98% of the time, simply drawing a gun stops a crime in progress. That means if your wife/gf/daughter is about to be raped, and she has a gun and draws it, without doing anything else, she is now 50 times less likely to get raped. That by itself is enough justification to keep guns legal, even if a few psychos, drug dealers and gangsters wipe more of each other off the face of the planet each year. Anyone who wants to ban guns is supporting a 50-fold increase in the likelihood of a gun-toting woman to be successfully raped.
No guns also means no way for most people to defend against violent criminals. In Rwanda about 1 million people were massacred in a couple of months, the vast majority were killed by machetes and knives, not shot. If everyone there packed a revolver in public and a shotgun or rifle at home, that would never have happened. The Jews would never have been massacred to the tune of 6 million in Europe if they had each owned a gun and been willing to use it. How many people die in Virginia Tech type of shootings in the west? Far less than die on the roads. You could have 100,000 virginia Techs and you still would not approach the death toll caused by civilians being defenceless throughout history. Besides, if you are worried about safety, you would still allow things like shotguns, single-shot rifles, revolvers etc. They are not practical for massacres but still serve a useful self-defence purpose. So the "too dangerous" argument doesn't support banning guns, only being more restrictive in the types you allow.
Since I've lived in Florida the number of murders within two miles of me: One. A guy killed his father in a money dispute. The number of armed robbers killed by a high end jewelry store owner. Two. Then there's this one for the ages. GREAT story: Subway shooter `used his training' http://www.miamiherald.com/467/story/156261.html ^ Posted on Saturday, June 30, 2007 11:56:02 AM by traumer Two friends accused of robbing a Subway sandwich shop didn't count on a customer packing a gun. After a quiet dinner with his grandfather Wednesday, Donicio Arrindell and his best friend headed out for the night. Three hours later, he was dead and his friend Fredrick Gadson was critically wounded. The duo -- lifelong friends and roommates -- are accused of storming into a Plantation Subway shop, armed and announcing a robbery. They didn't plan to encounter retired Marine John Lovell, 71, who had just finished a veggie sandwich and had a gun tucked in his waistband. On Friday, two days after the foiled holdup, the families of the accused robbers were trying to understand what happened. ''He has never been in trouble before,'' Margaret Gadson said of her 21-year-old grandson, Fredrick. ``I don't understand how this could happen.'' And while Gadson's family tries to see him at Broward General Medical Center -- where he is under police guard and has been charged with armed robbery and murder in the commission of a crime -- Arrindell's family is traveling back from vacation in Dominica to plan his funeral. ''This is a pity,'' said Meanwell Prince, his 75-year-old grandfather. ``This is more than shocking.'' Since the robbery, Lovell, a former airline pilot, has kept a low profile, with reporters camped out at his Plantation home. He did recount the ordeal to a close friend, Wesley White. ''He said everything was in such crystal clarity,'' said White, who is also his attorney. ``It was like he became hyper aware of what was going on.'' Friends describe Lovell as a fitness buff, who monitors his diet and works out regularly at the gym. On Wednesday, after weighing himself and noticing he gained a few pounds, Lovell decided to eat a healthy dinner -- a veggie sub at Subway. At 11:15 p.m., he finished his meal. As he walked toward the trash bin to clean off his tray, two gun-wielding men walked in. Lovell was the only customer. The robbers pointed guns at Lovell and the cashier and demanded they hand over their money. Lovell cooperated. He pulled out about $500 from his pocket and dropped it to the floor. ''They apparently demanded he pick it up,'' White said. ``He said he couldn't. That's when they started to push him toward the bathroom.'' With a gun pointed directly at him, Lovell knew he had to do something. He reached inside the back of his pants and pulled his gun from its waist holster, which had been covered by a loose T-shirt. He fired at the two robbers, striking them both. When police arrived at the Subway, 1949 N. Pine Island Rd., Arrindell, 22, was on the floor, bleeding. A bandanna covered his face and he wore sunglasses. He wore dark gloves, and a handgun lay next to his left hand, according to a police report. Outside, police found Gadson in the bushes along Pine Island Road. He had a knife, gloves, bandanna and Mace, the report said. No charges will be filed against Lovell, who, police say, acted in self-defense. During the Vietnam War, he served in the U.S. Marines as a pilot for Marine 1, a helicopter that ferried Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Lovell was married years ago, but divorced soon after, White said. He has no children. Neighbors described him as nonviolent man, who had no choice but to protect himself. ''He has training, and he used his training,'' said Phyllis Fabara, who lives around the corner from Lovell. ``Until you've had a gun pointed at you, how could anyone criticize him for reacting?''
This is why spring guns should be allowed by law. (For those that don't know, spring guns are triggered when a door or window is opened)
Where, in any which way or form, did I either: state I was a republican or sympathetic to the republican party? Although gun control is hotly contested between both parties, MY blurb had nothing to do with politics, and everything to do with lunatics. Instead of picking out bits for your objective why don't you comprehend the whole and get a clue of what I'm saying? But no, clear and impartial thinking is not possible for those with a biased view to begin with, as YOUR agenda supersedes any type of rational thought. You've become one of the most irritating posters on this site which leads me to believe that you are of french canadian decent. Fucking frog. I put zombie and aliens in as bait, and the nitwit replies to the term skinheads, when it really had nothing to do with skinheads per say... My hatred of the human race grows day by day. * * it's a metaphor in case you didn't get it.
My kids would be educated, informed and be indoctrinated with 'situational awareness' at all times - especially where firearms are concerned. If my 18 year old son insists on defying me, I will hand out level III body armor to him. He won't suffer a lethal wound, but it will still leave a severe razzberry - a painful trade off for the joy of banging Mary Sue at 2 in the morning, despite my protestations. Or he can sleep in his car, in the cold.
Makes me wonder what kind of childhood you had...and what kind of parents may have inflicted you the way they seem to have been inflicted. There is a normal process where children mature and they throw off all the parental indoctrinations at least for a brief period...in a house like yours they apparently would face death from this natural process... Seriously, wouldn't it just be more sane to get some dogs to chase away the would be home invaders? At least they would be able to smell the family members...
Now that I've got a dog I'll go on the record-a dog trumps a gun as a home security device. It's truly like having a guard. Just the same though being warned isn't enough if you can't finish the job......