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Poll

Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to own, carry, & use Firearms to defend their own lives, & the lives of their family & friends?

Absolutely Yes!
I thinks so.
I don't think so.
Definitely No!
My name isn't String, so let me have a icy cold beer so I can ponder the options...
Topic: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens Own, Carry, & Use Firearms? (Read 330350 times)

Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?

Reply #225 –
Quote from: Macallan on

Quote from: mjmsprt40 on

I wonder if gun ownership-- specifically handgun ownership-- carries a sort of paranoia with it. Could it be possible that a man sleeps without fear, doesn't conjure up nightmare scenarios like having a team of thugs in his house late at night and so on-- until the day he buys a gun for protection, and from that day he never has a peaceful moment because his "peacemaker" keeps his head full of what-ifs?

I have a nagging suspicion that at least some of these people have a constant, horrible itch to actually use their shiny new toys in real life. Those aren't nightmares but wishful thinking.


Anything is possible, but then again it's part of human nature to kill, so a human being fantasizing about killing wouldn't surprise me at all.

On the contrary, if they didn't think about it at all, that would surprise me.

Actually, the only reason most human beings don't kill another human being is when they wake up each day they subconsciously decide that they aren't going to kill that day, & then as nature has it, they usually don't.

Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?

Reply #226 –
Smiley, I don't know what you dream about, but I think I can assure you my dreams aren't full of murder and mayhem. I don't make a subconscious decision not to kill today because the issue never comes up in the first place.

People who fantasize about killing other people probably shouldn't have guns.
What would happen if a large asteroid slammed into the Earth?
According to several tests involving a watermelon and a large hammer, it would be really bad!

Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?

Reply #227 –
On the other hand, Michael, if you're not ready to use your gun - what is the use of it? You'll be like a movie blonde: "Get off from me! I have a gun! Aaaaaaaaa!"

Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?

Reply #228 –
I am quite capable of subconsciously deciding not to kill anybody, even without going to sleep.

Or at least I assume it's subconscious, never having been near a situation where that was anything like a relevant decision.

Oh correction, I have been to the US a few times, although maybe not to the US-according-to-SF.

Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?

Reply #229 –
A while back jimbro asked for informationon militias. Strikes me that there is a very deep and emotional side to many Americans in this love affair with guns. The Constitution does refer to having them with a Militia. Obviously at a time of emergence of a new country and the aftermath. How that morphs into more guns than the population is utterly stupid, childish and ridiculously immature. So the Militia thing has been hijacked so millions can feel many and stalwarts when in fact they are a bunch of soft in the heads and lacking in the grey cells.One cannot but feel for the decents over there who mentally shake their heads at the Constitution misuse.

And like very much else you can see the gun corporates rubbing their hands with glee at the money they make and stuff the thousands being shot.  If the country is that bad as I once said just scrap the police and National Guard, etc and let everyone shoot away. What these clowns don't realise is that they make the rest of decent America look stupid to the world at large elsewhere. It also gives the impression that the country is unstable and dangerous. Not that such bothers the |Smiley thinking as they have hijacked patriotism as an excuse too.

Thank goodness the Americans I know and have a regard for are too intelligent to be of the mindset he portrays.
"Quit you like men:be strong"

Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?

Reply #230 –
While we're on the subject of militias, doesn't that word imply some sort of regimental training, working together in simulated battle conditions, following orders and so on? Many of the people who are so gun-ho are probably the most resistant to any actual militia type stuff. Demands that "Nobody but me has any business knowing how many of what type of guns I have" flies in the face of actual militia training, where the commanding officers have every business knowing what his resources actually are before any kind of action gets started. Knowing what you have available is essential if you hope to deploy that to your advantage. Men who keep you guessing what they can bring to the field are worse than no good, you can't rely on them or plan effectively.

No, no, no. Many of these guys would be useless in any actual militia, and if I had to command such a group of questionably armed misfits I might do well to sue for peace before shots are fired. Can't go up against a well-stocked and trained enemy when the best that I know I have is some guys with 30.06s that can hit the broadside of a barn if they try real hard.
What would happen if a large asteroid slammed into the Earth?
According to several tests involving a watermelon and a large hammer, it would be really bad!

Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?

Reply #231 –
The "Castle Doctrine" that Smiley approves of so much might be a good idea if---.

There's a problem. The problem is "if". "If" is, without a doubt, one of the biggest if not THE biggest two-letter word in the English language.

I just finished reading a story about a shooting that took place in Montana over the weekend. A teenager walked into a partially open garage at night, admittedly (by his friends, since he's not around anymore to admit to anything) to pilfer some stuff. Seems to be a game amongst certain teenagers to go into open garages at night and grab beer or whatever they can grab that's just laying around and leave. The homeowner in this case had set alarms, when the alarm alerted him he came out with a shotgun and just started spraying underneath the partially open door until the body fell down.

The homeowner, as of last I knew, is being charged with homicide. He is trying to claim self-defense under Montana's Castle Doctrine laws.

My thoughts: This was very stupid. Spraying shotgun blasts at an unknown who is NOT attacking you is hard to play as "self defense", and it might not play well in Montana even though it is a Western state with rather "Old West" ideas. It's one thing if, in fact, you are being attacked. Do what you have to do to defend your life and the lives of your family-- I think we all get that. Somebody stealing your Crescent wrench and running off with it is NOT attacking you-- that's stealing your stuff, and maybe putting the fear of God into the thief is justified, but sending the thief to meet God personally is not.

Think about it before opening fire, eh?

http://www.kpax.com/news/daines-backs-mt-castle-doctrine-despite-controversy/
What would happen if a large asteroid slammed into the Earth?
According to several tests involving a watermelon and a large hammer, it would be really bad!

Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?

Reply #232 –
I believe the gun issue, the right of the people to keep & bear arms without infringement, is the straw that just might break the camel's back so to speak.

The author of the following piece, though some may see him as a bit further to the right than you or I, lists some very significant & salient points that should not be ignored or dismissed:

Quote from:      The Liberty Sphere       http://tinyurl.com/lrkt73n       
The official line in the sand is the gun issue. And thus, I have some definitive declarations that need to be considered by the powers that be before they go off on an unconstitutional rampage on the rights of the people.

1. We will not comply with any new gun control law.

2. We will not turn in any firearm that you suddenly decide to be "illegal." They are illegal only in your own delusional minds.

3. In the event you limit ammunition or require us to register to get it, we will create the biggest black market in the history of the world. We can make our own ammunition.

4. We will not comply with any new gun bans. We can make our own guns as well, even the type you wish to take from us.

5. The attempt to gain entrance to our homes to confiscate our guns and ammunition will be considered an act of war. We will not comply. Be prepared to kill us if you do such an asinine thing in what is supposed to be a FREE country. But then, also be aware that you will pay a heavy price for perpetrating such tyranny..................


[glow=blue,2,300]Are these words prophetic, or just theoretical? [/glow]

Are you so sure you know the difference?

Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?

Reply #233 –
Quote from: mjmsprt40 on

I wonder if gun ownership-- specifically handgun ownership-- carries a sort of paranoia with it....you must be prepared with heavy weapons and huge ammo clips to feed the heavy weapons "just in case".

Let me suggest this for Mr. Smiles...

Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?

Reply #234 –
A couple of questions on that quoted viewpoint SF, but first . .  It's not clear what you mean by your "last straw" remark. What consequence is concerning you?

On the quoted passage, it's a very self-centred viewpoint which seems to ignore some important factors. I couldn't possibly list all them, but a few would be (relating to who should be allowed to have guns):
Foreigners
Children under the age of 2 . . 3. . 4. ?
Those with physical impairment that prevents them hiding or aiming a weapon
Those with a mental deficiency that makes them dangerous
Criminals, depending on what crime they have committed, for example terrorism, murder, mutiny, treason, habitual violent anti-social behaviour or threats
members of  outlawed organisations
Communists


And so on.

One would then have to decide what category the guy who wrote that drivel comes into.

Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?

Reply #235 –
Quote from: SmileyFaze on

I believe the gun issue, the right of the people to keep & bear arms without infringement, is the straw that just might break the camel's back so to speak.

The author of the following piece, though some may see him as a bit further to the right than you or I, lists some very significant & salient points that should not be ignored or dismissed:

Quote from:      The Liberty Sphere       http://tinyurl.com/lrkt73n       
The official line in the sand is the gun issue. And thus, I have some definitive declarations that need to be considered by the powers that be before they go off on an unconstitutional rampage on the rights of the people.

1. We will not comply with any new gun control law.

2. We will not turn in any firearm that you suddenly decide to be "illegal." They are illegal only in your own delusional minds.

3. In the event you limit ammunition or require us to register to get it, we will create the biggest black market in the history of the world. We can make our own ammunition.

4. We will not comply with any new gun bans. We can make our own guns as well, even the type you wish to take from us.

5. The attempt to gain entrance to our homes to confiscate our guns and ammunition will be considered an act of war. We will not comply. Be prepared to kill us if you do such an asinine thing in what is supposed to be a FREE country. But then, also be aware that you will pay a heavy price for perpetrating such tyranny..................


[glow=blue,2,300]Are these words prophetic, or just theoretical? [/glow]

Are you so sure you know the difference?

What does it matter if they are the words of a prophet or a theorist?
They are without doubt the words of a crackpot.

Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?

Reply #236 –
Anybody here ever...
1. been shot
2. been shot at
3. been threatened with a gun
4. worried that he might run into Smileyfaze
5. known anybody in categories 1, 2, 3 or 4

Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?

Reply #237 –
Quote from: Jimbro3738 on

Anybody here ever...
1. been shot
2. been shot at
3. been threatened with a gun
4. worried that he might run into Smileyfaze
5. known anybody in categories 1, 2, 3 or 4


I gotta admit, running into Smiley could give you a sleepless night or three. About the other questions-- no, no and no. Not even in Garfield Park or South Austin, where those possibilities might be expected.
What would happen if a large asteroid slammed into the Earth?
According to several tests involving a watermelon and a large hammer, it would be really bad!

Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?

Reply #238 –
No,no,no,yes,no

Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?

Reply #239 –
[video]http://youtu.be/45glq7huJJc[/video]

Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?

Reply #240 –
I thought Cyanide & Happiness was just a comic.

Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?

Reply #241 –
By the wrong reasons, SmileyFaze's right.
By the right reasons, all of you are wrong.

His wrong reasons, even wrong, are much righter than your right reasons that even right are wrong.
So, don't bother me anymore with this. If you have a gun start firing, if you don't, start die.
A matter of attitude.

Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?

Reply #242 –
Quote from: Belfrager on

By the wrong reasons, SmileyFaze's right.
By the right reasons, all of you are wrong.


Wait, what? Care to explain?
What would happen if a large asteroid slammed into the Earth?
According to several tests involving a watermelon and a large hammer, it would be really bad!
 

Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?

Reply #244 –
Quote from: mjmsprt40 on

Quote from: Belfrager on

By the wrong reasons, SmileyFaze's right.
By the right reasons, all of you are wrong.


Wait, what? Care to explain?

Sure. It will take a nice bar and lots of whiskeys.
Dancing girls are welcome for some table dance.

That, would be a decent DnD discussion without irritating Joshes constantly around.
A matter of attitude.

Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?

Reply #245 –
Fence sitting can be painful.
"Quit you like men:be strong"

Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?

Reply #246 –
Quote from: Frenzie on

I thought Cyanide & Happiness was just a comic.

So did I, but evidently they started making the animated shorts quite early on. The strips seem better overall.

Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?

Reply #247 –
Quote from: Jimbro3738 on

Anybody here ever...
1. been shot
2. been shot at
3. been threatened with a gun
4. worried that he might run into Smileyfaze
5. known anybody in categories 1, 2, 3 or 4


1. Yes, but only flesh wounds....lucky for me just grazings. I got worse knife & bayonet wounds, but again nothing to take me out of commission.
2. Yes, more times than I could count.
3. Duhhh, you fill that in
4. Never ran into a mirror, but there were quite a few gooks & chicoms that will never forget me.
5. Hell yeah

Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?

Reply #248 –
Now how immature is that question on whether someone on these Forums has been shot or shot at. This group if tiny compared to what is 11,00 killed every year in the land of so many non-grown ups.
"Quit you like men:be strong"

Re: Gun Control - Should Ordinary Citizens be allowed to Own, Carry, & Use Firearms?

Reply #249 –
Quote from: rjhowie on

Now how immature is that question on whether someone on these Forums has been shot or shot at. This group if tiny compared to what is 11,00 killed every year in the land of so many non-grown ups.


Just about as immature as the person who can't even get a simple little number correct everywhere he posts.