Gun Control

[karenlyn]

I didn't find a thread about gun control here, so I thought I'd post one. What do you feel about gun control? Is it a necessity? Does it infringe on our rights? Both?

 

[dong]

I think there is a thread about gun control here, actually...no...wait, that was more about banning than actual controls. There is a discussion on gun control and its implications on rights, the consensus to which was effectively that regulation is fine but that banning was counterproductive as it only eliminated legal avenues of self-defense, and statistically had, if anything, a negative effect on crime rate. Additionally, there is good reason to believe this a primary correlation.

What I'd ask then is what people felt about specific kinds of controls on gun ownership.

 

[l99999us]

Personally I think their should be far tighter regulations on the ownership of guns then their is now and that they should be primarilly used by law enforcement. Our gun laws are far too weak and it results in many people getting guns who are not responsible.

 

[dong]

What ARE the gun laws anyway? I very often find parodies (like in the Simpsons) about just how damn easy it is to get your hands on one or several.

 

[Furious George]

Gun control to an extent, is essential. There have been 3 school shootings in the past month. Why? Because our gun laws are so lax.

 

[karenlyn]

I was raised in a very Republican family, and my father loved to go out shooting-- a proud member of the NRA. It's taken me a long time to develop my own ideas about gun control. Part of the problem in the U.S. is the availability of guns. Another part is, I think, the American point of view. But... if we make guns more difficult to get, there will be let shootings. More crime perhaps, I won't deny that, but less school shootings like the ones George mentioned, fewer crimes of passion. I agree that the gun control laws should be stricter.

Oh, how my father would bristle if he heard me say that...

 

[dong]

Methinks the famous "you'll have to pry it from my cold dead fingers" was more a reaction against the percieved threat to ban all firearms, moreso than a simple matter of control, but of course I can't be sure. Knee-jerk reactions would be quite the feature here as the thinking often follows the terrorist dilemma "give em an inch and they'll take a mile."

 

[karenlyn]

Knee-jerk reactions are the American norm. Judgement, fear, anger, all of it-- in an instant. It's more than a little scary.

 

[eldragon]

I didn't find a thread about gun control here, so I thought I'd post one. What do you feel about gun control? Is it a necessity? Does it infringe on our rights? Both?

I think guns should be outlawed. This isn't the old west anymore. Guns have one purpose only - to kill. Usually - having one doesn't save your life but ends a life.

 

[dong]

If you can find a way to eliminate the 'illegal use' of such weapons, and a way to concretely define such in terms of national and international politics, then I'm sure we'd mostly/all agree.

 

[hokeshel]

I learned to shoot a gun when I was 5 years old. My dad always took us out shooting. I never could graduate from cans and targets to actual living beings. I could never take a life (spiders don't count). We haev always had guns around. I had a gun at one time, after I ahd a baby, I got rid of it. So, I have very mixed feelings on gun control issues. I want all people protected from violence but, in such a violent society, I want people to be able to protect themselves. That said, some things I can not understand an objeciton to, such as safety buttons/latches on all guns.

 

[lizakollman]

i have huge problems with NRA because they have huge problems with the gun laws that exist - they get angry when someone is trying to outlaw gernade launchers and other ridiculous guns in cities - i think that people can still go hunting and "protect" their families but we can have lot stricter gun laws than we do.

 

[eldragon]

While non of us wants to be faced with an intruder, (which is why we would have a gun, right?) wouldn't we all be happier if the situation passed without anybody being killed?

 

[Furious George]

What people fail to realize is--is that a gun is the WORST defense from an intruder.

Here's a scenario;

You're asleep, and a crook slips into your house undetected. What do you do? If he wants to kill you, he would obviously be stealthy, sneak into your room, and you're dead. In a case like this, a gun is entirely useless. That's why a security system is the BEST defense from an intruder. It not only alerts you, but the authorities, and will scare away criminals. The self-protection gig is a little played out, dont'cha think?

 

[lizakollman]

i completely agree. So many kids are killed each year playing with guns that their parents "hide" in the case of an intruder. my little brother has been to homes where the kids pull out guns to show him - and he is under strict orders to immeadiately come home and tell an adult. it is so very scary.