Gun Control

Let me be the first to state:

GUN CONTROL IS HITTING YOUR TARGET!!!!!!!!!

Hi honey? drew started another one. Yeah, just keep a plate warm for me. Love you too...

First of all, the tupuppy is right, gun control is hitting your target with a tight spread.

Second of all, any gun laws will not do a dam for the problem with gun violence.  Gun violence is done by criminals, who already have gun illegally.  A gun law is only as good as it's enforcement.  They don't enforce gun law's enough as it is, so what makes anyone think that further regulation on local or federal level will make a dam bit of difference?  The only people that will be effected my more gun laws are those that obey the laws, not the criminal element that the laws are targeted at.  If even half of the gun laws currently on the books were enforced to the fullest extent, then the issue would not be as bad as it is now.

Secondly to those that are against gun, let me point out a few years back in Florida when it was open season on the tourists.  I don't know how many might remember that, but the reason the tourist were targeted by the criminals was because the criminals knew that the tourist's would be the least likely target to have guns, as it is difficult to travel with guns.  Concealed weapons had just been legalized in the state, so the criminals went after those that wouldn't be armed.

That seems right to me. I live in a city and wouldn't mind at all if a big 'ol plane with a big 'ol magnet flew over Philadelphia and sucked up every gun there is.

I wouldn't mind if I had to jump through several hoops over several days to secure a gun in order to go deer hunting, which is something I do every decade or so.

I also recognize that there is the second ammendment to the US constitution.

I'm all for pushing up against the second ammendment for regulations wherever possible.

The only gun control needed is too keep one out of Dick Cheneys hands.

This is my rifle, this is my gun. 

This is for fighting, this is for fun

I want as few guns out there as possible.

I'm all for enforcing the regulations that we already have.  I'm all for stiffer penalties for criminals who use guns in a crime.  I'm all for creating new regulations and enforcing those as well. 

My reasoning? I think the law is a teacher.  I believe that more gun control laws will help to bring about a culture of life.

Well, in Montana, guns are a whole 'nother ball game. Damn near everyone in the this state hunts, or a member of their immediate family does. During the fall, people are just wandering around with rifle in hand. Because of the prevalence of hunting and safe, responsible gun culture here, I don't believe in limiting access to weapons.

However, I love to go shooting and am planning to start hunting birds and deer/elk this season. I would gladly go through classes and wait to get a weapon so that a background check can be done if that means that guns are prevented from getting into the wrong hands in some city. I'm voluntarily taking a hunter safety class next week even though it's not required so that I can be sure that I'm the safest hunter I can be.

And if gun control is hitting your target reliably, I wish I had way more gun control. :-P

Well, I think that like any person who's really afraid of some right being taken away, some see it as a slippery slope issue. For instance, hard-core pro-choicers get up in arms if abortion is more regulated, but still available or something vaguely close is threatened and fundamentalist Christians freak-out if someone says 'Happy Holidays'. Most of the gun-owners I know (some who I'd even identify as 'gun-nuts') have taken hunter safety classes (as I'll be doing next week) even when they didn't have to and seem all-around pretty reasonable. The other thing is that every hunter/gun person I know is straight-up anal about having their guns secured and being extremely safe with them.

Of course, Helena is infested with this rare breed of gun-toting Democrat, so they may not represent the hardcore NRA set.

A number of years ago they passed a law in Massachusetts stating there would be a MANDATORY 1 year jail sentence if you were convicted of illegally possessing a firearm.  No ifs, ands, or buts about it.  In those 20 some odd years, not one single person has ever been jailed under that law.

"First thing we do is kill all the lawyers."

And damn, he's spoken for.

I'd like to see the laws on the books re-evaluated first and then actually enforced instead of just whipping out a new reg every time something happens. Though I don't own my own sidearm (mainly because despite the fact the Kimber .40 I want would still be cheaper than my bike, it's still $1200), I shoot, and quite well. (FYI, the range is not a place to go on a first date. I got a very nice handshake at the end of the evening.)

I'm on the outskirts of DC, where handguns are banned (in theory) and yet, we had the whole "murder capital" thing going on not that long ago... "Gun control" simply wasn't working - because it only really affects law abiding citizens anyway. A criminal will find a way to get a gun if he wants one. Sounds cliched, but it's true.

Nothing quite like going to NYC and when you announce you're from DC, everyone takes three steps back.

Virginia is pretty gun-owner-friendly for the most part, we have a very active citizens group that monitors what is going on in the state and local legislatures and is very big on responsible ownership and usage of firearms. We had some re-evaulations of state laws recently that basically reaffirmed the right to open carry, and the media just ate it up, saying that it was the gun slingin' wild west all over again. Not quite, but it made for a good news story.

So, no I don't think stronger gun control is the answer. I want to be able to go out and get that Kimber if I want. As a single woman living alone, I want as many legal defensive options as possible. While I can do a lot of damage with a Louisville Slugger (I've always had a strong swing, even if I do tend to pull a bit at the pitch), that also requires someone getting a lot closer to me than I'd prefer in a hostile situation.

To really make an impact, you need to find where the supply of illegal firearms is coming from, and then stop it. No, not easy - but shouldn't gun control be about making sure that people who cannot legally own a firearm can't get one?