When will Americans Learn?

I think that this is from a more 'consistent' source and quite an interesting read if you have a spare 10 minutes

Annotated Constitution Prototype

 

Steve, I know a lot of media attention was put on the Tony Martin case in the UK. For those of you who are not familiar with the case, Martin was a resident in the UK who shot two burglars who had broken into his home. His shotgun was not registered and he was charged with murder. As the gun debate is coming to a head, that particular case is getting more internet play and I'm curious as to the accuracy of what is being bandied about on the internet.

 

They should at least ban the ammunition and replace them with rubber bullets or pellets that would hurt if you got shot but not kill,I'm from Scotland and if evry clown in Glasgow that runs about with a knive had a gun it would be the scariest place on earth

 

I am a proud gun owner and refuse to be lumped in with the rest of the loonatics that will go out and start shooting things up. Yes the main purpose of a gun is to kill.... it was all that it was made for and it serves it's purpose well. In my opinion it all is based on your state of mind and what/ how you percieve what "reality" is.

It is not only Americans that have the problem and it would be and is outlandish for you to base your statement on what you see in the news. Here is the truth about the mass shooting in AMERICA as you may or may not know. 18 out of the 20 shooters this year have had a history of mental illness. That being said it would only stand to reason that 2 of them were of sound mind when they committed the crimes.

Secondly gun laws are nothing but cosemtology to make people feel about their everyday living. Do you HONESTLY think gun laws are what will keep the guns out of criminal hands? we have some of the most strict laws on drug and AMERICAS "war on drugs".... yeah hows that working out?

When it comes down to it, it is all based on what you have been rasied under. The government can't control what we do within our own homes HERE IN THE USA. I always feared my father more than the guns we had in the house because he showed us what a gun is capable of using a canteloupe as a human head. Demonstrating different sizes and what not then as we were all enammered by what we just witnessed he said "now, picture that as your freinds head... if you touch any gun without respect, that is what it will look like. Don't forget that if you do touch any gun without my say so, your head will look like that from my fist!".

It wasn't a real threat but it worked. You have to understand that no matter what bad guys will be able to get guns, even if you outlaw them. It is our basic right to own and protect what we have here in AMERICA from the loonatic like these. I will NEVER let someone take them from me or categorize me as one of them either!

 

You're all welcome to your opinion's and to make your own judgements (honestly haven't read the whole thread) but I feel a million times better ever since we got my wife her license to conseal and now carries. I ask her if she ever finds herself walking in a parking garage or a mall parking lot at night to have it in her hand while in her pocket book. I will not get into the details of how I ask her to conduct the use of it - may that day never come - but its not there to protect her from crazed American armed bandits, the likelyhood of my wife being Assaulted is now minimized. I can't be there with her all the time (yes, I'm licensed / sometimes carry too) and its the least I could do.
your wife, your decision.

 

National Institute Of Mental Health:
- An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.
- about 6 percent, or 1 in 17 — who suffer from a serious mental illness
- Nearly half (45 percent) of those with any mental disorder meet criteria for 2 or more disorders, with severity strongly related to comorbidity.


Assuming a pop of 315M and 23.7% under age 18, that's 63M people with a mental disorder, 14.4M with serious disorders and 6.5 million people in the US with multiple serious mental disorders.

With population and illness rates increasing annually, the number is on track to hit 10M in 2024-2025.

And as highlighted from the quote - that only accounts for 90 percent of the shooters, not the 10% of "sound mind".

I can't remember it word for word, but there is a quote - a locked door won't keep you from being robbed, it keeps you from tempting your friends.

Why make it easy... And my personal judgemental opinion is with the "quality" of the new generation coming up, I might be tempted to give up my right if it made it more difficult for a few of them to get one.


and Jamie: Have you ever tried clubbing a seal? Much more therapeutic than pulling a trigger from 30 feet.

 

This thread reminds me of how different the USA, Canada, and the UK are in respect to gun control.

Generally most people in day to day life in Canada, and I venture, the UK don't feel that they need a gun readily available to feel safe on a day to day basis. Most likely is that having a handgun in the nightstand, or on your person isn't something we grew up with. Whereas many more Americans grew up in a culture where you wanted a weapon handy in case someone assaults you or breaks into your home.

the thing that really brought it home to me, how different we were on this issue was a trip to Minneapolis I took about 6 years ago. I went into the Mall of America with a friend who joined me for the trip and we both stopped almost in confusion at a sign at the entrance which said, no guns were allowed on the mall property. For us we had always just 'known' that public places like that are no place for weapons.

As far as personal protection goes, my only issue with letting people carry weapons in public is, how are they going to react in a high pressure situation. Police and military personnel go through extensive training to ensure that they make the decision to fire based more on facts than on emotion. Tragedies like Sandy Hook happen often enough that I worry someone with an itchy trigger finger might react too quickly to a seeminlgy threatening situation which ends up not being so.

Do I think that people should be able to have a gun in their home if god forbid someone invades their home at night? Sure, as a last line of defence I understand the argument and don't object. Do I think that reasonable force in that situation requires a 30 shot clip? I can't quite make that step in my head.

As with a lot of things it seems politically today there is little to no middle ground. Restricting weapons availability in any way shape or form is going to incur the wrath of the NRA, and not doing so will incur the wrath of groups on the other side.

Until then I hope no one comes to check on my stockpile of snowballs in the freezer. You know just in case

 

Lets agree to disagree and lets get drunk!

 

The kinds of 'shots' we can all agree on!