in the mountains where the majority of residents are retired, but there's plenty of gun loving idiots that live in the area. On two different occasions a neighbor shot and killed another neighbor over some argument...apparently one incident was about a dog "trespassing" too much. My dad has about five guns...some for sport...some for protection...some were inherited...but he needs guns to protect his family from the "idiots"...not just the criminals. I use to work in undercover security and had to apprehend multiple suspects for STRONG ARM robbery...we need guns to protect us from "groups of thugs" that plan to "overwhelm" us physically...if the thugs know the people DON'T have guns...the strong arm tactics of criminals will go up significantly...they need fear that any person or resident is protected with firearms! I also witnessed three young male adults walk into a large retail store wearing long trench coats and proceeded to walk to a sporting goods aisle...two of the males went to both ends of the aisle and stretched out their coats to block any view into the aisle, so no one could see the third male load up all kinds of merchandise into his trench coat and waistband...that's when I saw the dangling sawed off shot gun...no arrest was made, but police were notified with licence plate and description...I lived another day! These guys were teenagers and this was back in 1990. My point is...I just wish there was a way to get the guns out of the idiots hands...the criminals will always find a way to get guns...even if they have to make them...if they can't do that...strong arm tactics will do...that's why the public must have guns! I don't see a way to effectively screen for gun owners...all we can do is try...right. As far as assault rifles and high capacity clips...I do have them...but I don't want all my friends and relatives to have them...at least I don't want my wife and kids around when they use them...some of these people are very dangerous behind the wheel of a car...put a gun in their hands and look out! I have a buddy who I trust with guns very much, but he's part of a growing trend where he's trying to recruit everyone he knows into getting a concealed weapons permit...I look at his wife (who just got her permit) and some of his acquaintances...anxiety starts to set in...very scary...personality does matter! Just wanted to express some of my experience and concerns over this highly controversial matter. Any opinions are welcome...I expect some strong emotions...just don't be too much of ass either way...pretty please.
I think that the firearms to prevent govt overreach is a ridiculous argument. I do agree with the home protection though. However, one can defend the home with rifles and shotguns. Handguns and long guns above a certain "lethality level" should be banned except for use at a secure range where they must be kept.
I can see why people would think it's ridiculous to have guns just for government "overreach" ...it's been a long time since its been needed for that. I expect another severe "CRISIS" in the near future and if things get severe enough, at least the government knows the people are armed and ready...it's unlikely it will be that bad...but possible. I remember decades ago, the argument was if Russia invaded the U.S.A., the people could band together with their guns and save the country and their freedom...never hear that said anymore. Good to hear your opinion!
I am pretty much with you Bonecrusher. I am a fervent Second Amendment defender, but I don't really like to go to gun ranges. Who knows who shows up and what training they have had? I see the way some of my relatives handle firearms and it is scary. And like you say, personality matters. The liberals are not all that far off the mark when they say that some gun owners are compensating for feelings of inferiority or whatever. I don't see any alternatives however, except emphasizing training and responsible use. I am against any compromises with the anti-gun crowd. Not one inch. Any compromise we concede is just the floor for further compromises.
Regardless of any gun ownership ills.... the overriding reason it to keep the government at bay. Once the government disarms the populace, they are free to do anything they want.... to commit any atrocity... without fear of resistance or reprisal. Gun ownership as a deterrent to government abuse... is worth whatever it costs, regardless! "When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is freedom!" Nobody wants to disarm the American populace... EXCEPT THE POWER-HUNGRY, CONTROL FREAK LEFTISTS. DON'T EVER LET THE BASTARDS TAKE OUR GUNS!! If we do, we will be at the mercy of their evil. In WWII, the Japanese knew... "We can't invade America. Everybody there has a gun". EXACTAMUNDO!! An armed populace tends to keep foreign government aggression at bay.... domestic government, as well!
It really doesn't matter what side you lean on. There's no way to get the guns off the street at this point. There's just too many.
World | Thu Apr 28, 2016 5:54am EDT Related: World, Australia Australia data shows gun controls a huge success 20 years after mass shooting SYDNEY | By Byron Kaye and Wayne Cole "Australia on Thursday marked the 20th anniversary of a mass shooting which led to strict gun controls that have in turn led to a huge decline in gun murders, undermining claims in the United States that such curbs are not the answer. "The chances of being murdered by a gun in Australia plunged to 0.15 per 100,000 people in 2014 from 0.54 per 100,000 people in 1996, a decline of 72 percent, a Reuters analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed. "In 1996, Australia had 311 murders, of which 98 were with guns. In 2014, with the population up from about 18 million to 23 million, Australia had 238 murders, of which 35 were with guns. "It was the April 28, 1996, shooting deaths by a lone gunman of 35 people in and around a cafe at a historic former prison colony in Tasmania that prompted the government to buy back or confiscate a million firearms and make it harder to buy new ones. "The country has had no mass shootings since. "The figures directly contradict assertions of most leading U.S. presidential candidates who have either questioned the need to toughen gun laws or directly denounced Australia's laws as dangerous. "In a January 2015 tweet, Republican front runner Donald Trump wrote "Fact – the tighter the gun laws, the more violence. The criminals will always have guns". A year later, Republican hopeful Ted Cruz blamed Australia's gun laws on a rise in sexual assault. "Democrat front runner Hillary Clinton has meanwhile ruled out an Australian-style gun buyback, while Democrat hopeful Bernie Sanders has rejected the need for tougher gun controls despite a gun murder rate of 3.4 per 100,000. "The U.S. National Rifle Association has attacked the Australian laws as "not the definition of common-sense". "Philip Alpers, an associate professor of University of Sydney's School of Public Health, who studies gun ownership and violence, said Australia's laws had had "demonstrable success". "We have the most comprehensive suite of gun laws (in the world) and it would be a great shame to start whittling those down," he said. "Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull marked the anniversary by saying U.S. gun violence showed why Australia would keep its laws intact. "The rate of U.S. gun deaths shows "what happens when you have very little if any restrictions on the purchase of weapons like that", he told the Australian Broadcasting Corp."
You must've attended the school of Futurecurrents Logic, Ricter. Particularly paid attention to "post the same topic over and over again despite it being discredited and people might believe it's a valid post". I'm sure it worked wonderful in Australia (though data is mixed), but the Australians didn't start with 350 million firearms on the street. In fact, the amount turned in during the gun buyback for the whole country of Australia was less then the estimated amount of illegal firearms in this country (4 million). Additionally, Australia did not have as loose restrictions on the purchase of firearms that we once did (in our recent past). You're comparing two different sets of circumstances that aren't relative in the least - with the one exception of being a poster child for the control guns flawed narrative. Australia had 238 murders in 2014. LOL. Chicago has that many in a month. I'll tell you what...get the murders down to Australia levels and I'll give up my guns.