Americans love hand guns

[dedndave]

they're probably shooting at dan quail   :lol

we'll get em a bigger one and they can go bush hunting   :bg
a bush in the can is worth a byrd in the hand - er sumpin like that

[Bill Cravener]

What the hell !?!?  :tdown

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/watch-nra-heads-explode-al-qaeda-spo

[hutch--]

Something well known is that its very difficult to own your own handgun in Taliban Territory, like any dictatorial regime, they want to hold all the guns but are happy enough to use them against whoever they like. For all of the risks of terrorists buying guns legally, the price of banning everyone from owning their own means of defense is too high to pay for while people who behave legally may not end up owning handguns, the terrorists and any other criminals will and without the scruples that ordinary people have.

I come down on the side of the US founding fathers here, better a society that can defend itself than one that is at the mercy of loonies or criminals.

[Bill Cravener]

What I'm concerned about is the 33 states that do not restrict private intrastate sales of firearms at gun shows, where there are zero background checks. That's just plain stupidity! The NRA is wrong when it argues against background checks.

[dedndave]

the NRA thinking is...
"if we give em an inch, they'll take a mile"
and, they're probably right
still, i think a solid control may help to preserve our right to bear arms
if things continue to get out of hand, we risk losing the right altogether
better to have half a lemon than no apple at all - lol

[Bill Cravener]

The NRA is entirely beholden to the gun industry. The NRA receives many millions of dollars from the gun industry and corporate partners. The more gun ownership the NRA can create the more monies they receive. They don't give a ratsass about who buys a gun be it a terrorist, brain dead adult, criminals, anybody. Blackwater, known for its abuses in the Iraq war have so far contributed an estimated 1 million dollars to the NRA.

The NRA even made the statement that they are "not affiliated with any firearm or ammunition manufacturers or with any businesses that deal in guns and ammunition." And they make that statement with a straight face. Bullshit, they are just another greedy organization like any other. They are a bunch of greedy corrupt lying bastards!

[hutch--]

Bill,

You may see it differently if you saw how its done in other countries. Where the gun snatchers have succeeded and removed legal firearms from a society, the death tool of murders has not decreased, people die just as effectively from knife attacks, bashings and the like but the gun snatchers have definitely made committing violent crime a lot safer. The criminal takes no notice of gun laws but they do take notice when their victims cannot defend themselves. We currently have a spate of machette attacks by African migrants doing burglaries and the results are not pretty.

I agree that loonies should not have guns but I well understand why the NRA reject any gun snatcher laws, its the thin edge of the wedge that occurs in the order of "registration" then "confiscation". This much is clear, the gun snatchers simply don't care if you get hacked to death, their aims are control based, not safety based.

[Bill Cravener]

Steve,

I would have no problem if it was required that I license my firearms. I believe in self protection also and it's hard to miss with a 12-gage over and under. Pennsylvania law allows for the use of deadly force in defense of self within the home or on an individual's property.  Let me ask this question; has licensing of drivers and registration of cars lead to a ban on automobiles? Did licensing of dogs lead to a ban on pet ownership? Like me the vast majority of people who support gun control oppose an outright ban on all guns. The easy access to handguns and assault weapons here in the US is my concern. A poll in a US News and World Report article showed that 42% of gun owners support a gun licensing system and I'd make a bet that its higher then that after all the school shootings we've had over here. The rising support for better gun control is motivated by the facts regarding violent crime and the easy availability of guns. I support the licensing of drivers and the registration of automobiles but I do not fear cars though I do have fear of drivers.

I think most everyone would agree that it is far easier to commit a crime or kill someone with a gun than with a machete or baseball bat. Most crimes that are committed with a gun would never be attempted with any other sort of weapon here in the states. The one and only consistent difference between the US and all the other major democracies that have a mere fraction of our crime is that each and every one of those countries has much stricter gun control laws. It is a fact here in the US that a gun kept in the home for self-defense is six times more likely to be used in a deliberate or accidental homicide involving a relative or friend than a burglar or intruder. According to Federal statistics for every "one" time a handgun is used by a citizen to kill a criminal, 118 innocent people are killed in handgun murders, suicides and accidents. The fact still remains that the only people who benefit from the actions of the NRA is the multi-million dollar gun industry and its corporate partners.

[jj2007]

According to Federal statistics for every "one" time a handgun is used by a citizen to kill a criminal, 118 innocent people are killed in handgun murders, suicides and accidents.

That says it all, Bill :U

[Bill Cravener]

jj,

Guns, guns, guns, we gotta buy more guns! And you can be certain that most are sold to folks that know little if anything in the safety and proper handling of such a dangerous thing. I'm a hunter and every year I bump into someone you know should not be holding the gun in their hands by the ignorance they show in handling that thing that can kill you dead. Through many years of game hunting there have been times it was damn scary! It completely ruins the hunt cause out there in the woods your mind isn't on hunting its wondering where that nutty sonbitch is.  :bg

[hutch--]

This is the catch for the number of deaths argument, in OZ which has highly restrictive gun laws there was no change in the number of murders, illegal guns and many other methods were used, banning guns did nothing for safety but it has certainly made defending yourself more difficult in places where the risk is high.

If you could be safe with gun licencing, it is in fact a good idea but as long as you have gun grabbers then groups like the NRA will oppose any restrictions as it is the entry to an ever increasing range of restrictions. The sequence of "registration", "confiscation" is well known and thats why they will fight it tooth and nail.

Most firearms in OZ were for hunting but with the restrictions we now have a feral animal problem in many of the national parks. Farmers and hunters used to control the problem of feral pigs, dogs, cats, horses, donkeys, camels and so on but with the restrictions they have gone beserk and park rangers cannot handle the sheer volume of feral animals. This is very much the case of city based special interest groups who could not care less about problems in the country inflicting their dogma with devestating consequences for wildlife in OZ.

This epidemic of feral animals is destroying the habitat of many of our unique species, particularly the small coastal marsupials.