LOL Gun nuts

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/22/gun-sales-off-to-bang-for-election-year

Yep, they're stocking up on guns all because of the fear that if Obama gets re-elected he's going to going make that no longer possible...just like he was going to do after being elected in 2008 right? Gun fans can never not live in a constant state fear and believing that the government will take away their guns even when all the obvious evidence points toward there being absolutely no chance of that happening.

[dead0man]

Yeah, it's silly.  But, if guns kill people, why hasn't there been a huge spike in gun crimes corresponding to the huge spike in guns bought last time around?


(I know YOU, BRTD, don't buy into that, you've seen a gun, know "gun people", maybe even played with one a time or two.  You know they aren't some magic killing machines, but many in the gun control crowd do believe that guns cause violence.)

[retromike22]

I never understood why people need to own guns in the first place. The only example I can understand is if it's for hunting. I usually hear two responses why people need a gun:

1. For protection. From who? Are you wanted man/woman? Do police not exist where you live? Are you such a coward that you need a gun just in case a stranger breaks in? (Which isn't even likely these days) And when the stranger breaks in, are you going to magically turn into an action hero and shoot the bad guy while saving yourself?

I could never live in that constant state of fear. I don't even lock the front door sometimes. And no I don't live in a gated community, I live in a working class suburb of Los Angeles. A few years ago there was a shooting between a police officer and a drug dealer in the house IN FRONT OF MINE. But I didn't buy a gun, because I am not afraid and I trust the police with my security as a citizen. Analogy: If you trust the firefighters to save your life during the fire, why can't you trust the police to keep your community safe? Sure there are a few bad apples, but on the whole they are good men and women.

2. In case the government turns into a (insert Communist or Fascist) state and the people need to rise up and take their government back. How likely is it that our country will replace over 200 years of democracy with something else? But let's assume the extremely unlikely happened and it did. Let's see, a bunch a mountain men militia with handguns, maybe some machine guns vs.... helicopters, tanks, and a professional army. I don't think it'll be much of a fight. And you don't even need guns to bring down a regime. See India 1947, and Egypt 2011.

[k-onmmunist]

Take a leaf out of our book - ban them. You'll have much less crime for it.

[Beet]

Yeah, it's silly.  But, if guns kill people, why hasn't there been a huge spike in gun crimes corresponding to the huge spike in guns bought last time around?

Only the most extreme anti gun zealots think there is a one to one relationship between guns and crime, such that more guns will always lead to more crime, drowning out every other possible factor contributing to the crime rate. Those people and those that argue the opposite (that more guns necessarily equals less crime) are fringe and absurd. Many factors help explain crime and social scientists have not carefully pinpointed all of them.

It may be more useful to look at differences between the overall crime rate vs the number of people shot; there is some evidence that while overall crime dropped from 2002 to 2009, the number of people shot remained the same or increased slightly, in contrast to the 1990s when the number of people shot fell sharply along with crime. On the other hand, gun rights advocates can argue from some evidence suggesting that we have gotten better at treating gunshot wounds so that the mortality rate from being shot has fallen. Also, while the number of gun sales increased from 2002 to 2009, the number of accidental shootings has not increased. So gun owners may be doing a better job at safety than before. There is a two to three year lag in the release of public health statistics and much of the new buying has been in the past two years, so I think the jury is still out on the impact of all this on public health. The political chill on funding to do gun studies enforced by the gun lobby certainly hasn't helped our ability to understand things objectively.

[Ⓐnarchy in the ☭☭☭P!]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

If you live in a poorer neighborhood, to all intents and purposes yes. Even assuming the police are the magical force of integrity and justice that arrives within minutes, that's more than enough time for something bad to happen that a gun could have prevented. I'm reminded of the old saying "When seconds count, the police are minutes away".

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Are you such a coward that you reach your roof via ladder?

Would you rather have a gun to stop a burglar/murderer/etc or a kitchen knife?

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Maybe because burglars think twice before robbing a house that could have an armed inhabitant?

You aren't likely to die of Measles, but you probably still got a shot for it.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

If you have to. I'm not seeing your point here; in the close range situation that one would face in the event of a burglar, even someone with only a bit of practice wouldn't have much trouble getting off a shot. Besides that, you would have a much, MUCH easier time capturing someone if you had a gun. If you don't have a gun, have fun trying to convince an armed thief to wait for the police to arrive while threatening them with your sword, your knife, your baseball bat or your fists. More likely you would have to beat them/slash them to a bloody mess on the floor where they would have to be suicidal to try anything against a gun.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Have fun with that. I'm sure people in Lincoln Park are equally unarmed, since obviously the police will come to help them in the event of a crime. Nothing to fear, move along citizen.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Said the Roman with a chuckle

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Sounds like the Taliban or maybe the insurgents in Iraq. Wait...

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Yeah, we've seen how quickly the asymmetrical wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan were ended by organized armies with helicopters, tanks and professional troops. Keep in mind, those are wars where the soldiers in question aren't bound quite to tightly by a bond to those they're fighting, and a fascist US would probably be accompanied by the defections of a whole bunch of soldiers.  

[Purch]

I don't think they have much to worry about .. the right to own guns is as clear as day in our constitution................... Well in article 1 section 8 there's something that said that congress has the power to declare war yet our past Presidents involved us in  countless wars in which congress never gave a declaration of war.. Constitution just seems like a piece of paper these days.

[bgwah]

At least you guys are starting to accept that you're getting four more years of Obama.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     I would get a gun, except I don't want to shell out the cash for one. Doesn't have anything to do with Obama, though.

[WalterMitty]

in terms of gun control, this president has been a net negative.

hell, the nra should endorse him.  hed probably like that.  itd help with the dullard vote in places like ohio.

[CatoMinor]

I wonder if the NRA would support Obama over Romney lol

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Once I'm able to, I fully intend to exercise my right to bear arms.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Once I'm able to, I fully intend to exercise my right to bear arms.

I prefer to arm bears myself, actually.

[Purch]

At least you guys are starting to accept that you're getting four more years of Obama.

Or they're just starting to realize that Mitt Romney is a horrible frontrunner.