so the right to bear arms is being challenged?

[WolfCoder]

Owning a firearm comes with a very large responsibility. I wonder what makes the attitude differ from country to country when it comes to being responsible with a firearm.

[Evans]

Owning a firearm comes with a very large responsibility. I wonder what makes the attitude differ from country to country when it comes to being responsible with a firearm.

Not really. I'm sitting about 10 feet away from a few hunting rifles and a shotgun. They're locked as required by the law. Only responsibility I have is to make sure they don't get dusty/rusty/whatever. As Hypnos pointed out, it's not about owning guns but rather about the mentality of the owner, his background, and whatever else.

[Dr Mario]

If someone wants to kill another person, they will. A big ass kitchen knife is just as effective at the job. The only time owning firearms really makes a difference is in cases of children.

Not true. Guns vastly change the situation of violence. Size, strength and ferocity are all huge parts of melee combat. They mean jack shit in gunfights, and that eliminates the disadvantage that ~51% of the population is starting from with hand weapons. Then there's the issue of range, threat projection and such. They also kill a hell of a lot quicker and more reliably than the usual edged weapons.

Big fucking difference compared to knives and clubs.

However, that is all a moot point. The main reason I care about it is because the trend seems to have tilted towards rights being taken away from Americans. At this rate, how many rights will we have left?

Not too many.

Lets be honest here, any rights you have depend entirely on the 4th, 5th and 6th amendments being enforced. That's no longer a sure bet.

[Huey Kruthas]

Not true. Guns vastly change the limits of violence. Size, strength and ferocity are all huge parts of melee combat. They mean jack shit in gunfights, and that eliminates the disadvantage that ~51% of the population is starting from with hand weapons. Then there's the issue of range, threat projection and such. They also kill a hell of a lot quicker and more reliably than the usual edged weapons.

Big fucking difference compared to knives and clubs.



Lets be honest here, any rights you have depend entirely on the 4th, 5th and 6th amendments being enforced. That's no longer a sure bet.

Yeah, let's be honest here.

No rights we have are secure anymore, and I am just upset about more being taken away

[MasterOfGravity]

Of course it makes sense, that would be like saying that nations like Yemen, which don't have automobiles, have a much lower rate of death due to collisions.

They don't have automobiles? There must be one automobile in Yemen!!?

[Cosmic]

From the sounds of things they need to make it harder for people to purchase guns in the first place. As a Brit I'm not very familiar with the process, so just how difficult is it? I'm assuming there are background checks and some sort of wait time?

[Mistral]

They don't have automobiles? There must be one automobile in Yemen!!?

Exactly. They don't have automobiles, so they're allowed to have one. It's like "one man, one vote" - the president's the man, so it's his vote.

From the sounds of things they need to make it harder for people to purchase guns in the first place. As a Brit I'm not very familiar with the process, so just how difficult is it? I'm assuming there are background checks and some sort of wait time?

Depends on the state. A lot of these things, by the tenth amendment, are delegated to the states in their particulars. Some place like Massachusetts requires background checks for all sales (licensed dealer, gun show, or resale), conceal-and-carry by permit only, and ownership by permit and safety course. To be real fun, though, you need to go to Vermont, the closest thing to a libertarian state in the Union.

[WolfCoder]

The closest defensive weapon I would ever want would be a long-range taser. I don't plan on killing anyone if I don't have to.

[_M_]

I don't plan on killing anyone if I don't have to.

I don't either.

But when it comes down to it I will protect my family and home from any body that means us harm by any means necessary.

I've had to draw a weapon on an armed intruder back in Cali. I was suprisingly calm during the altercation but when he left I was trembling so badly. We moved shortly after this happened.

My parents put me through counseling for "emotional distress." I was over the incident a week later. But because the high school counselor insisted on counseling, my parents kind of made me. I kept telling them it was a big waste of money but it put my parents at ease. So I went through with it.

12 weeks: wasted.

[WolfCoder]

Yeah but... I would've fired the taser immediately. You see, instant incapacitation without the need to kill him. The fact that it's not meant to kill allows me to do so without hesitation. I really don't believe in resorting to lethal means right off the bat (or ever).

[Ahkei]

Yeah but... I would've fired the taser immediately. You see, instant incapacitation without the need to kill him. The fact that it's not meant to kill allows me to do so without hesitation. I really don't believe in resorting to lethal means right off the bat (or ever).

I'm with this dude. Who the fuck needs guns?

[Corey]

From the sounds of things they need to make it harder for people to purchase guns in the first place. As a Brit I'm not very familiar with the process, so just how difficult is it? I'm assuming there are background checks and some sort of wait time?

background checks, mental stability checks, all kinds of stuff.

[Evans]

I'm with this dude. Who the fuck needs guns?

Hicks.

[Paladin_Hammer]

Two problems with that line of thought:

1. Anecdotal evidence is worthless in empirical cases.

2. Statistically, having a firearm in the house is more likely to result in a friend or family member getting shot than it is to result in an intruder being shot.

A sad state of affairs, but the truth nonetheless.

How the hell is someone losing his life because he couldn't defend himself "Anecdotal"? Linky . That happens everyday all across America. I don't think "reality" qualifies as "Anecdotal". From where did you get that statistic? Sources here dude, sources.

Not true. Guns vastly change the situation of violence. Size, strength and ferocity are all huge parts of melee combat. They mean jack shit in gunfights, and that eliminates the disadvantage that ~51% of the population is starting from with hand weapons. Then there's the issue of range, threat projection and such. They also kill a hell of a lot quicker and more reliably than the usual edged weapons.

Shows what you know about guns. No weapon is worthwhile if you aren't practiced in it. A knife is a simply swinging and stabbing motion, thrust the hand witht he weapon forward or across. Guns vary weapon to weapon. Bolt-action rifles work much differently than pump-action shotguns. You pretty obviously are a believer in the myth that guns provide a one-shot-one-kill with every bullet. They don't, ask any deer hunter, they don't. Also, you have to have a steady hand, good eye-sight, etc etc. Ask anyone who's ever been trap shooting with a shotgun, its not easy to hit a target unless your very, very close to the target.

Hell, even with a modified choke, I couldn't hit more than one out of five clays my first five attempts. That was the first time I held a gun. Now I'm barely to a average of 4/5, with a bleeding shotgun of all things!

EDIT: The real problem in America is the ease at which someone can get a gun. The Virgina Tech shooter for example, he had a KNOWN history of MENTAL ILLNESS. In Virgina, that means you can't purchase a gun, but get this: patient-doctor confidentiallity OVERULES (via loophole) the law a Dealer has to follow to view a persons mental health record in most states. The owner of the Roanoake gun shop that sold the shooter his weapons went on Larry King and said that when he pulled up his criminal and mental health backgrounds, no flags came up. Had he known the kid was mentally troubled (as the background check should have pulled up), he would have denied the sale as required by law. But, loopholes like these are in every states laws. If were going to do anything, it should be to fix loopholes like that!

I'm with this dude. Who the fuck needs guns?

Anyone who doesn't want to end up like this guy, and the thousands just like him.

[ZeikHunter]

i have 2 loaded firearms within arms reach right now. some people will tell you that im likely to go on a home invasion spree, or go perform a carjacking, or that at any moment a small child will wander in here and fire my pistol.

i will tell you that will not happen. every member of my family, from my 78 year old grandmother to my 15 year old brother, has fired and is familiar with the working of my weapons, and realizes they are tools, not toys, and should be handled with care.

i am licensed to carry concealed, and do so everywhere that i am not prohibited by law to carry. i dont ever plan to use it, as i dont look forward to ever pulling the tigger on another human being again, but if i have to, i know i can for the defense of my life, my property, and the lives of others around me.

while i may be the 2nd amendment exception (well-regulated militia), i know a lot of gun owners that arent, and taking away those firearms will do no one any good.

someone already mentioned this, but if you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns.