Gun Control

[WRESTLINGFAN]

With the shootings at Va Tech and now the NASA incident, this is going to be a hot topics for the politicians. The left wants more gun control, the right wants private citizens to carry concealed handguns. Reading articles from both sides, IMHO I think more gun control laws isnt going to stop these incidents. Lou Dobbs covered this topic the other night and his analysis was on point Places like Washington DC with some of the strictest gun control laws has very high crime rates. Also he mentioned that Mexico which wont allow any private citizen to have a handgun has one of the highest crime rates in North America.

We all agree that they should not give a handgun to anyone, of course there should be required safety classes, but NY has some of the most red tape for the process of getting a pistol permit. One of my friends paid almost $500 with all the fees paperwork etc. Plus it took him about 6 months for everything to go thru

[MrPink]

We all agree that they should not give a handgun to anyone, of course there should be required safety classes, but NY has some of the most red tape for the process of getting a pistol permit. One of my friends paid almost $500 with all the fees paperwork etc. Plus it took him about 6 months for everything to go thru

If I ever move to NY, I guess I'll just have to buy my guns on the black market. Hey! That proves gun control doesn't work!

[sailor]

If I ever move to NY, I guess I'll just have to buy my guns on the black market. Hey! That proves gun control doesn't work!

you'd have to do it first for it to prove it doesn't work. but, hell, saying that is like saying "since people still murder other people, it proves that murder laws don't work." just because people do illegal things don't mean laws don't work.

[SinA]

First of all, don't act like "Gun Control" is unconstitutional. The Government has the duty and the authority to protect the people under its police powers, which is why we can have zoning laws, speed limits, environmental regulations, etc. MANAGING rights is not the same as taking away out rights.

Gun control laws that restrict ownership like in DC aren't effective. Real gun control needs to pay more attention to gun manufacturers. This is a big billion-dollar industry that is profit driven just like oil and tobacco, but their products are designed to kill. They buy the representitives that you've elected and feed them lies. Industries like that see Americans as fucking rubes on he midway, and we fall for it all day long.

[BLZBUBBA]

They got into this on O&A the other day. The problem isn't legal guns but more a case of illegal guns. There will always be exceptions of course.
I'm pretty liberal but generally think fewer gun laws are the way to go but hammer those which trade in the illegal market.
And I'm not an NRA member. While FOR the right to own a weapon I don't get NRA stances on other issues. Armor piercing bullets aren't necessary. They seem to think if you pass reasonable laws we're automatically going to go from point A to point Z which means taking up all guns.
Any laws passed in the area of gun control should be thought out and reasonable. But as it is with most issues, both sides of the debate tend to look at things from an extremist point of view...all or nothing.
Kind of like the idea of each state deciding their own laws and keeping the federal government out of it.

[Snacks]

They got into this on O&A the other day. The problem isn't legal guns but more a case of illegal guns. There will always be exceptions of course.
I'm pretty liberal but generally think fewer gun laws are the way to go but hammer those which trade in the illegal market.
And I'm not an NRA member. While FOR the right to own a weapon I don't get NRA stances on other issues. Armor piercing bullets aren't necessary. They seem to think if you pass reasonable laws we're automatically going to go from point A to point Z which means taking up all guns.
Any laws passed in the area of gun control should be thought out and reasonable. But as it is with most issues, both sides of the debate tend to look at things from an extremist point of view...all or nothing.
Kind of like the idea of each state deciding their own laws and keeping the federal government out of it.

I heard this too and thought Anthony sounded like an ass. All guns that are made start off as legal guns. They get into the hands of criminals but how? The answer is people but legal guns, they get stolen, people sell them to street sellers for huge profits then say they were stolen. Dealers sell legal guns to people that shouldnt buy them etc.

There are over 250 million guns in this country. 300 million people. I dont own a gun and neither do a lot of people I know. So why are so many guns produced? Gun companies do it for the money. They dont care who buys them or how they are bought as long as they make money.

I dont think its an all or nothing issue. Let people have their guns, but there is no reason for hollow point bullets, automatic weapons etc. In most states you can carry a concealed weapon so there really isnt a reason for hand guns. If your going hunting or keeping the waepon in your home to protect your home then why do you need a gun? All you should need is a riffle. Riffles are harder to conceal and sell illegal b/c of the size. Lets go back to westerns, you wan a weapon it has to be a riffle.

This will never happen but its my idea.

[reillyluck]

I think ANYONE who owns a gun, should go through phychological testings before they are even allowed to own one.

[Jujubees2]

I think ANYONE who owns a gun, should go through phychological testings before they are even allowed to own one.

And anyone who becomes a parent!

[Yerdaddy]

With the shootings at Va Tech and now the NASA incident, this is going to be a hot topics for the politicians.

http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/2452/silenceofthelambs181ue7.jpg
No! That is incident-lllle!

Politicians won't be saying shit about this a month from now. Last time it came up was when the Assault Weapons Ban came up for renewal and a large majority of the population wanted it renewed and the NRA wanted it dead. The NRA won. They refused to endorse Bush until Congressional Republicans sat on their hands past the deadline. Democrats said little, (I'm surprised they said anything), because they would get themselves on an NRA hitlist and get tossed out of Congress like a one-armed, one-legged war hero. Every police organization in the country wanted that law renewed. But nobody - not the Republicans, the Democrats, cops or the American people can cross the NRA. These high-profile tragedies probably will lead to a majority of Americans wanting increased gun control. But they won't get it. Republicans don't want to cross the public. Democrats don't want to cross the NRA. And the public doesn't know how to actually force politicians to represent them anymore. Better luck next mass-murder.

[SouthSideJohnny]

Let people have their guns, but there is no reason for hollow point bullets, automatic weapons etc. In most states you can carry a concealed weapon so there really isnt a reason for hand guns.

Snacks - there are a few misconceptions out there. "Automatic" weapons have been banned since either the late 1940s or 1960s. With an automatic weapon, you pull the trigger once, and lots of bullets come out. Most guns out there today are semi-automatics. You pull the trigger and only one bullet comes out. A semi-automatic rifle can look just like an "automatic" military rifle, but they operate differently. There are very few automatic weapons on the streets, but the media will characterize most shootings as automatics.

Hollow point bullets are basically the same as a regular bullet, but the point is hollow and they are designed to expand when they hit the target. The expansion creates stopping power and causes more injury to person who is shot. If you own a gun for self defense, you are trained to only use it in a life and death situation. If that time ever comes, you want the gun to be effective as possible. Unfortunately, if a bad guy shoots a good guy, the same principles apply.

Other threads in this post talk about the NRA position and things not always being absolute so if you ban one thing it bans everything. This is correct in theory, and if everyone was a reasonable person, that would be the case. Unfortunately, the side opposed to something uses that as the start for a slippery slope to ban everything related to that topic. They know the American people would never stand for such drastic sweeping laws, so it's an incremental process. Diane Feinstein previously stated that she would ban ALL guns if she could. She knows there is tremendous opposition to that, so you start small and gradually chip away. Clinton's "assault weapon" ban in 1994 did just that. People don't realize it, but a key provisions of that law banned guns based only on cosmetic features - not how the gun worked. If it looked like a military weapon, it could be banned while a much more powerful hunting rifle was still legal. They worked the same (one trigger pull, one bullet), but one looked more dangerous so people accepted it. The plan was to ban a few more on the next round.

Before anyone freaks out in response to this, I am not condemning the democrats for this. Gun control is their issue, and this is how they address it. On the other side of the aisle, the republicans do the same exact thing with abortion. Why do you think they're so happy about last week's partial ban abortion ruling by the Supreme Court? The ruling won't have much of an impact on the number of abortions, but it is the first step. They will then seek to incremementally expand on that. That's why all of the republicans piled on the Terry Schiavo case last year. Most didn't give a shit about her; it was strictly about preserving all life, which they could then integrate with their position on abortion.

[Yerdaddy]

Snacks - there are a few misconceptions out there. "Automatic" weapons have been banned since either the late 1940s or 1960s.

Good! Because unless you're in the military, a law-enforcement officer or refereeing the Special Olympics, I just don't see why you would need one of them things!

[Jujubees2]

Snacks,

Were you referring to the Federal Assault Weapons Ban which required manufacturers to stop producing semi-automatic assault weapons and ammunition clips holding more than 10 rounds (except for military use)?

THE ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN:
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (http://www.bradycampaign.org/facts/faqs/?page=awb)

[DarkHippie]

Places like Washington DC with some of the strictest gun control laws has very high crime rates. Also he mentioned that Mexico which wont allow any private citizen to have a handgun has one of the highest crime rates in North America.


DC and Mexico have high crime rates because they are poor areas. It has nothing to do with gun control laws. the best way to lower crime in an area is to reduce reasons to commit crime, like improving the lives of those in that area.

[WRESTLINGFAN]

DC and Mexico have high crime rates because they are poor areas. It has nothing to do with gun control laws. the best way to lower crime in an area is to reduce reasons to commit crime, like improving the lives of those in that area.

Places with strict gun control laws like Western Europe and Australia had violent crime skyrocketed over the past few years, Those areas arent known for high poverty

[AgnosticJihad]

Places with strict gun control laws like Western Europe and Australia had violent crime skyrocketed over the past few years, Those areas arent known for high poverty

that would largely depend on where in Western Europe you are talking about. Western Europe is a pretty big place, after all, with pretty significant economic disparities between nations and regions within individual nations. also, I wonder how much of this increase in crime is the result of mass migration from eastern europe.

[Yerdaddy]

Places with strict gun control laws like Western Europe and Australia had violent crime skyrocketed over the past few years, Those areas arent known for high poverty

Your posts are becoming more and more like an inteview with Crispin Glover - funny and disturbing at the same time.

[A.J.]

DC and Mexico have high crime rates because they are poor areas. It has nothing to do with gun control laws. the best way to lower crime in an area is to reduce reasons to commit crime, like improving the lives of those in that area.

The new Democratic Mayor of DC will make a difference!

[CaptClown]

The new Democratic Mayor of DC will make a difference!

That made me spray milk out of my nose.:lol:

[cupcakelove]

The new Democratic Mayor of DC will make a difference!

So far, I hate his no bow tie policy.

[Dirtybird12]

My wife has 3 guns in the house. Sadly, I am no longer legally allowed to own or operate a firearm in state of va.

but i do have a wicked ass sling-shot that can fling rocks really fast.
http://www.cookselfdefenseproducts.com/images/Slingshot.jpg

[MrPink]

Unless that Cho Seung Fu fucked everything up, I'm saving money right now for an Uzi. Fuckin a!

[feralBoy]

Snacks - there are a few misconceptions out there. "Automatic" weapons have been banned since either the late 1940s or 1960s. With an automatic weapon, you pull the trigger once, and lots of bullets come out. Most guns out there today are semi-automatics. You pull the trigger and only one bullet comes out. A semi-automatic rifle can look just like an "automatic" military rifle, but they operate differently. There are very few automatic weapons on the streets, but the media will characterize most shootings as automatics.


Automatic weapons aren't exactly illegal. You can't just go to the store and buy one, but you can definitely buy one. You have to fill out a ton of paperwork with the ATF, and it costs alot of money, but you can buy one. Do a search for NFA weapons.

You basically have to be rich, because a fully automatic rifle, will set you back minimum $10,000. A semi-automatic version will be about 1/10 of the price.

In all reality, the assault weapon ban is a joke, because assault weapons were never really used in that many crimes. They are just too big. The thing is, they are high profile and it makes the politicians look like they are doing something when they ban "assault" weapons. Plus, when assault weapons make the news, it's usually big news. Like that shooting out in CA a few years ago. But, stuff like that is few and far between. It always was, even pre-ban.

Hand guns have, and always will be the problem. Because they are small. That's the simple truth of it. Rifles, whether automatic or not, will never be a large concern.

Most gun deaths come from suicides. And most gun death are from handguns. I'd give percentages, but the CDC website seems to be down.

[Yerdaddy]

My wife has 3 guns in the house. Sadly, I am no longer legally allowed to own or operate a firearm in state of va.

WTF?!?

Women are allowed to own guns?!?! What are you people doing to my country???!!!

[Yerdaddy]

Debating Gun Control Laws - Wash Post online discussion with Legal Director Dennis Henigan of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/04/20/DI2007042001588.html)

Congress hesitant on [gun control] legislation (http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/04/23/congress_hesitant_on_legislation?mode=PF) - the NRA owns the issue.