somehow my earlier post didnt send and I just now noticed dipstick me
I have been a member here for years, and, as evident by my post count I hardly ever post. The reason is I simply have no need to post a message and provide fodder for someone to flame because I misspelled a word, or my grammer wasnt up to snuff, or in some cases I just asked a simple question, or even God forbid I mistakenly post in the wrong forum or thread.....Seeing some of the comments made in here I just felt though that I had to post my thoughts on the subject, so here goes...
Ok first off, I feel the question needing to be asked is not "why you american so obsess with guns?"...its hould have been "why some you american so obsess with guns?". Some being the key word here.
I own quite a few guns rifles shotguns and the like - most I used for hunting in my youth but alot are heirlooms passed down from as far back as my great grandfather from a time when they used them to procure food. I dont hunt anymore myself as I like to see deer and rabbits and such bedded down in my front yard as opposed to strung up in a tree gutted on laying in the back of my truck. I like wild game as food but to me its just as easy to go to Food City to get my food. I dont look down upon hunters who eat what they shoot. I do look down upon trophy hunters however. I also dont condemn thinning of a herd when breeding gets out of control or deer become a nuisance. And contrary to popular belief - if they are coming out into the yards and highways of your town...chances are the woods are already full up...hence the reason they come into the yards and highways etc etc... I also own 2 pistols that I never shoot...one is a target .22 Ruger that I dont have anyone to shoot with anymore (I used to love doing that)...and the other is a .40 cal Glock that I keep loaded in my house for protection. I have had the .40 for almost 8 yrs and on one day I shot a whole box of shells through it to break it in and test its accuracy. I would target shoot it but has anyone seen the price of 40 cal ammo?:Q Kinda puts the kibbosh on shooting... My mom used to give me a lot of grief about the loaded gun in the house (even though there are no children to worry with) till one day a neighbor woman who lived about 10 minutes walking distance from mom and dad got raped by her ex bf just out of jail. Her 17 yr old son came to her defense and the guy stabbed himn like 12 or 13 times killing him. As far as I know that man was never caught. I used to date that woman's daughter and it kinda hit too close to home for all of us. Needless to say my mother now owns a smith and wesson titanium .38 that is at this moment loaded and ready for use if need be. I hope none of us have to ever make that choice.
I tend to ramble so lemme just say these things:
1: The ability to arm ourselves and own weapons I feel is a RIGHT not a priviledge.
2: The phrase "a well regulated militia" I feel refers to our ability as citizens to defend ourselves and form 'citizen militia' if need be. I do not feel that it refers to the ability of a government to oversee who gets to have guns. If I remember correctly we left England over the government telling us what who where and how on our right to worship Who we wished. Why would we allow the goverment to decide if we deserved a gun or not? Independant rule is a good phrase here, and if it doesnt apply then why is America seemingly a mecca for all those disgusted with their own countries?
3: I dont see the need for anyone to own a tank a howitzer or a bomber or a nuke. I do not, however, believe this falls under our right to bear arms.
4: Don't generalize the entire US over the actions of a few. I dont think all Germans are Nazis because of Hitler and I don't think all Arabs are evil because of the actions of ppl like Bin Laden or Hussein. Therefore the actions of a sad 14 yr American boy last week do not say anything about how I am or even my neighbor. We are not all "fvcking morons" regardless of what some individuals in our country do.
5: Education about firearms needs to be the main focus here not how are we going to disarm the public. Those with guns need to take responsibility for the SAFE storage and use of the guns they own. I dont wanna hear about some parent who left a loaded weapon laying within reach of a child who doesnt know better. Thats just so ignorant it beggars any description. The tragedy is kids could be taught the difference but arent most times. I feel that if you abuse the right then you should lose the right. Not that it really makes much difference about criminals as I also subscribe to the "if you bans guns then only the criminals will have them" credo. It is academic really.... thats why they are criminals...they have no respect for the law.
6: As far as the crime going down or up? I think the media will inflate it either way to accomodate rating needs so what difference does it make?
7: As far as calling the police: I have 3 relatives in Law Enforcement and feel I can tell you this - the police can't really do anything untill a crime has been commited. Therefore unless they have ESP there isnt any real valid way other than luck that they can 'protect' you. Not knocking them in any way - its just the truth. There is no real life "Minority Report" and we do not have the ability to stop a crime before it has been commited in any country. Prevention does come into play somewhat, but how many of you have a personal police officer that walks a beat around your house 24/7? None of us do...and never will. I personally would rather take a chance that knowing they could get shot and possibly get killed for entering my house with rape, murder, or theft on their minds would be a deterrent, not "oh if I rape this woman in this house I could get caught and go to jail so I better not'. I just dont want to take that chance.
8: Right after education I think punishment should fit the crime. I have heard of cases where murder brought 3 yrs in prison while tax evasion brought 25??? Does anyone see the pattern here? Defraud the government and we will hunt you down like a dog and send you away forever...kill someone? we will hunt you down like a dog and then you can walk out in as little as 3 yrs. Thats why I keep a gun in my house. Death will always be a better deterrent to crime than 3 or 4 yrs of free room, board and cable tv. You bring back capital punishment across the board for heinous crimes and watch them stop or at the very least decline rapidly. Not to mention bring back labor gangs and 'hard time'. We spend way to much time worrying about offending the rights of criminals when we should be worrying more about how they offended our right to not get raped, have our lives taken or our property stolen in the first place. As I see it they should relinquish their rights upon committing crimes to some extent. And I am talking of proven cases beyond a shadow of a doubt. But that is hard to do in almost all cases. Thanks the lawyers for that.
9: Mental instability isn't a valid excuse to get rid of guns any more than crime being easier to commit with a gun is......We should work more on fixing those problems and caring for those who cant help their state of mind, not removing the only defense sane people have on the off chance that a mentaly unstable person might grab a gun and do something bad.
10: When I grew up I was taught respect for alot of things, guns being a big part. But I also had a parent at home who was always available to help, guide, or punish if necessary. I wonder where that 14yr old boys' folks were and what guidance they weree able to give their son. And no I am not saying its all the parents fault.....they may both have to work as is more and more the case in America leaving their kids to raise themselves. And without that much needed guidance.....how do they learn right from wrong? the answer is they dont....they learn what works and what doesnt. Hell you cant even discipline your child anymore wihtout going to jail......shew if my father had even DREAMED that I had pointed a gun at another human being not in my own defense he would have woke up and beat me to death. (metaphor there kids...I was not abused as a child in any way)
In closing I guess those of you that do not wish guns in your lives then God bless ya and more power to you...I just hope that this decision never proves to be a source of sorrow in your life, just as I would hope you wished having a gun in mine would not prove to be a source of that same sorrow for me.....
thanks for readin my OPINION...
Nusam