unfocused said:
Probably going to regret participating in this discussion but there are a few things I cannot abide.
One of these is Fake History. To suggest that the second amendment had anything to do with the fear of slave revolts is beyond silly.
The Real History is that at the time of the writing of the constitution, the number one fear of the founding fathers was that the United States would devolve into a monarchy or a military dictatorship. As such, they had an absolute fear of standing armies. Remember that the revolutionary war had been fought against professional British soldiers and professional Hessian mercenaries hired by the king. Having just paid for liberty with their own blood, the last thing they wanted was a military coup that would place a new king in power. So, rather than create a standing army, they were predisposed to support local militias, that could be called up in times of emergency and dissolved once the emergency was over.
Now, many proponents of gun control argue that the constitution was never intended to support individual rights of gun ownership. But, that is irrelevant. The Supreme Court, which is the arbiter of constitutional meaning has repeatedly upheld the interpretation of the second amendment to apply to an individual's right to bear arms (subject to reasonable and narrow limitations which the court has also spelled out in numerous rulings).
Arguing about this, regardless of which side you may be on, is ridiculous. The law is what the law is and unless and until the U.S. Supreme Court interprets the constitution differently, nothing is going to change, no matter how long you hold your breath and wait until you are blue in the face.
Hypocrisy – It is beyond me how anyone on a forum that is dominated by people who are obsessed with collecting cameras and lenses with wild abandon, can possibly criticize someone else who happens to enjoy collecting firearms. Let each enjoy their own hobbies. Buying and playing with lenses and cameras is no more virtuous than buying and playing with firearms, so long as both are done responsibly.
Censorship – While I find this discussion thread more than a little ludicrous, I strongly object to the suggestion that it should be "shut down" because others find it uncomfortable. No one is obligated to read, comment or follow any thread on this site. Why is it that whenever someone veers a bit off the topic of cameras, lenses, etc., there is a demand that the discussions be shut down? Grow up and accept that differences of opinion are inevitable and if you don't wish to discuss a particular topic, then avoid a thread that has veered into that topic.
To my way of thinking, the only unacceptable comments on this discussion forum are those that devolve into personal attacks on individuals. Some commenters have succeeded in driving away other commenters (who admittedly could be annoying at times). Silencing differing opinions is not the way to build a interesting discussion forum.
As for me personally. The only gun I own is a b-b gun from my youth. But, I also know many gun owners and respect their rights and opinions. They are all responsible and I have absolutely no fear that they would ever use a firearm in an inappropriate manner. At the same time, I live in Illinois and am not blind to the fact that easy access to handguns has contributed to carnage in certain neighborhoods of Chicago. This is a complex and nuanced issue and trying to divide it into simple boxes is a fool's errand.
Unfocused, I could not have said it better myself and I agree with you 100%. My point has been to try to stay out of this argument as it is unsolvable, yet, I become very angry when people use fuzzy logic to tell me that the government should take away my right to protect myself and my family from criminals and foreigners trying to tell me how civilized they are and how uncivilized we in the US are.
I live in the American South where nearly everyone is armed. Yet, I nor any of my LAW ABIDING gun owners have ever committed a crime with a weapon. The US has a lot of social problems that do not exist in other countries, but Europe is starting to experience similar problems with the flood of immigrants from the Middle East and time will tell how "Civilized" they continue to be. The US has very strict gun laws, but the laws don't matter too much to criminals.
Gun ownership is a huge responsibility and should not be taken lightly. One must weigh the odds of being a victim of violent crime and being able to protect yourself during a crime versus having the gun stolen and some innocent person being killed with it, accidentally killing yourself or a loved one or having a child gain access to the gun and killing someone.
If you live in an Ivory Tower where there is no crime and don't need a gun for protection, then good for you. But if you live in an area with high crime, you will think otherwise.
While I was thinking about this post, this came on the news:
CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) -
A homeowner fatally shot a man who broke into a home in southwest Charlotte Friday, according to police.
The incident happened before 1:30 p.m. at a home on the 1900 block of Musket Lane, just off of Sandy Porter Road. Officers said a man, later identified as 32-year-old Phuc Hong Doan, broke into the home, then grabbed a knife when confronted by the homeowner.
Police said the homeowner attempted to get the knife away from Doan before firing a weapon.
Doan was pronounced dead at the scene.
Kim Badger tells WBTV she is the homeowner who shot and killed Doan.
She said this all started when she saw Doan trying to get into a neighbor's home.
This caught his attention,and he approached her.
"We wrestled on the front porch, I tried keeping him from going into the house. Evidently I lost, he got in the house," Badger said.
It was at this point when both police and Badger say the situation became dangerous.
"He grabbed a knife, and we wrestled down the hall," Badger said.
Badger said she tried wrestling the knife away from Doan. When she couldn't, she shot him dead.
Despite putting her life in jeopardy, Badger said the only thing going through her mind was her two sons' safety.
"Didn't think anything but keeping the kids safe. I was keeping my sons safe," Badger said.
I still maintain that this thread us useless other than people wanting to voice their opinions.
Nothing will be solved here and there will be no winners in this argument.
