I'm well aware of that Paul.

Guns are a source of power. When the establishment that originally recognized and permitted us to have this power starts messing with it, we as a people should be asking "why".

I really haven't formed an opinion on any existing or proposed gun regulations. I know that banning fully automatic weapons isn't going to do anything to deter criminals from acquiring them. But I also don't see any reason for Joe Blow to need to purchase one other than to get his rocks off at a gun range from the "ack ack ack ack ack ack ack ack"! (no offense to you or Brucelee, please don't take that the wrong way).

That being said, if any gun law is put in place, it should be up for public voting of each state. That way, if the state you live in actually passes a law you don't like, at least you have the option to move somewhere else instead of one law effecting the entire nation. This is a citizen's privilege/right that shouldn't be swayed by any elected official's personal agenda.

my $0.02

 

Yeah, but you also need a public that gives a damn. The American public is so used to being bent over they just ask for seconds now.

Another reason why I think our days as 'top dog' are going to come to a crashing halt in the near future.

 

Theres a few problems with this.

First, why does anyone need a car with more than 100 hp? Its excessive and unnecessary. 300hp Subarus are just for people to get their rocks off blasting onto highway on ramps. See how these "need" arguments go to hell fast?

Onto the individual state thing. For this to actually be a good idea we need an informed and educated public. Do you know how many people have no idea what a semi-automatic firearm really is? All the know is it magically kills people and needs to be banned. The media doesn't tell you the truth of the matter, they give you catch phrases and worst case scenarios.

I also think society as a whole has forgotten how to analyze a situation. We live in a world where laws are passed on emotion. Again, look at the SF gun ban, who were the ONLY people proposed to be effected by that? Oh yeah, people who follow the law. But, it sure sounds like a great idea if you don't take the 30 seconds to realize what you're allowing the government to take away from you. Again, legislation based on emotional appeal, no facts.

You want to see a drop in crime? Allow CCW, allow the use of lethal force when met with a threat of bodily harm. Bet you'd see crime drop more from the allowance of firearms than a ban on them. Criminals don't like a fair fight.

You'll never see that proposed in CA, it lacks the bleeding heart emotion appeal the moonbats in the state thrive on. We're expected to hand over our belongings, lay down and catch a bullet in the back of the head. Then, IF they catch your killer, he gets a tax payer paid vacation for 10 years in a prison where he may have better accommodations than he does a 'free man'. Yeah, that feels better.

 

Sure, if you ignore the fact that cars are designed for transportation and AK-47s are designed to ______ (fill in the blank).

 

What difference does it make? A guns sole purpose isn't to kill, the same way a car isn't just used to commute back and forth from work and the grocery store.

 

The MAJOR problem with what you suggest is the CCW part.

If a world existed like you suggest, I would never step foot in a bar again. Actually, I'd probably count out every single public place that didn't have a "no guns" requirement. Psycho #1 pulls out his gun so Mr. Toughguy McRambo pull out his, as do a handfull of others. Sounds like a innocent bystander's nightmare... Having a gun hardly makes you a potential hero. A potential killer, more likely. The "ooops, I left my concealed gun with the safety off in my jacket - sorry, coatcheck lady" and other possible scenarios would increase beyond anything we could anticipate. I can't even imagine how much the gun-related, accidental child deaths would increase...

It would be great for school shootings, though. Kids wouldn't have to figure out how they're going to sneak their guns into the school. And instead of executions, a full-on shootout? I think the psychos in the world would be that much more inclined to try to go out with a bang if that were the case...

And as far as a crime deterrent goes, if it was more likely that the potential victim was armed, I believe the criminal is only going have that much more of an itchy trigger finger.

I think the tax is a great idea - bullets should be very expensive.

I just wonder if there could be a way where hunters/marksmen/etc. can buy low-taxed bullets at the place of hunting/shooting...

 

So that begs the question, the other purposes of an AK-47 are what?

 

There's no sensible way to control the sheer variety of ammunition w/o affecting lawful gun owners. Besides, people can reload their own ammo. It's not that hard to make your own slugs, casings, and sourcing good gun powder.

 

CCW is alive and well in many states, none of the problems you thought out have materialized. Statistics have also shown a decrease in crime rates after making firearms more readily available to law abiding citizens.

You sound like you've been conditioned to live a life in fear of firearms. Why? What about them is scarier than a lunatic going on stabbing sprees? Are you nervous when you see a person with a pocket knife clipped to their jeans standing in line with you at the grocery store?

All of your 'worst case senarios' are once again emotionally based, "oh no, what if!?" "could you imagine?!". And the best, the "children" argument. There are mandatory training classes associated with CCW as well as a new sense of awareness after you have the responsibility of carrying a firearm. Sure, accidents happen, but child related deaths from gunshot is very low compared to everyday activities. Again, playing on the emotions, nothing fact based. In fact, accidental shootings can be brought to an even lower number if the owners of said firearms store them as they should around young children.

Same thing with your school shootings analogy, more emotional rhetoric ignoring the fact that CCW has age requirements and more importantly most psychopaths will go on a killing spree firearm or axe. A gun doesn't appeal to a person hellbent on destroying life any more than a machete or butcher knife.

Finally, theres a saying: "An armed society is a polite society". Analyzing a criminals thought patterns isn't what this is about, but lets just say some research would show they don't like to prey on anything but the weak.

Collecting for historical value, the AK-47 has a lot of history. Or how about the enjoyment of shooting it?

Also, whats the difference between a .223 round fired from a banned "assault rifle" and a .38 from an old cop style revolver that isn't a scary "assault weapon" when that bullet penetrates your skin?

 

Say what?

I'm all for CCW, but still fail to see the need for a AW to be the weapon on a person other than it being a pissing contest.

I'll take a simple 9mm anyday. It's just as effective in protecting myself and my home as any other firearm, auto or not...

My car only makes 132whp, so it's pretty slow really. But either way, I think Superglue's question is pretty legit...cars are made for transportation, people misuse them. Guns are made to kill or inflict pain on people, animals and to hit targets... They don't have any other real purposeful use. They use is primarily to kill people.

the .45 pistol/handgun... created to to fight islander muslims. No other reason for it's creation but to have more stopping power, to put a man down on the ground instead of just peircing skin. They used to tie their ***** and it'd numb them or something and they were crazy and suicial, so police needed a gun that would hit a crazy muslim indonesian dude and knock him down... stopping power. It wasn't made to cook you some eggs. Lets be real here.

Again, I'm all for gun ownership, but I'm also for some regulation. To stop grey/black market trade of guns (where criminals get guns) it will take much more creative thinking.