The Free Zone Board

[QuasimodoJones]

Meme - WEAC/gun control

There is a world of difference in saying that the sole intent of gun ownership is to shoot something or someone, or saying that their sole purpose is to kill.

Okay, let's agree to this, in the light of what I posted a few minutes ago: The sole intent of gun ownership to be able to shoot something or someone if you want. OK?

And what has that got to do with the argument? If you had had a gun, and the knowledge of it's use, he wouldn't have gotten very far.

I don't know what you're responding to here, WEAC, the sentence preceding yours was Dennis' quote, not mine.

You're quite right, and I apologize for not mentioning it in my earlier post, because I meant to, the reason being -- WEAC mispresumes I did NOT have a gun at the time of the attempted home invasion. I DID possess a gun, I just didn't have it in my hand when I went to the door, because I didn't know who was there and wasn't expecting someone who just wanted to kill me. Anyway, as it turned out, sometime later I took that gun out to the country and pulled the trigger -- and it misfired. I'm not sure whether that's an argument for buying better guns, taking better care of them (I had a very bad habit of dry firing mine, which anyone who knows guns knows is bad for the firing pin position), or using fresher ammunition. Anyway, it wasn't long after that that I took the old gun to a gunshop and traded it for the Beretta.

I haven't missed your point, WEAC, but it seems everyone here has missed mine. I'M NOT FOR BANNING GUNS!!!

No, of course not. But you have come out foresquare for registering them, which in the opinions of some of us is the first step in making it possible to confiscate and ban them from private ownership.

Further, everyone seems to love to talk about how criminals all get their guns illegally. However, if you look at the actual statistics (U.S. Dept. of Justice) you'll find that in crimes involving a gun, only 37% of those guns were obtained illegally (stolen or blackmarket). That clearly shows that the overwhelming majority of crimes are commited with completely legal guns.

However, registering guns would not change this. Criminals are not going to register their guns -- the USSC has ruled they don't have to, they can't be prosecuted for not doing it:

http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_registration.html

Scroll about halfway down the page.

Moreover, since the adoption of the Brady Bill both crime and gun-related crime has dropped significantly.

An implied syllogism, but a false one:

Between 1991 and 1998, without implementing significant gun control legislation..., California's homicide rate dropped 48.9% versus 31.9% for the rest of the U.S. ... Even choosing a different year to start the comparison, such as ... 1994 (when Brady became effective, February 28, 1994), homicide and violent crime declined faster in California than nationally (FBI Uniform Crime Reports, 1991-1998). Evidence indicates the Brady Act is not a significant factor in violent crime reduction, or as the case of California suggests, neither were any gun of the control measures that were enacted during the 90's.

http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_brady_bill.html

Now, give Mooshu some kibble for me. I'll bet he (she?) is the embodiment of ferocity!

Dennis