Article Regarding: Guns (an Essay By Stephen King)

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Sundrop

Sunny the Great & Wonderful
Jun 12, 2008
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You can't see that I was referring to this forum community and not novel readers in general?

Okay, I've read through the entire thread, now. I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of the debate for the most part, but I'm still confused about the above statement.
Could you please clarify what you mean? I really don't want to take it the wrong way.
 

M&P15

Deleted User
Feb 23, 2015
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By implying that another member might think that I am dumb and don't like to read because I happen to lean to the conservative side of things. I thought I highlighted that part in my quote.


?!?? Obviously, that was a swipe at him and not conservatives.
 

M&P15

Deleted User
Feb 23, 2015
624
738
Okay, I've read through the entire thread, now. I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of the debate for the most part, but I'm still confused about the above statement.
Could you please clarify what you mean? I really don't want to take it the wrong way.
I wondered why this online community is mostly Liberal. Hoss believes it is because readers are generally Liberal. I don't, at least not readers of popular fiction.
 

Sundrop

Sunny the Great & Wonderful
Jun 12, 2008
28,520
156,619
?!?? Obviously, that was a swipe at him and not conservatives.

I know what it was..... I still found it insulting.
You implied that you know his mind and what he thinks of conservatives.
Your perception couldn't be farther from the truth.....I know this because he is my friend, and I'm fairly conservative.
 
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Sundrop

Sunny the Great & Wonderful
Jun 12, 2008
28,520
156,619
I wondered why this online community is mostly Liberal. Hoss believes it is because readers are generally Liberal. I don't, at least not readers of popular fiction.
Gotcha. I lost that particular arc of the conversation a couple of times.
Thank you for the clarification.
 

M&P15

Deleted User
Feb 23, 2015
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I know what it was..... I still found it insulting.
You implied that you know his mind and what he thinks of conservatives.
Your perception couldn't be farther from the truth.....I know this because he is my friend, and I'm fairly conservative.

So you are insulted on his behalf? I guess that makes more sense, but I don't think that is what "personally insulted" means.

Anyway, this is played out. If no one wants to discuss how universal background checks could possibly be implemented then... Adios....
 

Sundrop

Sunny the Great & Wonderful
Jun 12, 2008
28,520
156,619
So you are insulted on his behalf? I guess that makes more sense, but I don't think that is what "personally insulted" means.

Anyway, this is played out. If no one wants to discuss how universal background checks could possibly be implemented then... Adios....
Nah, he doesn't need me to be insulted for him.....and he's much more laid back than I am.

I don't think that we can control the entire universe for background checks, but I don't see a problem with requiring them on a national level here in the U.S.
 

M&P15

Deleted User
Feb 23, 2015
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Nah, he doesn't need me to be insulted for him.....and he's much more laid back than I am.

I don't think that we can control the entire universe for background checks, but I don't see a problem with requiring them on a national level here in the U.S.

How could it be done in the US without federal registration of all privately owned firearms?
 

Sundrop

Sunny the Great & Wonderful
Jun 12, 2008
28,520
156,619
How could it be done in the US without federal registration of all privately owned firearms?
I'm not sure that I have a problem with federal registration.
Why would you not want to register your privately owned firearms?
I'm not trying to be a smarta@@....I really want to know.
 

M&P15

Deleted User
Feb 23, 2015
624
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I'm not sure that I have a problem with federal registration.
Why would you not want to register your privately owned firearms?
I'm not trying to be a smarta@@....I really want to know.

Actually, the point is that the democrats said there would be no registration. Do you see any way there could be effective background checks on private gun sales without it?
 

M&P15

Deleted User
Feb 23, 2015
624
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I'm not sure that I have a problem with federal registration.
Why would you not want to register your privately owned firearms?
I'm not trying to be a smarta@@....I really want to know.

To answer your question, it's a privacy issue. I don't want to be harassed by the government. Also, the fact that there is no registration certainly makes it harder for anyone to entertain the possibility that they could confiscate all legally owned firearms and I don't believe there has ever been registration anywhere that hasn't been followed by confiscation.
 

Sundrop

Sunny the Great & Wonderful
Jun 12, 2008
28,520
156,619
Actually, the point is that the democrats said there would be no registration. Do you see any way there could be effective background checks on private gun sales without it?
Yeah. A background check before being allowed to purchase a firearm wouldn't necessarily mean that you must register said weapon.
Background checks are done every day for things such as consideration for certain jobs. Why not have that extra safety measure in place for purchasing a gun? I have to have a background check in order to receive a concealed carry permit. I think that's fine.
I wouldn't want a mentally unstable person or a felon to have an easy time obtaining a weapon, so I would be okay with a background check. Then again, I don't have anything to hide.
 

M&P15

Deleted User
Feb 23, 2015
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Yeah. A background check before being allowed to purchase a firearm wouldn't necessarily mean that you must register said weapon.

We already have background checks for retail sales. But for private sales, how would they ever know if I ignored the background check requirement and sold a used gun to Joe Shmoe?

That's what I can't wrap my mind around. Either a universal background check would be totally useless or they are lying about the no registration part. I can't think of any way it could be effective.
 

Sundrop

Sunny the Great & Wonderful
Jun 12, 2008
28,520
156,619
To answer your question, it's a privacy issue. I don't want to be harassed by the government. Also, the fact that there is no registration certainly makes it harder for anyone to entertain the possibility that they could confiscate all legally owned firearms and I don't believe there has ever been registration anywhere that hasn't been followed by confiscation.
We voluntarily give up much of our privacy every day. If I want to work with the SBI, I would have to agree to a very thorough background check. I don't understand what the problem would be.

There's a guy in the area here who has an underground bunker. He also has a stockpile of all kinds of weapons.
I think the guy is a bit of a kook, and he scares me. I don't know if he's mentally unstable, or if he has a criminal past. If I knew he had passed a background check, I would sure feel better.

No one I know has ever had a firearm confiscated, so I really can't relate to your fear of that.
 

Sundrop

Sunny the Great & Wonderful
Jun 12, 2008
28,520
156,619
We already have background checks for retail sales. But for private sales, how would they ever know if I sold a no back ground check gun to Joe Shmoe.

That's what I can't wrap my mind around. Either a universal background check would be totally useless or they are lying about the no registration part. I can't think of any way it could be effective.

I would imagine that the seller would be responsible for keeping records of background checks. I also imagine that the sale of a firearm would be required to be reported as income as well.

To be honest, I haven't had enough time to give it proper thought.....but like anything else, the first version won't be perfect, and there will have to be considerable work put into the effort.

I think a lot of people have a genuine fear of change, but if nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies.
Not the best comparison, I know.....but you get the jist of what I'm saying.
 

M&P15

Deleted User
Feb 23, 2015
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I would imagine that the seller would be responsible for keeping records of background checks. I also imagine that the sale of a firearm would be required to be reported as income as well.

To be honest, I haven't had enough time to give it proper thought.....but like anything else, the first version won't be perfect, and there will have to be considerable work put into the effort.

It would have to lead to federal registration of all privately owned firearms, because otherwise, the requirement could be completely ignored, without consequence.

This is at least leading to more honesty. The NRA is opposed to federal gun registration rather than the "slightest common sense measures" like background checks that necessitate registration.

I know some people think that slippery slope arguments are loony paranoid, but this is more like a greased teflon slope argument IMO.
 
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M&P15

Deleted User
Feb 23, 2015
624
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Yeah, I just don't trust the government with that information. Maybe someone like Obama will use executive order to pass confiscation of certain guns. failing that, he could target gun owners for harassment through the IRS or Homeland Security.

I don't want to be on a terrorist watch list just because Obama wasn't able to get AR-15's banned.
 

M&P15

Deleted User
Feb 23, 2015
624
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Anyway, I know there are a lot here, probably most, who don't share my feelings, but perhaps there is better understanding on "how anyone could dare oppose anything as reasonable as background checks."
 

hossenpepper

Don't worry. I have a permit!!!
Feb 5, 2010
12,897
32,897
Wonderland Avenue
I know what it was..... I still found it insulting.
You implied that you know his mind and what he thinks of conservatives.
Your perception couldn't be farther from the truth.....I know this because he is my friend, and I'm fairly conservative.
Awww.... thanks Sunny!!! I love my North Carolina daisy!!! XOXOXOX

I am VERY laid back. I've had to learn to be because I've grew up around mouthy asshats that think when they do something like say it's a logical comparison that gays "burden" society with all their HIV gettin' and spreadin' the same way smokers do with their choices, so they should be taxed too if cigarettes are... well, it's all OK!! And if someone takes offense, oh well that's their problem. Apologize if your words offended members of their family or them personally? Hell no!! This is 'Murica and you can say what you want!!! Just keep in mind, that the First Amendment allows one to say things, but doesn't guarantee protection from blowback in various forms. An idea lost in the Internet tough guy age that allows people to say things to others without having to look them in the eye and take the consequences that used to be associated with such behavior.

But call this same kind of person, who might for instance use an avatar to advertise their pseudo-phallus, a gun nut and watch the feathers fly for your "insult". Then suddenly the rules of decorum mustr be followed!!

So Yeah my dear Sunny, I am laid back. I had to be for along time until I got big enough to shut others up when they spouted of hate filled bigotry at me. Now the Internet has brought back my former patience and acceptance that you just can't fix stupid.

You are a conservative, sure, but an intelligent one who doesn't spout off memes, the latest marching orders from the LimBeckFoxBlaze think tank, recite old debunked talking points and reject logic when you're shown a different perspective that may have negated one you held. Like me, you have a conservative streak (your might be a bit larger) that gives you pause on some things, but you are willing and know you have to change. That really is what being progressive is about. Recognizing there is no stasis to reality and that no matter how much you try to control it, things will change and evolve.

Once you take the fact that acceptance must be the way society works, to an extreme and demand an equally rigid and absolutist approach, you are doing the same thing the right does now. Extremists have taken over that party and it's sad because it means that government will be broken until we are rid of them. The same goes for the extreme left. Neither of these groups are doing our nation any good. The only difference right now is that extremists have yet to take over the D party. But the continued swing to the far right of the GOP will cause more of the extreme left voices to get airtime to counter it. As such, the real fix is simple: rid ourselves of the Tea Party and neoconservatism in all aspects of government. Socially it is dying as information becomes more available for all to see. Time can heal some of this wound, but those of us in the middle have to keep cancelling out these nut job voices of absolute dogmatic ideology.
 
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