And yet another, seems there is always another......

[mrodgers]

Just to note, "rocket launchers" certianly did exist in 1776 and predate that by a few centuries. They were mostly used in Imperial China, and were a bit like fireworks, with black-powder rockets propelling arrows. Rockets were first used in the West around 1800 or so. I am not really sure of the millitary efficacy of these devices, but they absolutely did exist.

I didn't know any of that, but it was easily referenced. I know they show them being used in Mulan, and that's good enough for me.

That's interesting. I probably wouldn't have put that together with "rocket launchers" but I suppose they were.

 

[BrianL]

That's interesting. I probably wouldn't have put that together with "rocket launchers" but I suppose they were.

Well, if you are talking about logical evolutions of weapons, then there is some precedent for that. Obviously they were not anywhere near what we think of as modern rocket launchers, but in principle they aren't that different either.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

Illinois very recently enacted a semi-automatic weapons ban. The NRA has just sued them over it. They will challenge any law that takes away some of their blood money, and there are fools in our government proud to support them and pocket their donations. My stance is probably clear to everyone here, but I am in despair that so long as this organization exists, nothing will change. Not the massacre of the innocents, not street shootings, nothing.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

Just speaking on people owning a lot of guns and how you don't get that mentality. A friend of mine has around 50 guns, give or take. Of those 50, he has purchased 3 of them. The others were passed down to him from his father and grandfather. He hunts with 2 of the 3 he has purchased and bought the 3rd to shoot skeet. Don't think he has even fired that one. I'm pretty sure he has only fired 2 or 3 of the guns passed down to him. All of his guns, I think, are in a gun safe in his basement.

Probably a side point here but it always boggles my mind when people hang onto a large quantity of stuff just because they inherited it. Especially something like guns which have a monetary value, take up space and require some level of maintenance to keep in good working order.

I look at it like this. If we the people allow the government to overstep the 2A, then the US Constitution isn't worth the money it is written on any more. Just that simple. If you (collective, not you individually) want guns gone or want restrictions, it has to be a change in the Constitution because what is written is very clear to me and not so clear to others.

If you're arguing here that the 2A is in place to protect the people from the government... that ship sailed a long time ago. They have F22 raptors, your Glock isn't scaring them.

And just so no one thinks I'm "anti-gun"...

Those of you who think more gun regulations are the answer OR that guns should be banned outright, what's your take about the latest shooter (which ever one it was) having obtained his gun illegally? Since laws/regulations as they currently are didn't prevent this shooting, why do you think more regulations/bans will?

Would have to know how they obtained it. My guess is it was acquired out of state as there is nothing stopping it from happening. Laws at the Federal level do not have the problem of porous state borders so that would be the obvious solution.

That being said, we already have so many guns in this country that any legislation will take decades to have any effect on crime. It would turn off the tap but the bath is already full.

 

[OKW8297]

You probably won't see this as you've said, but holding your hands over your ears and chanting "nah nah nah nah" isn't going to help anything in a discussion such as this just because you don't like what someone else's opinion is.

Well, it isn’t you and I don’t have to explain my reasons to you.

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

I am an avid target shooter. My practice is mainly 25yards prone position, sling supported, .22 rimfire. My rifle of choice is an Anschütz. But having fired it, I have gained massive respect for it. Whenever it is in my hands, I have the capacity to easily kill a number of people. I won't even store it in my house - I keep it in the shooting club, locked away in the safe, with the munitions kept in a separate lockdown. It's a tiny inconvenience for a massive feeling of safety.

 

[trompettecon]

Riddle me this: WHY is a Hello Kitty rifle ok for kids whilst a Kinder Surprise chocolate egg deemed not?

Because there is no NRA behind Kinder Surprise.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

The NRA is influential because millions of gun owners support it.

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

Remember people, we NEED guns, to, um, protect ourselves from people with smaller guns...

 

[Douglas Dubh]

I wouldn’t want to be the one to explain to a woman who has been beaten or raped and wasn’t able to defend herself that she didn’t need a gun.

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

The NRA is influential because millions of gun owners support it.

Americans that is. We don't have millions of gun owners here and yet magically very few people support gun ownership. We have a good thing going for us

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

I wouldn’t want to be the one to explain to a woman who has been beaten or raped and wasn’t able to defend herself that she didn’t need a gun.

I support the ownership of napalm. Way more effective.

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

Just to add, in the cases of the (few) murders or rapes we have here, the victim usually knew the criminal and often trusted them. They were frequently groomed and wouldn't have thought to get a gun in the first place, let alone use it on the abuser.

 

[mrodgers]

If you're arguing here that the 2A is in place to protect the people from the government... that ship sailed a long time ago. They have F22 raptors, your Glock isn't scaring them.

He couldn't drive, what was it, an F150? I highly doubt he can fly an F22.

 

[sam_gordon]

Remember people, we NEED guns, to, um, protect ourselves from people with smaller guns...

I support the ownership of napalm. Way more effective.

Smart *** answers may get a grin or a grimace, but doesn't do much to help discussion.

 

[GAN]

Smart *** answers may get a grin or a grimace, but doesn't do much to help discussion.

Shirley, you can’t be serious…..

 

[sam_gordon]

Shirley, you can’t be serious…..

 

[GAN]

C’mon …you’re supposed to say, “I am serious -and don’t call me surely.”

 

[Dakota731]

Illinois very recently enacted a semi-automatic weapons ban. The NRA has just sued them over it. They will challenge any law that takes away some of their blood money, and there are fools in our government proud to support them and pocket their donations. My stance is probably clear to everyone here, but I am in despair that so long as this organization exists, nothing will change. Not the massacre of the innocents, not street shootings, nothing.

Illinois already has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation yet someone is killed every SIX HOURS by a gun so all those gun laws don’t seem to solve anything. But I guess it makes people feel like they are helping matters to say they support gun legislation.
Some people don’t seem to realize that criminals DON’T obey the law and will get weapons illegally just like the case that started this thread. The murderer got his gun illegally just as he did in the past, yet he was put right back on the streets.
Not to mention any criminal can just go online to learn how to make an automatic weapon. But let’s just make another gun law so we can pat ourselves on the back. Let’s just ignore that California has 107 different gun laws yet has some of the highest gun murder rates in the nation.

 

[Dakota731]

That's why I said in my comment loose gun laws not being the catch all. It doesn't help with housing insecurity, income insecurity, police mistrust and community silence (by which I mean retaliation as guns are not the only tactic used), it doesn't touch on social inequalities or social programs in general. It doesn't get into the funding needed for programs to help combat the violence and programs to help with the other things. And so many other things.

Gun laws end up being *the* thing people talk about (and they are important) but don't seem to get much into so much of the other things. And IMO to keep trying to alter that which is one of the hardest (because of the ties to constitution and state laws varying) but not really putting as much effort into the other things is disappointing.

You seem to forget drug crime which is the leading factor in gun shooting in the US. And when drugs are allowed to freely flow into our borders nowadays, all the gun laws in the world aren’t going to prevent gun violence. Yet these threads only seem to focus on mass shooters which are a small percentage of the thousands of people that are murdered each day in our country’s inner cities.