The hell with blood pressure. They make pills for that these days.It's much better for my blood pressure that way although I could use a little more exercise climbing on/off the soapbox.
Again
- Thread starter not_nadine
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This is a fight I bailed out of. I've come to the conclusion that there's nothing we can do - or what we can do amounts to Band-Aids on a cancer.
We won't give up our guns, and we'll continue to have the highest gun violence rate in the First World, no close second. That's our path. We've chosen it. Sorry.
We won't give up our guns, and we'll continue to have the highest gun violence rate in the First World, no close second. That's our path. We've chosen it. Sorry.
I agree 100%. Apparently the big evil NRA might actually be made up of millions of evil Americans that need a louder voice.
...and you know Marsha, that I don't agree with all of the NRA's stances...my last word on this is, people have been killing one another for centuries...get rid of guns and we'll figure out something else....hate and stupidity are timeless...
...I truly hope that was tongue in cheek, because as a Life member of the NRA-I consider myself a thoughtful and well-reasoned gun owner-and I find that phrasing horribly offensive...
Yes sir, I was being completely sarcastic. I just don't understand when people act like the NRA does whatever it wants to do, when it reality it listens to what it's membership is asking for. Sorry for any confusion.
I find it ironic that we live in a country where everyone (except felons) has the right to have a firearm but noone seems to have the right to live.....
....oh but they do....look at any clogged up Death Row in any state...
Very sad incident. I feel for the family of the victims and the shooter.
However, we need to look at the root of the issue to solve the problem. The root of the problem in the vast majority of these incidents is mental illness. The tool used to carry out the actions is incidental. That's all a firearm is. A tool.
All stricter gun laws do is make it harder for licensed gun owners to get one. How smart is it to further restrict people that follow the rules? Most criminals and most mass shooters obtain their guns illegally.
And yes, I am a licensed gun owner. In one of the toughest states to get a license (Massachusetts). The last time my home state made the gun laws tougher the rate of violent crimes involving a firearm increased over 20%. I am not making this up, you can check the statistics. And yet, my state is pushing for stricter laws to address loopholes that don't exist. We even had one very enlightened councilman propose a law that would allow police to enter your home without provocation to see if your firearm is properly secured. I kid you not. Thankfully, that was laughed out of session.
You can also look at the crime rate in Chicago where owning a handgun is illegal. Murder rate there is one of the worst in the country. There are plenty of laws on the books that can be enforced that would help keep firearms out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill. No need to invent new ones.
I am all for background and mental health checks. There are some folks that should not be allowed to own a firearm. A thorough background and mental health check are two very effective tools to keep firearms away from those that should not have them.
All I'm saying is that it's a slippery slope. We have already lost most of our right to privacy. Losing the second amendment would be catastrophic. Let that happen and the government will be telling you what you can and can't read. What you can listen to. What you can say, think or speak. Don't think it can happen, they are already telling you what you can and can't eat. 1984 anyone?
OK, your friendly neighborhood SwiftDog is now climbing off the soapbox. To paraphrase Dennis Miller, "That's just my opinion and I could be wrong......."
However, we need to look at the root of the issue to solve the problem. The root of the problem in the vast majority of these incidents is mental illness. The tool used to carry out the actions is incidental. That's all a firearm is. A tool.
All stricter gun laws do is make it harder for licensed gun owners to get one. How smart is it to further restrict people that follow the rules? Most criminals and most mass shooters obtain their guns illegally.
And yes, I am a licensed gun owner. In one of the toughest states to get a license (Massachusetts). The last time my home state made the gun laws tougher the rate of violent crimes involving a firearm increased over 20%. I am not making this up, you can check the statistics. And yet, my state is pushing for stricter laws to address loopholes that don't exist. We even had one very enlightened councilman propose a law that would allow police to enter your home without provocation to see if your firearm is properly secured. I kid you not. Thankfully, that was laughed out of session.
You can also look at the crime rate in Chicago where owning a handgun is illegal. Murder rate there is one of the worst in the country. There are plenty of laws on the books that can be enforced that would help keep firearms out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill. No need to invent new ones.
I am all for background and mental health checks. There are some folks that should not be allowed to own a firearm. A thorough background and mental health check are two very effective tools to keep firearms away from those that should not have them.
All I'm saying is that it's a slippery slope. We have already lost most of our right to privacy. Losing the second amendment would be catastrophic. Let that happen and the government will be telling you what you can and can't read. What you can listen to. What you can say, think or speak. Don't think it can happen, they are already telling you what you can and can't eat. 1984 anyone?
OK, your friendly neighborhood SwiftDog is now climbing off the soapbox. To paraphrase Dennis Miller, "That's just my opinion and I could be wrong......."
Thank you. Just wanted to point out that trying to ban the tools used in a tragedy is the easy way out. Most don't seem to have the energy or stomach to tackle the elephant (mental illness) in the room.
There's been attempts to address mental health issues vis-a-vis guns. Federal laws prohibit gun ownership by someone who's been involuntarily committed. However, it's up to the states to submit that data to the feds, and some refuse to do so. Why? Well, privacy, of course. In addition to that, you have a number of gun rights activists who inveigh against taking away gun rights because of perceived mental illness. To them, it's no different than stripping away any other civil right, and I think from a a technical standpoint, they can make that case.
A gun is a tool. A car is a tool. A hammer is a tool. A pen is a tool. But out of those, a gun is the one tool whose primary or ultimate purpose is to rip open tissue. To injure or kill. If we didn't have those tools in such abundance, it wouldn't be nearly so handy for the angry and disturbed to injure and kill, and that's seen in societies much like ours that don't have that ready access and have a fraction of the gun violence we do.
But we do have those deadly tools in such abundance, and one city or one state can prohibit them as they see fit, and it doesn't matter as long as people can skip across a border an hour away and get what they want. It's not a successful strategy.
Yes, it's tough for them to see these horrific massacres going on and want to do something. Yes, it seems like the human cost of gun ownership is unbearable at times. But we'll shake our heads, bury the bodies, argue about what to do, and go ahead and bear that cost anyway.
A gun is a tool. A car is a tool. A hammer is a tool. A pen is a tool. But out of those, a gun is the one tool whose primary or ultimate purpose is to rip open tissue. To injure or kill. If we didn't have those tools in such abundance, it wouldn't be nearly so handy for the angry and disturbed to injure and kill, and that's seen in societies much like ours that don't have that ready access and have a fraction of the gun violence we do.
But we do have those deadly tools in such abundance, and one city or one state can prohibit them as they see fit, and it doesn't matter as long as people can skip across a border an hour away and get what they want. It's not a successful strategy.
Yes, it's tough for them to see these horrific massacres going on and want to do something. Yes, it seems like the human cost of gun ownership is unbearable at times. But we'll shake our heads, bury the bodies, argue about what to do, and go ahead and bear that cost anyway.