Gun Control, Where do you stand?
69Automatic Weapon
Gun control regulation and the lack of it, frightens me. As an American citizen, one of my rights under the Bill of Rights (2nd Amendment) is to keep and bear arms. I never gave it much consideration; I assumed my rights were protected. As a mother and nurturer of life, bearing arms wasn’t part of the nurturing that filled my daily routine nor did I need a weapon to protect my life, therefore I didn’t think about it. However, times are changing.
Laws all over the United States govern gun control. States and local communities differ in the licensing and ownership regulations for individuals, while the national Brady Bill (1994) required a five-day waiting period and a background check before a firearm purchase. Parts of that law were challenged in 1997 and the provisions about the background checks were invalidated, only remaining valid in some states. This seemed reasonable to me at the time, but with the statistics of increased weapons crimes in the last decade, I am inclined to rethink that provision.
Stats from "Gun Control Facts.”
By James D. Agresti. Just Facts, June 10, 1999
Households with a gun – 49%
Adults owning a gun in 1994 – 31%
As of 1998, 31 states have right-to-carry laws
School massacres since 1993 – 9
October 1997 – Luke Woodham (16yrs old) with a rifle on school grounds was subdued by Joel Myrick (Asst Principal) who retrieved his handgun from his car
The rash of shootings in schools across America on the late 90’s created widespread concern about gun control. The incident at the Colombine High School in 1999 where 12 students were massacred stirred the nation to reconsider gun control. In 2008, the Supreme Court upheld the broad interpretation of Attorney General John Ashcroft that it was the right of the individual to possess and bear firearms. I am relieved once again that my rights have been protected to keep and bear arms although I would prefer some regulation on limited purchases by felons or persons with known medical disorders.
As the child of a military trooper, I grew up with firearms in the home. My father was a soldier, served in several wars and owned several firearms. They were secured in the closet with the exception of the loaded German luger that Dad kept under his pillow. I was never allowed in his bedroom and I respected that. Rifles were for hunting, which Dad did once a year. The firearms were weapons not toys. They were to be respected and attended properly. They were cleaned and maintained in the privacy of his bedroom, not in the living room where the potential of peril with the children existed. I always felt secure knowing that Dad had guns for our protection and that he respected them as weapons.
My husband, brothers, brother-in-laws, and close friends own handguns or rifles. I’m not frightened about having them around. My concern is more related to those persons that need Anger Management therapy or are dangerously mentally ill, because I feel that they are the very people who are irresponsible weapon owners.
Reloader
More frightening firearm concerns
Every year on July 4th the sound of firearms can be heard in almost every neighborhood. Yes, the US citizens want to celebrate our freedom and independence, but firing off rounds of ammunition into the air isn’t the way to celebrate. I’m not just referring to a few shots from handguns either, many drunken owners fire rounds into the air with automatic weapons! Don’t they realize that what goes up must come down? Those fragments return to the ground with tremendous force.
Allowing automatic weapons into our National Parks. Why does a person need an automatic weapon in a National Park? This was a political ploy of attaching a non-related amendment to the Credit Card Reform Act. No regulations on college campuses for firearms. Just this year, April 10, 2009 in Dearborn, Michigan, a student shot a classmate and wounded two others before shooting himself. Regulating the act of reloading for private owners. In current news, President Obama is considering the Treaty to ban reloading. While this may only result in private persons to obtain licenses to reload their personal ammunition, it creates another expense in owning a firearm.
So what exactly frightens me about gun control?
The limitations for responsible people to own guns while irresponsible people have complete accessibility to them.
Where do you stand?
Ammunition
Easy Access here
|
Abc's Of Reloading: The Definitive Guide For Novice To Expert
Price: $15.67
List Price: $24.99 |
|
Hornady Reloading Handbook 7th Edition
Price: $28.89
List Price: $36.99 |
PrintShare it! — Rate it: up down flag this hub
Comments
Ralph....where do you stand on gun control?
More effective gun control is badly needed. This need not interfere with rights under the Second Amendment as defined by the U.S. Supreme Court which has supported reasonable restrictions on the sale and ownership of firearms and on the types of firearms which are legal. These interpretations leave plenty of room for hunting and target shooting and the ownership of firearms for personal protection. Regulations governing the sale and registration of weapons should be tightened up--background checks, record keeping, etc.
Indeed stricter gun control needs to be implemented.
Melody, thanks for voicing your stand!
Jmell- I realize I shall probably receive a storm of criticism for this - but I think everyone should own a gun. Then everyone would calm down. According to FBI and ATF statistics, areas of the country with the least amount of gun regulation have the least crime. If the gunmen who shot all those kids at schools knew before-hand that all the kids were armed, it never would have happened.
And yes, it is possible to teach kids, of a certain age, to understand and be responsible with firearms.
I welcome your comments.
Madame X.....hope you don't get flack for voicing your viewpoint! I wish there was an easy answer for this, but I suppose I sit somewhere in the middle.....if everyone has a gun, people think twice before initiating trouble. While that's true, I know several people that I have no business owning a gun and WOULD if they could! Some even do.....and that's the sad part.
Do you really mean everyone?--people who are mentally ill, paroled felons convicted of violent crimes, children, spouse abusers, alcoholics, drug dealers, drug addicts, etc. If you don't, then effective gun control measures are needed to keep guns out of their hands.
As St. Thomas said, "Seldom affirm. Never deny. Always distinguish."
Ralph....all those criminals, addicts, etc....are the ones I would NOT offer guns to, but they get them whether legal or not. Legistating the rest of us based on that segment only makes it more difficult for us to have guns. That's why I said it isn't an easy fix. If the "good" guys are restricted and the "bad" guys have guns anyway, that REALLY puts the "good" guys in double jeopardy.
The bottom line is simply that gun control only affects those who obey the law. Criminals and those who intend to do harm couldn't care less about gun control laws. Anyone absolutely determined to obtain a firearm in this country will be able to do so.
The background check should absolutely be restored nationally.
Should assault weapons designed for use by military and law enforcement be available to the general public? That's a really tricky question.
Given the present state of affairs, the American public may need them to take back their country from the criminals that have stolen it.
In the event of a revolution it would be helpful to have at least some armament comparable to that used by the forces of the oppressor. Not that assault rifles will be much use against tanks.
I'm inclined to agree with that ColdWarBaby! There certainly is talk about revolution and the possibility of civil war in our country.
What I really want Jmell is a world where guns simply don't exist. Think we'll ever get there?
CWB.....that sounds like heaven, and I know I'll get there, see you there too!
I have to agree with what Cold War Baby said initially in one comment. There is a very old bumper sticker that reads "If Guns are Outlawed...Only Outlaws will have Guns"...you still see that sticker from from time to time. Sound a little too Redneck? Well...Last time I checked the news...which would be this morning...the people that fell in the category of Outlaw...were the ones doing the shooting of innocent people. Although...I can certainly understand why anyone would hate guns...Columbine...The W.V. Incident...and Parents who leave guns around for children to discharge by accident, etc. (Tons more examples available, unfortunately)...would certainly be good reasons to dislike them...I was raised differently. Although...I am not looking for an opportunity to use them on anyone ever...and would rather die at the hands of an Outlaw...then shoot someone innocent on accident...My property, my rights, my peace of mind comes from knowing that ultimately I can defend myself ...and that no single person has control over my life w/o me evening the odds. By the way...I stared down the barrel of a snubnose .38...by a very nervous store robber...and so did others in a store I worked at. No one has the right to put mine or anyone elses life in jeopardy like that...bottom line!
I live in a country where it is almost impossible to own a gun legally. If you are, say, a farmer and want a shotgun for rabbits, you need a licence from the Magistrates' Court, references from people, police inspections, all sorts.
Our police aren't armed, apart from specialist armed units. Security guards aren't armed. The only time I've ever seen a gun in the UK is at Heathrow Airport. Ever.
If you are caught with a gun, whether or not you've committed any other crime, you are in a whole world of trouble.
And people here don't die in gun accidents, violence and crimes much either.
There is more than one way of looking at freedom, and freedom from death-by-gunshot is a valuable thing, too.
thank you for your perspective manlypoetryman! I can attest to the over regulation of gov control and the major hassles it provides to the people that try to abide by the rules in a recent visit to the post office clinic to obtain a passport. The experience was atrocious.
Londongirl....I love your appreciation of the freedom-of-death-by-gunshot view!
LondonGirl shows us one more example of the wealthiest, most powerful country on Earth, or so I'm asked to believe, being far behind other, more civilized nations that put our "non-negotiable" lifestyle to the lie.
Health care, education, crime, quality and standard of living in general. America is killing itself with arrogance and hubris.
"Londongirl....I love your appreciation of the freedom-of-death-by-gunshot view!"
Thanks. I remember going on a family holiday to Italy when I was 10 years old. We went into a bank in Florence, and the security guard was armed. That seemed terrifying and very odd to me. Actually, I still feel like that about people carrying guns (-:
I like to stand with feet slightly apart, weight balanced and eyes firmly on the target. Slow breathing, guaranteed hit every time. To madame x, true, there might be more bodies, but they would probably be those of the bad guys. And then the numbers would go down. Crime inversely always goes up the more guns in the hands of responsible citizens are reduced.
What a nice sense of humor there Thinking Out Loud! LOL
LondonGirl - Glad I don't live in the UK! Sounds like a police state to me.
Ralph - Boy, if you believe all that about gun control laws in this country, I've got some nice beachfront property in Arizona to sell you! Thankfully conservative lawmakers are keeping this country from marching down the road to socialism with "health care" reform, gun laws, etc. I'm going to make a wild guess here... you've never owned or bought a gun? I'm going to guess that you haven't, which is a good indicator as to why you don't know what you're talking about. As criminals will go out and buy a gun in the bathroom of the local tavern, legal gun owners such as myself have to go through many government hurdles, paperwork, and waiting periods to exercise a right that "shall not be infringed."
True, everyone has the right not to be shot. Thats why murder and reckless discharge of a firearm is illegal. I'm much more likely to die in a car crash than get shot with a gun.
Matthew.....thanks for voicing your opinion and your stand in this controversial issue. Let's hope that neither of us die from firearm discharges!
LOOK UP HOW MANY CHILDREN ARE SHOT AND KILLED BY GUNS EACH YEAR. IT WILL MAKE YOU CRY. MOST OF THE CHILDREN ARE KILLED BY BROTHERS, SISTERS OR NEIGHBORS. LOOK ME UP AT ONE OF MY HUBS BY tomdhum.
Non-firearm related homicides of children out-rank firearm related homicides by children almost 5-to-1.
-FBI Uniform Crime Statistics, 1997
In 2001, there were only 72 accidental firearm deaths for children under age 15, as opposed to over 2,100 children who drowned (29 times as many drowning deaths as firearm deaths).
-Center for Disease Control, 20 Leading Causes of Unintentional Injury Deaths, United States, 2001, All Races, Both Sexes, Ages: 1-14
Other causes of death-
Motor vehicle - number of children, 4,550; percentage of all child deaths, 46.2%
Drowning - number of children, 2,102; percentage of all child deaths, 17.4%
Firearm - number of children, 72; percentage of all child deaths, 1.6%
Boys who own legal firearms have much lower rates of delinquency and drug use and are even less delinquent than non-owners of guns.
-U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, NCJ-143454, "Urban Delinquency and Substance Abuse," August 1995
0% of children that get guns from their parents commit gun-related crimes while 21% of those that get them illegally do.
-U.S. Justice Department, “Urban Delinquency and Substance Abuse”, 2000
As far as the Columbine massacre goes, Harris and Klebold violated close to 20 firearms laws in obtaining weapons. I doubt 21 laws would really have made a difference. The two shotguns and one rifle used by Harris and Klebold were purchased by a girlfriend who passed a background check, and the TEC-9 handgun used was already banned.
There are, of course, many more facts than anyone could possibly state here. But I think it is very important to research the facts before coming to a conclusion.
Wow....thank you VERY much for those stats. Certainly enlightening! I know I was raised around weapons and never considered using one improperly.....just wasn't a consideration. Death is final and we were taught NOT to pull a gun for defense unless we planned to use it to kill. My dad was military lifer, brothers also joined military services, and we all hunted! None of us ever robbed a bank, misfired a weapon, nor left them for our children to obtain.
As our economy gets tighter and our laws lean more towards govt, I lean closer and closer to knowing that revolution draws nigh, so I for one would like to have a defense weapon in my possession rather than be a victim to those who will use them against me.
History proves that those countries that have gun control and denied possession to residences, have never succeeded as world powers afterwards. I love the US and would like to see it remain as a world power, but if we regulate weapon possession, I'm afraid we're on the road to doom.
MadameX your numbers do not include children after the age of 15. The number of children killed by guns each year by guns is well over 3,000. These number include murder, the taking of ones own life, accidents and so on. When playing with numbers you can make them say what you want. The bottom line is that there is a very high number of children killed by guns each year. Yea guns don't kill people its the lack of responsibility that people show owening guns. Jmell trooper father kept a loaded gun under his pillow. What the hell kind of responsible act is that?
Thanks for leaving your comment tomdhum.......was that a verbal attack on my father? hmmmmm, rather an unsolicited judgemental remark without knowledge of the person or the circumstances.
no the comment was on the fact of leaving a loaded gun under a pillow is not acting resposible. I believe that anyone that wants to own a gun should be able to. However, along with any right comes responsibility. Your drive a car you are suppose to have a driver lic. . You drive a car you are suppose to have insurance, that is acting responsible. If you own a gun you should be made to take classes and get a permite to carrry one. As Americans we too ofter speak about our rights and we tend to forget that along with rights comes responsibility to use these right wisely.
ah Tom.....it's apparent that you never served in the military and I can only guess that you must not be a gun owner. As I laugh at your above remark, the only thing that comes to my mind is this - what good is having a gun for protection if it's not loaded! LOL..... "oh excuse me Mr Burglar, can you please wait a second while I find my cartridge and load this weapon?"
Ralph Deeds says:
6 months ago
Current gun control laws are ineffective and not well enforced. The assault wepons ban should be restored, and sales at gun shows more closely regulated. However, the most pernicious effect of lobbying election activities by the National Rifle Association is that, aside from prerventing effective gun control laws, very conservative Senators and Congressmen are elected. These representatives tend to oppose nearly all progressive legislation as well as more effective gun control laws--health care reform, bankruptcy reform, regulation of Wall Street banks, etc. The NRA puts out reams of false claims and innacurate information about gun control. NRA pretends to be a sportsman's organization, but they get most of their money from manufacturers of weapons that have little to do with hunting or target shooting.
In the meantime, gang and drug-related shootouts occur in every metropolitan area, guns smuggled from Texas and Arizona are arming Mexican drug lords with military type weapons, children die accidentally from guns kept at home and not properly locked up, drunken husbands shoot their wives and vice versa, etc.