#102 Hut

Thank god we live in a democracy:

Ah, the tyranny of the majority….

It doesn’t matter if the UK has a lower homicide rate. We’re not in a competition with the UK to see which country can repress its citizens more.

The idea that all it takes to justify a law is to point to a statistical benefit, then we might as well abandon the Constitution and institute rule by committee.

You see some rights as less equal than others, and thus dispensable.
To you, black people should be free, but unarmed. It’s all about being afraid of a BMWG, right? (Sorry, I was channeling the evil spirit of Janeane Garofalo there!)

All kidding aside, if it’s a right, it’s a right. Statistics be damned, there is no reason you should be able to stop someone from getting a gun for self defense. Ever.

The Supreme Court has ruled that the Police are under no obligation to protect an individual (Gonzales vs Castle Rock), so forget dialing 911. The only person you have to protect you is YOU.

I’ve heard a theory as to why violent crime has risen over the years. Up until the mid 70′s the US had a military draft. This ment that the majority of men in this country knew how to use a gun. At the same time most households had at least one gun. This made life kind of dangerous for the criminals. Now the majority of people in our military have no weapons training and we have declared large areas to be “gun free” zones. This puts the odds in favor of the criminal. Add a justice system where in many cases the rights of the criminal take precedence over the rights of the victim and you get what we have now.

As far as the UK is concerned, I think I read a story a few months ago about a man being made to remove barbed wire from around his garden plot because someone stealing from his garden may hurt themselves on it.

Elliot-
You see civil rights being equivalent to gun rights? I don’t see how they are comparable. Enslaving people based on race is equivalent to making people get background checks before buying a gun? The holocaust is equivalent to a felon being denied the right to bear arms? That’s ridiculous. I can’t believe I’m even responding to it.

And your final point about the woman – if you are so concerned about the safety of women, why don’t you explain why homicides rates in European countries with stricter laws are so much lower?

As was said in Heller’s dissenting opinion – “that the Second Amendment protects an individual right does not tell us anything about the scope of that right”

#102 Hut:Thank god we live in a democracy

Would you be thankful for democracy in the US if you were a black person in Alabama in 1820 or 1920? What about if you were a Jew in Germany in 1934?

I don’t care if 99% of people want more strict laws, every human being has an inalienable right to peacefully acquire the means to defend himself or herself. There is no reason why someone who doesn’t fill out a form gives up that right.

If only you could take the place of the woman who was unable to legally purchase a handgun which could have saved her from an attack.

“In general, do you feel the laws covering the sale of handguns should be made more strict, less strict, or kept as they are now?”

More Strict 60%
Less Strict 7%
Kept as They Are 32%
Unsure 1%

wallster:
You are not ‘tough’ because you own a gun. By owning a gun, you prove that you are the one who is pathetic and scared. Get over yourself

By owning a car, does that prove you are weak and slow? Do you carry everything you need on foot, to make sure no one thinks any less of you?

There is nothing pathetic about being afraid of people who are willing to break into your home, rape, and murder you. A person who takes charge of her security by owning the most efficient means of protection is not pathetic or cowardly, but rationally intent on keeping her life (not allowing herself to be murdered), liberty (not allowing herself to be raped or prevented from coming and going as she sees fit), and property (not allowing thieves to take her things). The same for a man.

Expecting a 911 call to protect you isn’t brave. Considering the number of examples of victims whose call to 911 didn’t save them, why would you try to shame people into being that stupid?

No one has any obligation to give up anything which is theirs to murderers, rapists, and thieves. Furthermore, one is not obligated to rely on one’s body, foregoing the use of efficient tools (guns, door locks, guard dogs) because some simpleton might consider that “pathetic” or cowardly.

Firearms are used for self-defense much more than committed crimes. You only never see a national story painting firearms in a positive light. The statistic of such is incredibly difficult to keep. Brandishing is enough to stop most criminals. In thirteen surveys and studies over the years, and the figure swings about 800,000 to 2.5M defensive gun uses annually by law abiding citizens.

In fact, my friend scared off a burglar trying to pry open his front door at 1:30AM last Friday by racking the slide on a pump-action shotgun. He made a police report afterward but it’s unlikely this event will be kept recorded into some database since a firearm wasn’t actually discharged.

There have been armed students or staff at schools that HAVE stopped massacres in the United States. When these stories air, its “a student stopped so-and-so” and left at that. They conveniently leave out the part where they retrieved a gun from their persons or automobile and held the crimminal(s) at bay before police arrive.

Just last year, there was a student in Israel that actually killed an active shooter at his school but it never made national US news circuits.

So in restricting firearms…lets see the folks you judge as unworthy by your personal metric:

Felons…so people who cheat on their taxes are just as dangerous with a gun as a rapist or murderer that got out of prison?

Sexual predators, like the 18 year old that had consensual sex with a 17 year old?

Mentally ill, so folks who are obsessive compulsive, bulimic, have phobias, personality disorders (ie narcissism), or anxiety are just as dangerous with a firearm as people with schizophrenia who think aliens are after them?

Illegal immigrants…so anyone willing to work in the US and doesn’t want to pay thousands of dollars and wait months through the “proper obfuscated channels” is in the same category as a felon or sexual predator?

It’s pretty easy to use blanket statements.

Screaming “FIRE” in a movie theater is the same as my screaming “FIRE” if I was standing in your lawn. Private property isn’t the government. The Constitution limits government power (…theoretically anyhow) and not individuals. If doing so results in damages, then the property owner can go after you for such damages. If screaming “FIRE” in a movie theater is somehow beneficial, the owner can tell everyone to scream “FIRE” if the owner wanted.

Playing the “nuclear weapon” card is juvenile and illogical. I can play the same card. “We shouldn’t let gays get married, because they’ll be marrying animals and our children next”. You should familiarize yourself with the 1934 National Firearms Act and the 1968 Gun Control Act and the supporting documentation surrounding the Second Amendment before making false statements.

wallster, are you really that fucking stupid?

No, it is more probable that you will be there to shoot someone or jack them at gunpoint. It is far, FAR, more likely than any individual gun will be used in a crime rather than directly defending against a crime.

There is obviously the fact that gun ownership does prevent crimes because potential criminals might be concerned that potential victims might be unarmed, but that is beside the point.

You are not ‘tough’ because you own a gun. By owning a gun, you prove that you are the one who is pathetic and scared. Get over yourself

yeah, I’m sure he had his eyes on you, Charlie.

“Badass” college student? Really? Having a gun makes you a ‘badass’?