Gun Control

I am currently taking a course in Constitutional Law given by an excellent and thoughtful professor. At our last class we reviewed the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution which states:
"A well Regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

There is considerable controversy about whether the framers of the Constitution meant that it is the STATES or whether INDIVIDUALS have this Constitutional right.

Here in Texas many of us feel it is our right as citizens to keep guns. While I am neither a hunter nor a collector, I feel I have a right to keep a gun in my home for my own personal protection.

What do y'all think?

I have a few, and like taking them out shooting now and again. Gave up hunting awhile ago...but I would never ask anyone to give up their right to bear arms for any reason.
Gun control groups are nuts. I remember the assault weapons ban...yeah, like that did anything. there were more ads for Armalites and Ak's in the paper than ever before, just with a higher price tag. There isn't a gun made that can't be bought out on the streets...

greg

Originally Posted by lucille

I am currently taking a course in Constitutional Law given by an excellent and thoughtful professor. At our last class we reviewed the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution which states:
"A well Regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

There is considerable controversy about whether the framers of the Constitution meant that it is the STATES or whether INDIVIDUALS have this Constitutional right.

Here in Texas many of us feel it is our right as citizens to keep guns. While I am neither a hunter nor a collector, I feel I have a right to keep a gun in my home for my own personal protection.

What do y'all think?

Power to the people! We should never give up our right to arms.
Is this america or nazi germany?
whats next communiusm?
down with the brady bill
and the patriot act.......(if you actually read the act you will find it is meant to prevent patriotism rather than encourage it.. a patriot can be a dangerous thing to a secretive, corrupt government)
Guns for all citizens!!
To defend against the state!

Gun control means that you can place the bullet where you intended to! Any other meaning to that phrase is uselesss, since just about everything under the sun has been used by persons to harm other persons. Back in 99, there was a murder on Fort Campbell using a baseball bat...so much for the gun control policy they had, huh? If nothing else is available, a person will use sticks and stones if they have enough intent. The old, "Well, if he didn't have a gun..." excuse does not wash, so the gun control lobby just needs to get a life, or a more logical argument.

I suppose my popularity is about to take a nosedive....

While I don't have a strong opinion about handguns, and firearms used for hunting animals, I do have a strong opinion about the right of the people to own firepower that was intended for purposes beyond mere self-defense and hunting... :deer:

I feel that the "right" of the people to have ...say ... rocket launchers (okay, I haven't the slightest clue about terms here, please don't laugh) and armor piercing stuff (yes, I am getting all this from shows like CSI and Law & Order)... and other things that are not necessary for self-defense or hunting....well why the heck does average joe out there need that?

Just my thoughts on the issue.

I used to think that I valued my life too much to even think of becoming a public school teacher. Later I guess I changed my mind... realized it IS something worth dying for (and also realized the odds of a teacher being gunned down are probably less than a member of the general public being gunned down).... So far I've been only assaulted on the job with barbed wire and thrown books.

Anyway, when I hear "gun control" I think of an issue that makes me feel squirmy inside.... I have no real first hand knowledge of the arguments on either side. I just don't care for the KILLING involved with guns. I'm not out there picketing whomever is in charge saying things should be changed though.... I just hate any weapon of "mass destruction"

To give a bit of a more rounded view to my own thought processes... I remember in california when I was nearing 16 I took a high school course: Driver's Ed. (I think it was required then, might not be required now).... First day of class the teacher showed us a movie with a bunch of disturbing photographs of people killed in car accidents and said: "A Car is a Deadly Weapon". From that moment on I didn't want to get my license ... and was nearly 20 when I finally changed my mind and went and got my license. Just the thought of being in control of something that could kill someone... made me sick to my stomach.

Do I think that the government should regulate us to death? nosireee... I hate, sometimes, the things I learn have been made law (especially as an owner of snakes).

I guess you could say I have an uncomfortable opinion on gun control that doesn't really side with either side.... And I suppose it's easier when I don't know anyone personally who has been affected by guns... well I searched my memory banks, and I suppose I have had one (okay three or four) incidents in my life regarding guns....

Neighbor kid's granny was renting her spare room to a guy... he wanted to sleep with the neighbor boy (high school senior), who refused, guy had a sawed-off shotgun.... shot and killed the TV, then shot and killed the neighbor kid and ran.... later he was soliciting a friend and myself (who did not know he was the guy everyone was looking for) we felt uncomfortable that this guy was following us and trying to talk to us, so we walked up to a stranger's house and asked to call the police.... and the bad guy was apprehended. Obviously I had to search deep for this memory, so it didn't leave a strong impression on me.

Another time a friend invited me to go hiking with him. We were going to start out early, so we got to his house at 6 am and tapped on his window so we wouldn't wake up the entire house. He went to the front door to let us in and we all turned around and found ourselves staring at a gun held in his father's hand... he came darn near close to shooting us all, thinking we were intruders, and being half asleep. (ThAT was scary).

Third and final experience with guns. When I was in texas as a missionary for my church, my companion and I were out with a local member of our church visiting people. The church member was in the military and stationed there... a munitions specialist. We were out driving in the desert looking for settlements/pockets of people we could talk with, when we rounded a bend around a small hill and found some people with five or six weapons leaning against the side of a battered car, and one of the people holding a weapon as if to test fire it. While I had barely registered that anything bad was happening, the person driving the vehicle was very quick to register that the weapons were illegal (?) and that what we were seeing was someone selling weapons illegally(?)..... I'm not sure of the details, but I remember our driver putting the truck in reverse and getting us the heck out of there. While we were leaving the man with the gun had his weapon trained on us until we were again out of sight.

Hmm.... anyway, those are just experiences. Slightly negative, but nothing major. I guess my main reason for haveing an uneasy feeling on the issue is that I wish that nobody had a NEED for something that could KILL. Why can't we all get along (and yes, utopia would probably be boring)

It's not the guns that need to be controlled it's the people owning the guns that needs to be controlled. It's not much different with snakes. If you're not responsible, mature or intelligent enough to have a gun (or a snake) then maybe you should just not get one, let alone 20. Just because you are able to get on doesn't mean you are ready to have one.

I own 2 handguns and 2 shotguns. A .45 Glock, a .357 Glock, and 2 Browning shotguns. A 12 gauge and a .410. I shoot at least once a month. My handguns at a local shooting range and my shotguns at my grandpa's farm.

My 9 year old daughter has her own starters pistol. She shoots too. If you are going to have guns in your house you better educate your kids on them. Telling them not to touch a gun does not cut it. Curiosity is what gets kids killed by guns. It is very important that your kids know how to use any weapon you have in your home. Firearms education and training saves lives.

So yeah, I think it is fair to say that it is my right to own firearms.

exotic animal/reptile ownership has some of the same similarities ? RIGHT ? !

mike chambers

Originally Posted by lucille

There is considerable controversy about whether the framers of the Constitution meant that it is the STATES or whether INDIVIDUALS have this Constitutional right.
What do y'all think?

There should be no controversy. The language of the Second is explicit in stating , "the right of the people."

Ask those who feel that it addresses a state right if they also feel the First, Fourth, Fifth, etc. are applicable to the state rather than the individual also.

I am all for responsible gun ownership- my family owns a gun shop/shooting range, so this topic hits close to home. I'm all for background checks and waiting periods, but we all know that criminals aren't going down to the local gun shop to buy firearms, they're getting them on the black market. Taking guns away from law abiding citizens will do nothing but take away one more freedom. Yes, people are killed by guns, but people are killed by cars, too. Are we going to ban racing because people get killed? What about SUV's? And sports cars? Not likely. Those of us who were taught proper gun handling and shoot competetively are some of the safest shooters in the world- it's not often someone gets hurt at a shooting event. I was taught at five years old how to shoot, and my son pulled a trigger for the first time when he was four. We always knew that if we wanted to shoot, all we had to do was ask. There was no reason to sneak around and play with the guns behind Dad's back, because he was willing to show us how to do it the right way. As everyone else has said, it's the people misusing the weapons that need controlled, not the guns themselves.