First of all...I own no guns. I was not raised around guns. I have never used a gun. But...
Imagine that any ONE of the 'good' guys at Virgina Tech, or Columbine, had been carrying a gun. How long would the 'bad' guys have lasted? They wouldn't have. In fact, they probably wouldn't have dared to try what they did. They would have known they wouldn't get too far.
I firmly believe it is our right at Americans to bear arms for the purposes of protecting ourselves. Of course, with this right comes the responsibility to teach and practice gun safety.
What good would banning certain weapons do, anyway? If a 'bad' guy is looking for a gun, he'll find one. A lock only stops an honest man, right? Stricter gun control will only take the guns from the good guys, and put them right into the hands of the bad guys.
What are your thoughts? Thank you. this is the exact same arguement a lot of us have been trying to use to explain our position on gun control and the supreme court hearings.
And btw Michael the FACT is that you will spend more time with your loved ones than with a criminal. That is no excuse for why people should not have the right to defend themselves. You should really start reading some of your own statistics. http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/c...
Firearms were used in 25.6 percent of the total murders, robberies, and aggravated assaults collectively during 2000. Personal weapons (hands, fists, feet, etc.) were involved in 31.5 percent of these crimes, and knives or cutting instruments were employed in another 15.0 percent. Other dangerous weapons were used in 27.9 percent of the offenses.
Firearms were used in 65.6 percent of the murders in 2000. By firearm type, handguns accounted for 51.7 percent of the murder total; shotguns, 3.6 percent; rifles, 3.1 percent; and other or unknown types of firearms another 7.3 percent
Firearms were used in 40.9 percent of robberies during 2000. Strong-arm tactics were used in 40.4 percent of robberies, knives or cutting instruments were the weapon used in 8.4 percent of robberies, and other types of weapons were used in 10.3 percent of robberies.
In 2000, 35.9 percent of aggravated assaults were committed with blunt objects or other dangerous weapons. Personal weapons (hands, fists, feet, etc.) were used in 28.0 percent of the assaults; firearms, in 18.1 percent; and knives or cutting instruments, in 18.0 percent.
Firearm accident deaths have been decreasing for decades. Since 1930, their annual number has decreased 80%, while the U.S. population has more than doubled and the number of firearms has quintupled. Among children, such deaths have decreased 89% since 1975.
Firearm accident deaths are at an all-time annual low, while the U.S. population is at an all-time high. Therefore, the firearm accident death rate is at an all-time annual low, 0.2 per 100,000 population, down 94% since the all-time high in 1904.
Today, the odds are a million to one, against a child in the U.S. dying in a firearm accident.
Firearms are involved in 0.6% of accidental deaths nationally. Most accidental deaths involve, or are due to, motor vehicles (39%), poisoning (18%), falls (16%), suffocation (5%), drowning (2.9%), fires (2.8%), medical mistakes (2.2%), environmental factors (1.2%), and bicycles and tricycles (0.7%). Among children: motor vehicles (45%), suffocation (18%), drowning (14%), fires (9%), bicycles and tricycles (2.4%), falls (2%), poisoning (1.6%),environmental factors (1.5%), and medical mistakes (0.8%).
During 1997, in the United States, approximately four people died every hour from gunshot wounds. Of the 32,436 gun-related deaths that year, approximately 33 percent were unintentional or "accidental" shootings.
Those are some fairly staggering statistics from the FBI. And i still stand by the arguement that safety training is the answer.
Hey Michael yeah it is. More people were killed in bicycle related accidents than firearm accidents. ANd medical accidents is more than triple the firearm accident statistics.
"Hi kitkat, aint debate grand? Firearms were used in 65.6 percent of the murders in 2000 - how many of those murders were commited by 'lawful' gun owners? hmmmm?? "
techinically ZERO. Murder is against the law so it cant be commited by Lawful gun owners. As far as I'm concerned, you're absolutely correct. A few years ago the state of Florida passed a statute that made it much easier for eligible Floridians to carry a concealed weapon. The anti-gun adherents predicted a rise in gun-related assaults and deaths by permit holders, and instead the statistics showed that gun-related assaults and deaths had a percentage drop. Some past criminals were heard to say that it was much riskier now to commit a robbery because they now weren't sure if the potential victim was armed. Exactly. You could not have said it any better. I also think these were excellent remarks on the subject...
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them..." - Richard Henry Lee, 1788, Initiator of the Declaration of Independence, and member of the first Senate, which passed the Bill of Rights.
"That government is best which governs least, because its people discipline themselves." - Thomas Jefferson
"Liberty means responsibility; that is why most men dread it." - George Bernard Shaw
鈥淭he second amendment is a doomsday provision, one designed for those exceptionally rare circumstances where all other rights have failed. Where the government refuses to stand for re-election and silences those who protest ; where courts have lost the courage to oppose, or can find no one to enforce their decrees. However improbable these contingencies may seem today, facing them unprepared is a mistake a free people get to make only once."
Alex Kosinski (Federal appeals judge & immigrant from Eastern Europe)
聽 Amen!
I'm a criminal justice major, I plan to be a cop. I have been around guns all my life, I own a handgun.
My state is pushing legislation to allow people with concealed weapons permits to carry on college campus.
I'm all for it. I am a very calm and level-headed person. I would never pull a gun on anyone if the threat level didn't justify it. If someone came on my campus and started shooting people and I was armed, I would absolutely take the necessary steps to stop that person from hurting anyone else.
In any sort of situation like this you have to access the situation. If you miss would you hit any bystanders? Etc etc. > I firmly believe it is our right at Americans to bear arms for the purposes of protecting ourselves.
you firmly believe wrongf.
regardless of one's interpretation of the 2nd amendment, it does not state that the purpose is for individual protection, it states that the purpose is to have well-regulated militias.
I have never met a person, either with or without guns, that was a member of a militia, well regulated, or not.
have you?
by the w, you are probably no where near old enough to remember this, but your argument was the classic punchline in a classic episode of the great sitcom All in the Family. this was the most popular show of its time, by far.
At the time, there was a rash of hijacking, many were to Havana Cuba. This was also the early days of the PLO, who were involved in hijackings early on.
Archie Bunker, the bigoted patriarch of the show was discussing the rash of hijackings with his liberal son-in-law, and he (Archie) said with all seriousness that the way to end hijackings (to make planes perfectly safe) was to give everyone a gun as they boarded.
That is "Priceless" logic at its finest! To me the "right to bear arms" does not make sense and really should be outlawed. As a parent I have to make sure that my gun is at a safe place, right? So I put it in a safe.....and when the burglars/rapists, or whoever, break into my house I am defenseless because my weapon is in a safe place.....if I don't keep it in a safe place, and my kids accidentially shoot each other--guess what? I will be held responsible. So what do I need a gun for????? hw did u get yours? u look like a suspect to me. based on ''A lock only stops an honest man''. Agreed!
Timothy McVeigh used no guns when he brought down the federal building in Oklahoma City.
We can't outlaw everything that kills, or we would all have to live in padded cages forever. my dad would want to marry u! i agree too but i was raised by a gun nut so go figure. I have used a gun to defend my life.
The person I shot was not related or known to me, but I am alive today ONLY because of a gun that I used within my rights.
This was not in combat, it was in Arizona.
And that is a fact that even Michael's trivial numbers can't remove. Spend a little time on the FBI website and brush up on your crime statistics.
Gun-owners are more likely to shoot themselves or their loved ones than to ever shoot a criminal.
That's a fact.
Hi kitkat, aint debate grand? Firearms were used in 65.6 percent of the murders in 2000 - how many of those murders were commited by 'lawful' gun owners? hmmmm?? |
