How do my fellow escapists feel about guns? (The real kind)

[JezebelinHell]

My father is a gun collector. Guns are no big deal to me, nothing to show off, nothing to brag about, I don't have a penis to enhance... Bad people are the issue. Gun control is not going to stop them. If they don't have a legal gun, they are going to find an illegal gun. If they can't by some twist of fate find an illegal gun then they are going to use another weapon. That can range from knife, baseball bat, their fists or a car. All of which could take me out as easily as a gun as I am all of 5'5" and have a back injury. If someone wants to do something bad they are going to do it regardless of the law. I would rather have my gun and have some chance to defend myself. You can keep a knife, a baseball bat or nothing, that is your right. I will fight within my means to keep my right to have a gun because without it, I stand no chance of defending myself. And if I am in a situation to use a gun you better believe that I am out to kill someone with it because I cannot take a chance of just wounding them.
I also believe that if you have a criminal or mental record and cannot lawfully own a gun but are found trying to purchase one legally they should lock your ass up. There is no one that is oblivious to their criminal record or classified mental state as pertains to purchasing a firearm. As far as I am concerned they are breaking the law even attempting to purchase one.

 

[Elementlmage]

I'm definitely a hardcore advocate of the constitutional right to bear arms (meaning the US constitution of course).

Of course there's the age-old argument of having guns as self defense when it comes to defending gun rights, but something that I feel those who're against the right to bear arms fail to realize is that the fact that civilians are endowed with that right is part of what shows that the government is subject to them, they are not subject to the government, and that goes hand in hand with the idea that those in power govern with the consent of the governed. Democracy is a beautiful thing.

I don't even go as far as to use the Second Amendment. People have a right to own property, period. It's all about personal freedom. If you use what ever property you own in a responsible manner that doesn't infringe on anyone else's rights, nobody has any right to tell you what you can and can not have. (Yes, I do support abolition of prohibition)




Mumbo Jumbo this Captcha ,,',,

 

[Mistermixmaster]

Well, I don't mind guns (hell, I love a lot of FPS's), but the idea of owning a gun doesn't really appeal to me. That might be because of the whole "shoot someone invading your home and he dies, it's planned murder, because you had a gun!"-bullshit we have in Norway. I'd probably get one of 'em tazer-guns that got some range instead. Seems a lot safer to, especially for someone like me who probably won't keep the gun properly maintained out of laziness.

 

[viranimus]

Honestly I am not big into guns. I can use them with a degree of proficiency. Personally they really dont interest me. However I respect that they can be incredibly useful if used correctly. I think its imperative that we protect the rights of ownership of guns in the US for many reasons, not the least of which is having freedom infringed upon.

I say this today after being shot five months ago. Being shot has done absolutely nothing to change my viewpoint on them.

 

[Littlejib]

Simple question. I live in Australia, where our murder rate (per person) is about one 90th (around 0.11) of the US rate. Most of the first world also has a murder rate around the same as Australia. Americans (as in US - Canada has about the same rate as Australia) kill each other at a rate that the rest of world find unimaginable.

So why is that the case? The fact that we don't have guns, and it is nigh impossible for a criminal to get his hands on a gun here (obviously gun controls won't work if you can just drive to the next state and buy one there - they work in Australia because they apply federally)? Or is the US just culturally barbaric?

Personally, I'd go with 'the guns'. If you prefer 'the US is culturally inferior' as an explanation, then be my guest...

I must disagree, we had open gun laws up until the Port Arthur Massicare. If you read what actually happened you'll see that it's defently more a culture thing, he was standing on the side of the road with 4 guns on him, and people would slow down to offer him a lift. There jsut wasnt the mentality that guns could be used for that

 

[AgDr_ODST]

I like guns for a miriad of reasons such as the look, the sound, the mechanics and the history of them(the infamy behind particular guns like Oswalds rifle, and the history of certain makes, models and companies)

And because of and or beyond that I also intend to own many guns some of which will be for the sake of collecting(I really want a WWII era Thompson and an M1 Garand, and some old west revolvers and repeaters) And Im also an ardent believer in the US's second amendment and I'll likely end up obtaining a revolver for concealed carry in a holster(along with a permit) and a shotgun for at home. And I also like when Im able to go out and shoot them wether its at my local gun shops range or hitting bottles in the river with my dad

 

[Andrew_Waltfeld]

This is a real soapbox item for me, I believe average Joe should be able to use and 'enjoy' firearms, but with heavy limitations. With military and law enforcement experience, I do not like untrained, unstable and simply unknown people having access to a tool built wholly and solely for the purpose of killing. And they are, that cannot be denied. Even on the range, it's still a killing instrument. So the average citizen having access to fully automatic assault rifles is mind-bogglingly stupid. But, considering the amount of murders committed with hand guns, they should most definitely be controlled.
And incidentally, if I'm going to rob you, and I know you have a gun, because everyone has a gun, I'll simply kill you first, it won't make me back away. Been there, processed the scene, interviewed the offender....

despite my views are similar - even stupid people aren't stupid around guns. Our entire American Culture is centered around this icon. Really the only time people are "stupid" are when there is a whole lot of them in the same area. Hive mentality and all starts to develop.

Though to be honest, when compared to Europe and our crime rates are pretty much the same, I would think we are doing ok. Idiotic people are the ones who are untrained. Most people who have fire-arms have had some experienced and training in them. I grew up in rural Maine where lots of people have fire-arms. There was no such thing as mucking about with a gun - no matter what. It was hammered into every single teenager/youngster in my area regardless of gender or if you hunted or not by parents.

Really prevention is the key. You'll still have idiots, but you can't catch them all and I'm inclined to believe that taking away guns will be a really bad idea once they have been instilled in a population. Much like the nuclear bomb, I wish it was not invented, but now that it has - your only progress if forward and thru prevention thru learning and past experience.

 

[Jaidenator]

I don't like them, and I don't like the idea of people around me carrying them either.

 

[PureChaos]

whenever guns are mentioned i always think 'i prefer swords' and i do

<youtube=MsqmtCjBOuk>

And there's my answer. >

OT: I'm all for responsible gun use. For those deemed irresponsible, why not shoot em in the head... Of course, someone with the proper authority would do that or things would likely get out of hand.

that's...kinda creepy. he really wants his phone call though!

 

[Karhukonna]

I used guns during my service, and shooting was all good fun and all, but I've never previously had shooting as a hobby. If I get a job in the military, I'll propably occasionally go practise with an assault rifle or a pistol.

I don't feel bad about having guns in the world, and I believe that every man has a right to own one for protection. Using them for criminal acts is still a problem, but I'd still feel better if I had an assault rifle in the closet. ;D You know, for protection.

 

[Asuka Soryu]

"A submachine gun! Now I can solve 600 problems a minute."

 

[Jader7777]

I don't see how a gun is defending one self, or molotov cocktails for that matter.

Society is pretty rotten, so don't solve the problem, just treat the symptom by using a gun. But then the criminals get more gun, so then we need to buy more guns. And that solved the problem forever.

 

[Sacman]

I find guns themselves to be rather interesting but they make me anxious when I'm around them...<.<

 

[jackpipsam]

I think there needs to be longer trainer before a gun

 

[JamesBr]

As pieces of engineering, I find guns to be simple divine. Few mechanical inventions can match the simple and efficient design of firearms. I also have no real issue with civilians owning them. I do however have issue with people who abuse the power that guns grant. As a tool for self defense, hunting, or simply using them at a range, I couldn't care less. But I will admit that their simple existence probably cause more problems then they solve. They're a facilitator for violence and they need to be handled responsibly with the full knowledge that they are designed for no other purpose then to hurt or kill. They are not designed for plinking targets at a range, even if that's all you use it for. Very dangerous toys indeed (I use the word "toy" in the loosest possible sense, naturally).

But what marvels of design and engineering they are! So pretty and efficient. I guess, at the end of the day I don't hate guns, just people. Lol.

 

[veloper]

It causes more trouble than it might help prevent crime.

Handguns are used to stop/prevent about 200,000- yes, two hundred thousand- animal attacks every year. That may seem like an improbably large number, until you realize that there are over 300 million Americans living in this country, and this country is the size of Europe, which is considered an entire continent in it's own right. When Canada made it illegal for civilains to carry guns, the number of deaths by animal attacks, such as bears and wolverines and moutain lions, increased dramatically.

Sounds like what you need is skilled hunters with rifles. Not a handgun in the hand of every random city slob, who'll never see an animal outside the zoo.

Handguns are used to stop more crimes than they are used to commit. They are used to kill more criminals than they are to kill innocent people. Roughly 64% of all murder victims are either drug dealers or drug addicts- most gun murders happen between people involved in the drug trade, and are based on the desire to monopolize the drug trade. My source for this is Second Amendment Sisters. Sadly I can't find the exact page this quote is from.

So basicly, if you're upstanding citizen you don't need to worry about arming yourself against criminals. They're killing eachother.
If you do end up a murder victim, the chances are you knew the murderer, as another (previously) upstanding citizen.

The areas of the United States with the highest crime rate is Chicago, which banned handguns for many years and still refuses to let people carry guns to this day. Many states that let people carry guns have a lower crime rate than Britain.

The countries in Europe that have the highest crime rates are the ones that refuse to let people carry guns. Britain and Luxembourg have very high crime rates by European standards, and the most violent cities in Europe have consistently been British/Irish cities, such as Gloucester and Limerick, which refuse to let people carry guns. By contrast, countries such as Switzerland and Finland, which let people carry guns, consistently have the lowest crime rates.

America actually has mountains upon mountains of gun control- at one point, it was illegal to carry guns in Texas. They were open minded enough to ban the carry of guns because a bunch of people said it would lower crime. It actually increased crime, and today Texas lets you carry guns again.

Correlation unequals causation.
Sure Britain has high crime rates (because of unemployment, poverty and high population density) and it would get even worse if they also allowed everyone to wield pistols.

Finland on the other hand is a low density, socialist nanny state, so they get away with it.

Now Texas, it doesn't matter what kind of gun legislation they tried in the past, because there's more firearms than people. This goes for the entire US. Far too late to try taking guns away.
The only thing the US can do now is not to register (again) more powerful weapons too like M16s and RPGs, for angry citizens to play with.

However, I do believe that social conditions are far more important than gun ownership, Japan has proven this. So while I believe that letting law abiding adults carry guns helps reduce crime if you have bad social conditions, I believe that guns are unnecessary for dealing withg crime if you have good social conditions. But you would still need them to defend against animals. Many Americans live in Rural Areas.

I'll go even further and say social conditions are everything and let the police deal with criminals.

 

[spartandude]

would you guys rather be in a fight where you are fighting 7 people and everyone involved (you and them) has a gun or where everyone uses fists?

 

[EllEzDee]

Civilians and cops with guns = stupid.

Cops with guns = stupid why?

Why does a police officer need a gun? So they can kill people? I think the number of videos of American cops shooting unarmed civilians demonstrates this perfectly. If civies didn't have guns, there'd be absolutely no reason for a cop to have one. (Obviously not including specialist teams like SWAT)

 

[Hooded.Gamer]

In my mind, a gun (like a lot of other things) is a tool. It doesn't necessarily need to be used to kill people, so I find nothing wrong with someone owning a gun.

But there are lengths that I do not agree on. A person who owns a gun and carries it on his person at all times, is asking for something to happen to them. But a person who owns a gun, is perfectly within the boundaries of logic, reason, and law.