The Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

[James]

The only other issue I know of is people who grew up with firearms, have a better respect for them, and those who have hunted for food reasons, not sport, have answered the call when we have needed them, and became our very best. wwii, korea, and veitnam, James

[TimmyThink]

I have a always been spilt on this issue, on one hand I completely supported the right to bear arms. On the other I have always found the amount of guns available to civilians to be somewhat alarming.

I can understand why civilians are permitted to carry small caliber pistol and hand guns for self defence or big game/small game hunting rifles and shotguns. What I can’t understand is why they sell military or near military grade weaponry to civilians.

Something like an AR.15 has no real world day to day functionality or application. Unless you are fighting a war or preventing and or committing an armed bank robbery there is no reason to own that kind of weaponry.

[jaxc]

I have a always been spilt on this issue, on one hand I completely supported the right to bear arms. On the other I have always found the amount of guns available to civilians to be somewhat alarming.

I can understand why civilians are permitted to carry small caliber pistol and hand guns for self defence or big game/small game hunting rifles and shotguns. What I can’t understand is why they sell military or near military grade weaponry to civilians.

Something like an AR.15 has no real world day to day functionality or application. Unless you are fighting a war or preventing and or committing an armed bank robbery there is no reason to own that kind of weaponry.

they make great home defense weapons, on and off duty weapons, and can easily be configure for hunting or sporting purposes just to name a few( plus actual military grade assualt rifles, not semi-auto rifles, are very expensive, hard to find and are very,very heavily regulated.

[James]

beg to differ, but the mak15 was easily converted, as was the semi auto m16, James

[Glock30]

LMAO i'm so glad i took a vacation and didn't see any of this until today lol thank god it's old

[poorat99]

After seeing this topic becoming quite prevalent in the Death Penalty Thread, i decided i'd post my views on it too...then thought "Fuck it, i might as well start a thread for it.":tongue:
The following is what i was going to post:

Well i might as well post my view on gun rights:

1)Guns are extremely dangerous. All it takes is one shot to kill someone.
So while taking their guns away, wont cut crimes, it will hopefully make it harder to kill someone.(Or a group of people even)

2)I've seen quite a few people say they need guns to protect themselves from the state/government/police.
Really? I find that a really unlikely event to occur. If they do decide to kill ya, you are out numbered and out gunned, unless your going to rally a load of friends.
The only other way i think they could mean this, is that they feel the government may try and wipe the people out or become totalitarian, and without guns they couldn't defend themselves. Which i also think is a kinda crazy idea.

3)I've also seen people say something like:"People will just get guns by other illegal means"
Yes, they will. A whole lot less people.
Only people who know of these illegal means or are very determined to get a gun could get one. Rather than just being able to(I'm not sure how the system works but) take a test and buy one/use the one they had hidden at home for self defence.

4)If the people have the right to carry guns, it means both criminals and civilians have too. And it also means all police require guns to stop anyone doing anything, as anyone could be carrying a gun.
It means any situation could escalate to blood shed.
Without the right, the only people who can get hold of guns are the people who know how to get them illegally and the armed response force of the police. Hopefully reducing gun crime, fatalities and injuries by a fair amount.

5)As the US is already saturated with guns, so to speak, it's impossible to get rid of all of them all from the general population. Especially something the person paid for and legally owns.
So to be honest, it's nigh impossible to get rid of them now. :redface:

So yeah.
I feel it's a bad idea having the right to carry a weapon so lethal.:frown:
I also i feel not much can be done in countries where it is legal already.:redface:
(Sorry for the wall-o-text.)

What about people trained to use the weapon? (military, ex-police,etc...) I like the idea of vigilantes

And people shouldn't be so paranoid about the government trying to kill them off. "most" of the people I've met that were in the military serve to protect their people before their government

[AlephNull]

This is an issue I am passionate about. Two things...

1) A gay man with a gun doesn't get bashed.
2) Anyone relying on the police to protect them is a fool. In the GaDaily it took police 30 minutes to respond to a call of a break in. Guess what happened to(# the unarmed man who got robbed? Beaten to a pulp.

[ardus]

This is an issue many people are very passionate about here in the US. Here are my thoughts.
First some background.
My dad didn't like guns, we didn't have them in the house growing up.
I'm an Infantry Soldier, I use and live with guns on a daily basis.
I own two.
As far the legality of firearms. The second ammendment to the US Constitution "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." guarantees US citizens the right to own firearms. Can't take it away, we have that right.
Now do I think we should have no limits, of course not.
No normal person needs a machine gun, why would we. There are good common sense limits that should be imposed by law.
No US citizen should be restricted from owning a handgun, rifle or shotgun unless there is a compelling reason, such as past violent crime, or mental illness, that's what I believe.
Former or current United States Military who meet the above requirements, and former or current United States Law Enforcement Officers should be allowed to buy any weapon they want. Again, just what I beleive. We are trained to use them, we understand the risks.
Is there a risk from an armed society? Yes there is, but we formed our society based on the idea that freedom is more important than some risks from a small segment of the population.
Gun Control
Many advocates look at statistics and say the population of a bunch or European Countries added together equaling ours has a much lower rate of gun violence. Well of course they do, anyone who has lived in both Europe and the US knows there is a MASSIVE cultural difference. When I lived in Germany if I forgot to lock my car I didn't care, I KNEW it wouldn't be broken into. Here in the US, if I forget to lock my car, I will go back out as soon as I realize it. We have more crime here, that's a reality.
Ammunition Control
I have no problem with it. I don't shoot people that aren't a danger to me so I'm happy to have all my ammo tracked.
Richard

[fenris]

When I lived in Germany if I forgot to lock my car I didn't care, I KNEW it wouldn't be broken into. Here in the US, if I forget to lock my car, I will go back out as soon as I realize it. We have more crime here, that's a reality.

Yes.. but we have here problems at the railway stations and we have problems at our eastern borders or bigger towns....


but here .. where I live.. I feel very safe, I have so many times forgotten to lock my frontdoor at night... and a few nights my key was still outside in the door lock :redface:
Last summer.. on a windy day... I was out with the dogs ... after a while I came back, frontdoor open... thinking "uups ... maybe thiefs inside ? ... but was only my neighbor, who was sitting there with a cup of coffee..and told me, that the wind has opened my door... and he sat inside, makes himself a cup of coffee and waits that I come back ... because .. you know ..maybe some thiefs could step in :-)
I can´t imagine how dangerous it can be in bigger towns ... must be terrible... here are no weapons needed.

[Inchante]

I would be willing to bet that there are more guns percapita in the low crime areas of the U.S. than there are in the high crime areas . . . not that I think that is due to deterrence.

Yes.. but we have here problems at the railway stations and we have problems at our eastern borders or bigger towns....


but here .. where I live.. I feel very safe, I have so many times forgotten to lock my frontdoor at night... and a few nights my key was still outside in the door lock :redface:
Last summer.. on a windy day... I was out with the dogs ... after a while I came back, frontdoor open... thinking "uups ... maybe thiefs inside ? ... but was only my neighbor, who was sitting there with a cup of coffee..and told me, that the wind has opened my door... and he sat inside, makes himself a cup of coffee and waits that I come back ... because .. you know ..maybe some thiefs could step in :-)
I can´t imagine how dangerous it can be in bigger towns ... must be terrible... here are no weapons needed.

What Ardus forgot is that there are many places in the U.S. where one can leave ones car door unlocked and not worry about it. I live in a very safe area I never lock the door to my house unless I will be leaving for several days, and only lock my car door if I am out and about...