-Sh1fty- wrote:
At this point I think everybody agrees that gun laws won't get guns out of the hands of the bad guys. Guns are a great equalizer for people who aren't able to defend themselves otherwise and so I think they should be unrestricted so anybody can get any kind they want. Anybody that wants to go on a massive killing spree can do so even with regulations so I don't see why we should limit the honest people who have a passion for shooting things that aren't human.
There was a story the other day in the paper about a 14 year old that shot and killed an intruder while defending his 3 little siblings upstairs. Shit like that is why we need to arm the just. What could have happened to the kid and his 3 brothers and sisters warrants his possession of a firearm. What was he going to do, call the cops?
Yes I remember a similar story not too long ago of a woman who was barricaded herself in her bedroom and had a shotgun. She was on the phone to the police as the bad guy was breaking in and asked if she should shoot him. The police officer said she should do whatever she felt had to do. So she filled the bastard's chest with buckshot. A good example of why firearm ownership is a good thing. Search for "person shoots intruder' and I'm sure there's a large number of stories to back this up.
But I could quote countless other instances where some kid found his dad's gun and blew his head or his sibling's head off. Of a friend's head off. Or a parent's head off. There was the shooting of six year old Kayla Rolland by another six year old who found his uncle's handgun. There was that 16 year old Halo addict who fatally shot his mother and shot his father in the head over a Halo game. There was the 14 year old who shot and killed both his parents because he didn't want to do chores. There was a 12 year old Colorado kid who killed his parents and shot his siblings. There was a kid who found a gun in his police officer father's car and killed his seven year old sister. An 11 year old boy who shot and killed his father's pregnant girlfriend. A nine year old autistic girl who fatally shot her brother. A ten year old kid who accidentally killed his five year old brother after finding a gun.
I could go on and on. Some of these stories are down to unhinged people like the Halo one. So many others are kids coming across guns and accidentally shooting someone or themselves or otherwise having no idea about the ramifications of shooting someone, no idea about the finality of death even.
I could suggest a number of small things that I think would help the US with it's shootings. These measures would leave firearms accessible to anyone who wants them. I know the arguments against them but I think it's a matter of weighing the positives against the negatives. If the US really wants to lower the amount of accidental shootings or even shootings in general there are going to have to be sacrifices though.
For example, I would suggest instead of allowing everyone to keep an immediately fireable weapon around the house, require proper storage in a lockable rack or cabinet. Require ammunition to be stored separately and don't allow people to leave a weapon loaded. The trade off is that you won't have an immediately usable weapon. The plus is that you have now near completely negated the possibility that a young person will find and accidentally, (or purposefully,) use your weapon. You have also make it less likely that a bad person will steal your firearm which is a major problem in the US and one of the ways in which a great many offenders get their weapons. Personally I think the trade off is worth it though I imagine it is a matter of opinion.
I think overall there's an unhealthy attitude towards firearms in the US that probably isn't going to be changed through legislation if it can be changed at all. There are attitudes that no amount of argument will alter in the slightest.
I don't think the answer is to arm everyone though. More guns equals more gun deaths, it has always been as simple as that.
As a side note, can anyone explain to me why firearms should be a right rather than a privilege? And not in a historical concept I get why the Second Amendment was written, I just don't understand the need to have such a right.