What the 2nd Ammendment is for
 

Sad story..still don't think we should be arming citizens though. I'll troll through you tube some day and find videos of the stories of kids blown away by their parents when they come home unexepectedly.

who is 'we'? i mean, if someone is arming citizens, then i bought and paid for my guns for nothing..i'd love to get some for free!

ok, ok..."that citizens should be able to be armed"..

I know I am in the minority here, but anyone with a cause, no matter how extreme, can find something to justify their reasoning. Just bugs me when Golfer posts this as the end all to why the second amendment is being interperted correctly now. I'm not sure of the relationship between her story and a well armed militia?

Bob, I am not a gun owner, never have and probably never will.
To be honest, not trying to make any "end all" statements. I saw the video, thought it would make for a potentially interesting discussion. I was really impressed with how composed she was, and how eloquently she spoke about something so emotional.
I do think her final sentence is the point of this whole argument.

Honestly Seth, when I first watched it I thought it was rigged..the way they had her lit. All that was missing was a halo photoshopped over her head.

If you put a gun to my head, pun intented, I would think there is a middle ground on responsible gun ownership. But with the NRA and many individuals fighting every seemingly sensible piece of gun legislation as "chipping away at the 2nd ammendment", I feel that the only way to combat them is to take an equally polarizing viewpoint in the other direction. I'm not opposed to hunting, skeet shooting, etc. But I really don't think concealed carry laws are in my best interests as a citizen and can't understand why semi automatic weapons are necessary outside of the military or police.

There..for what it's worth..

septicemia is the #10 cause of death in this country-1% of deaths per year is the breakdown...half of deaths in this country are from heart disease and cancers.
guns weren't on the list-altho accidents/unintended injuries was on the list...
my son did a paper the other day on legalizing marijuana. one stat he found was that 15% of deaths in the u.s. per year are alcohol related-between cirrhosis and dui-vehicle accidents....
at any rate, guns causing death wasn't even on the screen...also saw that over half of gun deaths per year were suicides. but our suicide rate is on par with other countries...

If only someone could give me a legitimate definition of "assault weapon". She is correct about the reason for the Right to Bear Arms. Guns don't kill people, People kill people. I take full responsibility for my actions, and as an American I expect everyone else to take responsibility for their actions. I'm so sick of people making excuses and playing the blame game. If you really think our Govt. is looking out for your best interests here at home then great. This country was founded on individual freedom. Why worry about conceal carry permits? The people who have them are VERY unlikely to do you or your loved ones any harm. How about we round up some criminals for a change instead of harassing innocent law abiding citizens.

:tro:

:tro: Bravo!

Yes indeed. Tanks dont kill people, people kill people.
In Hiroshima, the atomic weapon did not kill people, the
bombadier killed people.

There is a point were certain killing devices become too dangerous
for the general public. Primarily because they can take down
significant number of innocent folks fairly quickly.
I cant draw an exact line. But some of these
weapons sold at gun shows to people, will kill lots of people.
Quickly.

People kill people... Hell cluster bombs dont kill people, people kill people..
JEEEZZZUUUSSSSS. I will protect myself with nerve gas.

I really dont mean to make fun (ahhhh, I guess I sorta do)...
people have the right to protect themselves and family no doubt. But some
of the self defense weapons could be used to take over a small
country.

It seems O.K. to take away constitutional rights from some while creating new ones out of thin air for others. This is a serious attack on our liberty. Sometimes you have to stick up for things that don't appeal personally to yourself to preserve the rights of all Americans. Patriot Act?

And some constitutional rights were written when people shot
balls of iron out of pieces of pipe at 10 feet. The right to protect
yourself is important.
Protect yourself with what?

I understand your concern. It is noble. I just think some situations
require understanding the technology of today, with the rights
and liberties that apply at all times.

One nut with a box cutter can kill thousands of people. Outlaw box cutters? Thanks anyway. (people don't kill people, cops kill people). I can make a molatov cocktail out of an empty wine bottle, lets outlaw wine. It would take out a good sized crowd of people pretty quick. Let's outlaw geese.... fast, before someone gets hurt. I'm not even going to start in about anyone's pet pit bull or CHIMP. The point is,,,, take responsibility for your actions.

The 2nd amendment is not about taking responsibility for
your own actions. Its about the right to take up arms
in certain situations. And those situations should not be interpreted
as taking up "arms" on aircraft with people
all squished together that cannot get away.
Places where box cutters and firebombs would not be used
for protection. BTW, malatov cocktails are not good defensive weapons.
A handgun would be much more
effective.

These "constitutional rights" were written when governments and tyrants assumed complete control over people. Doesn't any of this seem a little familiar? As for the weaponry of 230 yrs ago, you may be amazed at the functionality of these "assault weapons".

The whole idea of being an American is, or should be, about taking responsibility. There are some things that go without saying. Then and now. It wasn't until fairly recently that society has abandoned responsibility in favor of blaming others and looking for an easy way out. Some blanks shouldn't have to be filled in.

"entitlement" replaced responsibility.....
Me....just give me a Tek-9 and requisite ammo:D ....still thinking about the handgun....

One also has to take responsibity when screwing
the devil out of others. I dont think Berne Madoff
understands this. But I guess its tough luck for
the charities that trusted him. It was their responsibility
to stay away from criminals. Just like its my responsibilty
not to walk into a high crime area. I should know when
I am going to get robbed and sliced?

Its all where "we" put the emphasis. I hate blood sucking,
ambulance chasing lawyers as much as anyone.
But when one guy like Madoff rips people off for billions, and welfare
parasites rip us off for billions... Well we all know who is easier to
take down.
Has Bernie been removed from his palace yet?
I wonder when he will be jailed...

Madoff and now Stanford.....the SEC should be penalized the 58Bill these guys stole.....it was 'Under their watch" and they had plenty of warning!

we have been thinking hard about arming ourselves. mrs d's idea actually.
we've lived in our neighborhood 6 years. several of the old people that lived behind us have died and the properties have been sold. the people that bought them can't rent them for the outragous amounts they thought they would get. they've turned them into section 8 rentals and we've had trash move into the neighborhood the last couple years. Now we have a dangerous criminal.

i turned off this guys electric (that's my job) and he threatens to "blow my head off". it was pretty creepy this time because it's in my backyard. the guy goes to the office and threatens the girls too. police show up at the office then pay a visit to his home. the guy has a rap sheet 3 pages long, most drugs, weapons and assult. he's done jail time but no prison time. we don't Think he knows where we live.
now i can't park in front of my house at lunch or bring the truck home when i'm on call. we have extra police patrols now.(we rarely used to see patrol car) the police have had trouble with this guy and are looking for a good excuse to lock him up.

we shouldn't have to live this way. needless to say we are looking to move and to taking lessons and buy hand guns.:wf

i think some people either missed my point above, or don't care. the amount of people killed by guns each year in this country is a lot smaller than i think most believe. you see violent crimes splashed all over the news, and everyone thinks it's a common problem. a far bigger problem would be automobiles, or alcohol-or a combination of both. by far, the #1 killer of our teenagers, our greatest resource-car accidents. but people are so enthralled by what weapon some guy wants to own? yes, there is a criminal element out there, and yes, they can be quite deadly-and i think that's the key to why people get so hysterical on this issue. it's randomness, and we all want control over our lives-as well as the lives of others. allowing people to choose what currently legal weapon they own takes some of that control away, and perhaps injects some randomness in your life. half of people who die each year die of either a form of cancer, or from heart disease. so, we eat the right things, take the right pills, see the right doctor, and hopefully die in our beds of old age. the life expectancy in this country is the high 70's still, isn't it? but a bullet can take all that away. like i said above, over half of all deaths by guns were suicides. there's also the stat that most murder victims know their killer-usually a domestic dispute.

my father was a policeman in washington d.c. for 20 years, from 1964 to 1984. i think everyone would be hard pressed to find a bigger cesspool of humanity. he always worked outside, never attempting to move past the rank of sergeant as he didn't want stuck in admin or behind a desk. he saw riots (and was in SOD-special operations division, the riot squad) such as after martin luther king jr was assassinated, and of course all the vietnam war protests..he actually was once flipped off by shirley maclaine. he had sundays and mondays off, and usually worked from 4pm to midnight, or the graveyard shift. in other words, worked during the hours when crime most often occurred. for years he was known as the stolen car king, as he could remember tag #'s readily....at any rate, you guys have watched the cop shows, the movies, you've read the papers and watched the news. you know about dramatic chases, bank robberies, and shootouts. from all the info you have garnered-how many times do you suppose my father fired his service revolver in those 20 years? i'll come back later and see if anyone has bothered to guess.

a big dog is also a deterrent.
if you do get a gun, make sure both of you know exactly how it operates, and go practice. personally, i prefer a longarm to a handgun. handguns don't have a lot of accuracy. if you have kids, take them with you to the range. teach them as well-not so much to shoot, but to respect the gun and stay away from it.

also, get motion detecting lights for your backyard, front door.

That was a very sad story, and my heart goes out to that lady.
I'm an armed Security Officer, I wear a gun every day that I work. I've been trained to shoot, and thankfully after almost 5 years on the job haven't had to pull my weapon. I do not have a personal gun at home or even a concealed permit, just my own personal choice. That's what this is about, your own personal choice, whether to carry a gun or not. I believe in the 2nd Ammendment, certainly in this case and alot of others, a gun may have saved some lives. This lady or someone else in in there pop's a cap in this nutball maybe her parent's are alive today! However, on the other hand this scumbag is one of many citizens, who do not need to have a gun in their hands. I believe STRONGLY in backround checks, waiting periods of 3 days at least, and any other measures attempt to not let guns get into the hands of the wrong individuals. In terms of Assault Weapons, I feel other than gun ranges, and police and or millitary, these guns should be banned from everywhere else. I Bush was an idiot for letting the ban lapse a fews years back, and from what I've read statistics show more of these guns are hitting the streets, and that is not a good thing.

2 times?

i agree with all that as well. as for owning assault weapons...i don't own any, don't want any-but that doesn't mean other people feel the same. owning an assault weapon doesn't automatically infer criminality on the owner. there is at least one guy i've seen on t.v. who owns a tank. what the hell does he want that for?! why does he have it? best answer i can think of is because he can. different people like to have and collect different things. i have a dog. some other guy might own a tiger or a mountain lion. for what?! i don't know. but it doesn't mean he has malicious intent.
thing is, everyone who is a law abiding citizen who buys these weapons does it the right way. background checks, everything on file. so, any gun bans will affect who? law abiding citizens. it sure won't keep a criminal from buying a gun, as he isn't interested in doing anything the right way. he already has a criminal mind, you think he's going to sweat owning an illegal weapon?

Is this supposed to be some sort of an attempt at a logical argument, or is it just a bunch of nonsensical NRA bumper sticker slogans strung together in paragraph form?

sigh...thank you

I'm a gun rights supporter but don't think anyone outside of law enforcement or military should be able to own assault or fully auto weapons. I can also go with low capacity magazines as no one needs to be firing 15 bullets at a time either. I don't have kids and still have my guns (all handguns) locked in a safe which is locked in a cabinet. I no longer live in a high crime area like I did when I was in Evanston IL. If I did have kids around I'd do away with them though as they'd be 'apples off the tree' and they'd find a way to the keys and into the safe. Also if I was as big as GBbob I could probably make due with pure intimidation. Still not sure about the carry/conceal laws but firmly believe one should be able to defend their home with guns if they choose. I understand the argument if they take assault weapons away semi-autos are next and pistols after that. But with some assurances from the anti-gun crowd many would agree with strictor gun policies. I'd also agree to 'chipping' my guns with GPS devices in the event they were stolen. This probably won't make either side happy.

Realistically, I would want an assault weapon in defense against a "home invasion", and handguns as a last line of defense. Life(my familys) is precious
to me...if someone crosses that line....

Unless you live in a huge open home strategically an assault rifle makes no sense. A 9mm or 45semi auto are much more effective as one can aquire the target and aim far quicker. Unless you plan to spray your home with bullets hoping no one innocent either in or out of the house is in the path. For that type of defense a short barreled shotgun would be better suited. Also think a handgun equipped with a laser site could be effective w/o firing a shot

just get a rocket launcher.... those do the trick!!!


I agree with Dell... People should have the right to bear arms but why are automatics and assault weapons needed? Only the military needs them...

police dont need them either, people who abuse power do not need AK 47's in their hands.

handguns are very inaccurate, and only work well for very short range firing. shotguns are far more intimidating, and far easier to hit someone with the right shotshells and choke.

it's not a matter of need. owning an assault weapon or automatic weapon doesn't suddenly mean a person is predisposed to violence or criminality. i don't need my f-250 pickup for that matter. a 150 would do the trick. and police should have anything they need to do the job.

No rocket launchers..wanna keep the walls up......shotguns would probably do the trick....laser-sight is a good thing too.

Arming ourselves against criminals is the idea....not against police or public

okay then....

What do you use an assault rifle for besides kill people? You sure as heck dont go hunting with one?

Nobody should have them but the military.

And fucl< the police!!! They cant even use tasers correctly... dont give them assault weapons!! In a lot of European countries cops dont even carry GUNS at all!!

FBI and SWAT are different.

I was joking about the rocket launcher... eventhough they are pretty cool.

Get like 3 pitbulls and a handgun. Nobody would dare come at you.

They do in big cities where the bad guys have them ie the LA bank robbers wearing body armour. Not saying every cop or car needs them but they should be available for that needed occassion. First time I ever saw cops with fully auto rifles was vegas airport. Then Belmont Gold Cup Day and again Belmont (Belmont Day) then the LI RR so seems pretty common place in the big apple. Very intimidating!!

...and we see how well Britain is doing with a weaponless force....they run from the Muslim gangs. Tsk..Tsk