Quote:
Originally posted by kassidy
A gun in a home is far more likely to harm or kill a member of your family than an intruder. I really don't understand the whole theory on gun ownership for defense...can someone enlighten me?
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and you know why this is? because people are dumb, uneducated about their firearms, and are afraid to use them. i agree that there are people that should not own a firearm. if you're too afraid to fire one at someone, then you're probably going to get shot by it. if you're not going to educate your children properly about firearms, there might be an "accident".
this country was founded on the ownership of firearms, and will stay that way.
how often are mass crimes, or a lot of crimes performed with legally owned firearms? probably not as many as you think. as i said on another board, show me an instance that someone did a drive-by with a .30-06 bolt-action hunting rifle. or even a pump shotgun? most likely their weapon of choice is going to be a fully automatic weapon.
how many legally owned fully automatic firearms have been used in crimes in the US? last i checked, there were TWO incidences of this, neither in recent history. why? because it takes a hell of a lot to get an FFL, and once you've gone through all that trouble, you're probably not a mass murderer.
do you think crime will dissappear if we remove firearms? what about in states that allow concealed carry? all accounts that i've researched, concealed carry REDUCES the crime level. what if someone breaks into your house and decides to shoot you? you think the cops will get there in time? no, they're not sitting in front of your house waiting for a criminal.
do you think if you make every firearm illegal, that there won't be guns? no, just the criminals will have the illegal guns they already have. make us all ducks in a barrel, please.
what about all the people that have been involved in self-defense shootings? tell them that they shouldn't have had that weapon, and they should have allowed their assailant to shoot them. tell them you'd rather they were dead right now, instead of a criminal.
a level-headed individual doesn't turn into an outlaw just because they own a firearm, or a bad person. i used to live on a farm, and i went out all the time shooting for fun. it was relaxing. it was regular out there to hear gunshots all the time, and i didn't go running for cover every time someone was out having fun or hunting pheasants. but you're telling me we shouldn't be allowed to do this because it turns me into a rabid murderer, armed with my montgomery-wards bolt-action .22LR.
guns are just a tool, you make it what you wish. if you choose to make it into a murderous weapon, that's your choice. i use them for sport and self defense (god forbid i actually NEED to do this). but look around the house, think of all the things you could turn into a deadly weapon. silverware, knives, baseball bats, hell, even a bic pen could kill someone in the right hands.
how about instead of trying to get rid of more guns, we better educate the public on how to drive? the ignorance of people behind the wheel to me is much more appauling than the gun situation. what we need is better enforcement of the gun laws we have, not restricting more weapons.
read up on some of the recent bills in congress. they're trying to ban guns that are not used in violent crimes basically at all. why? what is so wrong with these guns?
and you know, most of the US is not all big and bad old-west-style shoot-em-up everywhere. part of the problem is the setting. don't want to be involved in an area that might get a lot of shootings, and you might get shot in crossfire? here's a tip, don't live there. i've very rarely been anywhere that i really worried for my own personal safety. even when i went to nyc. i don't carry weapons on me, except for my 4D maglite in my truck. and yes, i'm confident i could disable someone with it if necessary. it has a lot to do with the people you surround yourself with, and the places you choose to be.
there's a lot of places in this country you can live without locking your doors. my aunt and uncle on one side of the family live in a place where nobody locks their doors, and they even leave their keys in their cars. they left their front door wide open one night, nobody touched their place. only to find a deer in their house the next morning. and this is a city, not the country they live in.
alright, this is too long, i'm out. i still gotta see this movie, to see why it's the end-all in guns in the US. but why did it win an oscar or whatever as a documentary, when it clearly isn't?