Guns, the NRA, the constitution and senseless shootings

If my wife didn't have a gun and that guy did, she's dead. If neither have a gun she might live but there's no telling what happens to her. If they both have a gun, she's got a chance to live. In this case he didn't have a gun, or if he did, he ran anyway because she got the drop on him.

But yeah, she would have been better off hiding and letting him break into the house. Fucking brilliant.

 

This is from a Garry Wills piece in the NY Times from last year

In the most recent year for which figures are available, these are the numbers for firearms deaths:

Ireland 54
Japan 83
Sweden 183
Great Britain 197
Australia 334
Canada 1,034
United States 30,419

Remember that you've got to divide by population, though, to arrive at a real number.

And as to whether or not the new gun laws have driven handgun homicides down or up in the UK, here's the chart:

http://www.gun-control-network.org/GF05.htm

Per Lyman, while overall handgun use in felonies is up, homicides are down.

There were 22 of them. In a year. For the entire country.

 

Well, obviously, The Blessed Martin obviously posted a better record. But I'm hoping McLeish leads Scotland to a World Cup victory (or, at least, a berth in the tournament).

And Ragu, I don't see how my guns pose any threat to you. I am a law-abiding gun owner who only uses them for hunting and target shooting. You have more of a chance of being hit by a meteorite than by being shot by one of my firearms. So why should I be punished for the actions of criminals? Prohibition didn't work with alcohol. The war on drugs is an abject failure. Why do you think a war on guns would work?

 

Beat me to it Inky.

Taking away the rights of law-abiding citizens doesn't stop a law-breaking citizen (or non-citizen).

 

I'm very much like Luggie in this one. I think I know which way I lean, but I also know that I don't know enough. This thread helps answer a lot of questions I had. Until...

No. This is why threads break down when the political knee-jerks get into them. Nothing needs to get heated; just learn how to debate.

 

If he has a gun, the scenario changes for the worse. This is a simple fact. The result that you say she lives is irrelevant because her life would be forever changed.

My solution was to grab a knife and hide in an area of strategic advantage. Of course, you will ignore this portion again and claim that I posted that her best move would be to run to the nearest bed.

None of what you posted proves that guns have any value. All you are saying is that in one lucky scenario it prevented a burglary. (Which homeowners insurance would cover the cost of.) You can claim the "or worse" aspect until the cows come home, but it still inuendo at best.

We settle this at 20-paces!

There is always the risk of those guns being stolen.

There is also a difference between guns and alcohol/drugs. I don't suspect that guns will disappear, but they will become infinitely harder to obtain. Alcohol and drugs are far easier to hide and keep out of site. You can't exactly walk past a policeman with a rifle and not have him notice.

 

Again, so it's better to let the guy in the house than to keep him out.

Fucking brilliant.

 

Again, Pastor, my guns are locked away in a fire-proof safe bolted to a closet floor in my house. The chances of those guns being stolen are less likely than me suiting up for the USMNT in the next friendly.

I don't see why law-abiding gun owners should be treated like criminals. You get enough people together to pass laws requiring gun owners to register them, I'll do it. You pass laws requiring I check in with the local PD every month or week and submit to home inspections at any time, I'll do it. You require gun owners to wear funny hats and clown suits when they're transporting their firearms, I'll do it. But I don't understand taking them away from me because somebody else committed a crime.

Ragu, where does your analogy stop? When somebody goes to buy a sixer of beer, we can't tell if he's going to get drunk and hit his wife or drink and drive. Shouldn't we stop sales of alcohol since we don't know who'll commit crimes while drunk from those of us who won't?

 

No.

We cannot agree on any sort of fucking lunacy.