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

[Aesir23]

I'm a little iffy on guns but I'm more than glad that we have gun control up here in Canada (even if our idiot of a Prime Minister is trying to get rid of it).

The thing is, Hunting Rifles I can understand as long as the person is licensed and the guns are kept locked in a safe place unless used for hunting, targets at ranges or self defence in the event of a home invasion. But I don't think that civilians should be allowed to own military grade weapons such as assault rifles. And I will admit that the fact that civilians are allowed to own those types of weapon really boggles my mind. Can you imagine the carnage if the guy in Arizona had, say, an M16 or AK-47?

While I say I can understand someone owning a hunting rifle. I would just prefer it if guns were banned altogether( the only exceptions being the police and military, of course). So really, I'd feel a hell of a lot safer if those types of guns (military models) weren't made available to any Average Joe who decides he wants one.

Also, I want to make it clear that I know that you need permits in the states and that there's a waiting period and background checks. But still, allowing military grade weapons to be owned by civilians is utter lunacy.

But that's just my take.

 

[SimuLord]

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...

The US reaps what it sows. We have a very strong us-vs-them mentality that gets cultivated in all of our subcultures. Race, class, religion---the idea that the US is "one nation under God" is a farce.

It's not violent movies or violent video games or even our gigantic army that makes Americans like this---it's the mere fact that the government, the corporations, and anyone else with a stake in enriching themselves and seizing power has adopted a "divide and rule" philosophy that has completely broken down even the faintest semblance of community.

 

[lSHaDoW-FoXl]

I'm a very left wing liberal. The kind morons insult as a 'communist.' But you know, I have absolutely nothing against guns. What I do have something against are some of the people who use them. Every time I hear some fuck head going on about them having a gun and how they should shoot me just because I have an opinion different from there's I think to my self this:

'Should people like THIS really be granted a gun to protect their families?'

And then I think,

'Should these people even breed or have families?'

And afterwards I also consider how unfair it is that I'm the guy that believes such an asshole should be granted the rights to hold a gun while he berates me - and even states that I deserve to have my fucking head blown off. Just because I'm a coward liberal and apparently a communist, brainwashed by the liberal media.

*Face palm*

I think we should regulate who gets the damn things. Never mind people with mental illnesses. Some mental illnesses have absolutely nothing to deal with whether you'll randomly blow a guys head off or not.

So, lets not stop people with mental illnesses from having them. If you're talking to an invisible man that's telling you not to shoot at people then it's probably for the greater good. By regulations I mean we should keep them away from morons. You know, those kinds of people that are the real threat.

 

[LiquidGrape]

Guns are stupid.
Do I need to elaborate on that?

 

[GenericAmerican]

Guns are not evil, they do not kill people; they are only tools, like any tool they can be misused. So can knifes, a hammer, a pencil, a bow and arrow.

If someone wants to harm you, or rob you; they will do it with or without a firearm. If not a gun, then a knife, if not a knife then get ready for fisticuffs.

I don't know where I am going with this, so I will quote something I read.

The Proper Handling And Use of Weapons - Man's ultimate tool, with a capacity for good and evil almost beyond comprehension, is the ultimate test of maturity and, indeed, wisdom. - Anonymous

From the time you pick up a firearm, you become a part of a system over which you have complete control. You are the only part of the system that can make a gun safe or unsafe.

A firearm is only an instrument. It contains no evil, no conscience, and no ability. It is strictly the intent , competence, and character of its user that decides the outcome of any and all actions taken with it.

Remember: no gun can be made accident-proof. A gun is just a machine, with no judgment of its own. It responds to your actions, whether wise or foolish. The only truly effective safety device is the mind of a cautious person who never forgets that a moment's carelessness can produce permanent tragedy.

 

[Smagmuck_]

Conflicted.

One on hand, there's the FPS geek in me that loves them and gets all excited talking to my army buddies about the effects of a 50CAL bullet on a body.

At the same time, they kill people and that doesn't sit right with me as it's something I'm not sure I could ever live with doing.

It's people like you that try to blame everything on weapons, instead of poor education/bad intentions.
Does the knife in the kitchen drawer have the ability to stab someone of it's own accord? How about the axe? Can it cut down a tree by sitting in your shed?
Objects don't, and can't have a will of their own. Plus, as a hunter I've never seen a gun kill anything. The venison in my freezer? I killed that. The gun just made the job slightly easier, and if i didn't have the gun, I'd have used my bow. If I didn't have a bow, i'd have used a spear. If I really want something dead, it's going to die regardless of what I use to kill it.
Now, LET THE RAGING COMMENTS FOR ME BEING A DEFENDER OF GUNS COMMENCE!!!

You my good sir, are quiet witty.

In my personal belief, guns shouldn't be banned outright, the people with some form of instability should not be able to own one... Psychosis, anger issues, the easily impressionable, etc. etc.

 

[Smagmuck_]

Guns are stupid.
Do I need to elaborate on that?

Actually, yes... I'd like to hear your full opinion...

(Also, sorry about the double post people. )

 

[Chamale]

Whenever I form an opinion, I make sure it has a rational basis. So I'll state an opinion I have, then the reason I have it.

I'm all for illegal gun control. Since many gun crimes are convicted with unregistered, smuggled, or stolen weapons, I feel that the penalties should be increased for dealing in or possessing these illegal guns.

I think extended magazines should be illegal across the United States. I've never heard a solid moral argument for them, and I know that they help the perpetrators of massacres kill more people.

Some gun control advocates need to be more educated about guns. It hurts their own cause when they know nothing about guns and say stupid things about guns, or paint all gun owners with a stereotyped brush.

Lastly... All gun owners should think hard about whether they, personally, should own a gun. No matter how responsible a parent is, if a gun owner has small children, it increases the chance that a child could be killed in a gun accident. Unless a gun owner lives in an exceptionally high-crime area, his guns are most likely to be used for suicide rather than self-defense. I won't claim that the government knows what's best for a gun owner, but many people who own guns "for protection" are putting themselves at greater risk.

 

[almostgold]

I love guns. I own several.

 

[ApophisMP]

As a gun owner all i can is, The Gun itself can do nothing without the operator, It cannot load itself, turn off it own safty, pull its trigger without the person holding it. Therefor the gun is a paperweight. The person is responable for his or her own action with a firearm. So banning guns is a simple knee-jerk reaction. You cannot regulate thought,if a person is bent on causing pain or crime he/she will do it, it doesnt take a gun,knifeor bomb. People using cars kill more people each year than guns do. I havent heard anyone saying we should ban cars yet. Again Its the person behind the tool, I am for tougher background checks. People have to look past what the news says they do have a agenda against guns case in point You hear more stories about gun volience than lets say someone using a knife or a baseball bat yet both are used in crime all the time.

I think People need to look at thier POU ( Purpose of Use) when they are considering buying a firearm

Is it for self defence? Hunting? not buying a firearm just beacuse you see it on a game or because some Rapper raps about it.

 

[LiquidGrape]

Guns are stupid.
Do I need to elaborate on that?

Actually, yes... I'd like to hear your full opinion...

(Also, sorry about the double post people. )

Fair enough.
I never quite understood the argument which describes guns as "tools" innocent of what use they're put to.
It's true, you can kill someone with a hammer or even a pencil if you really gave it some effort. However, both the hammer and the pencil have a constructive outlet other than this particular activity.
A gun, though? A gun still has the singular purpose of inflicting damage upon a chosen subject, death being a very likely outcome.
That is why, personally, I think guns are stupid.

 

[Smagmuck_]

Guns are stupid.
Do I need to elaborate on that?

Actually, yes... I'd like to hear your full opinion...

(Also, sorry about the double post people. )

Fair enough.
I never quite understood the argument which describes guns as "tools" innocent of what use they're put to.
It's true, you can kill someone with a hammer or even a pencil if you really gave it some effort. However, both the hammer and the pencil have a constructive outlet other than this particular activity.
A gun, though? A gun still has the singular purpose of inflicting damage upon a chosen subject, death being a very likely outcome.
That is why, personally, I think guns are stupid.

But how would one hunt Large Game? I'm mean sure a bow could do the job, but you would need some strength better then mediocre to achieve penetration to the hear, lungs or brain. Guns are just more proficient for hunting Large Game, and let's not forget the local police force and the military...

 

[KissofKetchup]

Killing machines that shouldn't be owned by civilians IMO.

I'm sorry but that could be construed as saying you saying you don't think people should own farm machinery or a baseball bat or power tools when all of these can and have been used as deadly weapon.

 

[Guffe]

Just went into the army in Finland and now I fired a real gun for the first time in my life.

Spoiler: 7.62 RK 62 or Assault Rifle 62 also just M62 xD

It was freaking SWEEEEEEET!!!
At first I got kinda surprised by the recoil but after a good 15 bullets it started to feel kinda nice. First try after getting my aim set I shot 10 bullets with 82 point out of 100 which I am myself proud of.

 

[Tddawg25]

To be honest i'd rather just have em to hunt and for the police force/military but to be honest if u need self defense a knife or a bat would do well.

 

[Levi93]

Killing machines that shouldn't be owned by civilians IMO.

I'm sorry but that could be construed as saying you saying you don't think people should own farm machinery or a baseball bat or power tools when all of these can and have been used as deadly weapon.

I see where your coming from but guns are designed to kill things, that is there origional intention and purpose. Where as farming machinery, baseball bats and power tools original purposes are not to kill things, they're designed for agriculture, sports and construction and not with the intention of harming people in mind.

 

[Guffe]

Just went into the army in Finland and now I fired a real gun for the first time in my life.

Spoiler: 7.62 RK 62 or Assault Rifle 62 also just M62 xD

It was freaking SWEEEEEEET!!!
At first I got kinda surprised by the recoil but after a good 15 bullets it started to feel kinda nice. First try after getting my aim set I shot 10 bullets with 82 point out of 100 which I am myself proud of.

Thats what we get to shoot in the army? NICE!

You a Finn also?
Yeah it's either that one or the newer model from 1995 which has more parts that you can take loose and its piston (the part you put against your shoulder) can be folded so that weapon isn't as long.