[Leica] A Modest Proposal

[buzz.hausner at verizon.net (Buzz Hausner)]

Gun owners should be lined up against a wall and shot.

    Buzz


On 10/19/06 7:38 PM, "Philip Forrest" <photo.forrest@earthlink.net> wrote:

> I think that owning an assault rifle for home defense is impractical, yes.
> However, if one believes in protecting oneself, family and property, law
> enforcement doesn't do that for you.  There is no reason that a law abiding
> citizen cannot responsibly own and use a firearm of any type (small arms
> here, not artillery pieces & the like.)  I love target shooting and though 
> I
> don't know if it should be considered a "sport" it certainly requires great
> discipline and training to be able to consistently and accurately place
> shots on target.  It's just a step below golf in it's level of discipline
> and ability, but much the same when it comes to the final goal.
> Fear is what drives irrational decisions.  A gun will not shoot itself, we
> all know this.  The only way a firearm will do what it's supposed to is if 
> a
> person operating it makes it work.  Fear is what needs to be overcome by
> people who don't know anything about firearms.  They should be shown that a
> firearm is just a tool, the same way that a torque wrench is a tool.  They
> have very specific purposes, but both are tools nonetheless.
> I have no problem with people who don't like guns, but for rational 
> reasons.
> Anti-gun folks need to come up with real and equitable solutions to the
> problems they have that will WORK.  There will never be a United States
> where firearm ownership is not a right, so that side of the gun argument
> needs to come up with a realistic solution to the problems they have with
> firearms.  The AWB proved that gun violence did not decrease during the 10
> years it was effective.  10 rounds in the magazine or 100 rounds, it 
> doesn't
> matter.  Assault weapons are used in so few crimes as to be a blip on the
> radar in comparison to the gun related crimes committed with Raven .25's or
> other cheap guns.  The average assault weapon starts at about $600.  Few if
> any criminals are going to be willing to put that kind of money into a
> firearm when they could get a cheap pistol for $30.
> The only way that crime with firearms is to be quelled is by large scale
> changes in society.  People need to be educated about firearms, the law and
> how with a lot of cooperation, we can turn the gun related violence around.
> Many parents view themselves as responsible when teaching their children
> about sex, birth control and parenting, right?  (not as many as need to be
> though)  Why wouldn't someone want to teach a person how to properly and
> safely handle a firearm?  We teach people how to safely drive cars every
> day.  Still the vehicular fatality statistics in this country are several
> times the gun related fatality numbers.
> The last issue I don't like is the anti-gun group playing upon that very
> fear and lack of knowledge by saying things like "...it might go off. Six
> blocks away someone's family member could be holding their insides in their
> hands.."  This little bit of editorial journalism is just what people like
> myself don't want to read or hear.  It uses that fear of the unknowing to
> suggest that there is a gun (not artillery) that a person could buy these
> days, shoot, and eviscerate an innocent person a half mile away.  Yes,
> people do get shot from stray rounds landing through their windows and
> roofs.  This is an amazingly small number of people.  Most wounds are
> superficial.  And surely, there is not a small arm available to the public
> at this time that could do such a thing.  Most small arms up to and
> including the .50 cal BMG only produce small, oblong holes at their 
> tumbling
> worst.  I'm not condoning any of this, of course.  I don't support gun
> related violence or the wounding of innocent people at all, I'm just saying
> that a bit of exaggeration, or a lot, is not a good thing when it comes to
> this topic.
> OK, I've written far too much for sure.
> 
> Philip