6 Likes
Donât jump to conclusions. I made no comment one way or the other about gun regulation. The 2nd amendment. Or âdisarming the populationâ, a relatively extreme position that is seldom advocated by anyone. I simply commented on a particular set of behaviors, and outlook, thatâs far too common in this country. Despite having little basis in reality. I like guns. I shoot guns. I just donât delude myself into thinking life looks like an action movie. I realize that I am not safe when a gun is present, as apposed to being safer or some how less unsafe. And I take steps to minimize that not safeness.
Ok you had a brush with a violent crime where your possession of a gun may have helped. I lived in Philadelphia for a 6 year period where it had one of the highest murder and crime rates in the country. I also lived in NYC for 6 years at a point where it had one of the lowest crime rates in its history. In Philadelphia I lived in one of its worst neighborhoods. In New York I lived in a trendy âup and comingâ neighborhood in Brooklyn. In Philly I was never once subject to a violent crime. In NYC I was mugged 3 feet from my front door, in front of a security camera. (And before anyone suggests it I would have been safer with a gun, had I had one it never would have come into play. Guy rabbit punched me from behind, knocking me out cold, and shook me back to consciousness by my neck. Leaving me with a concussion and little ability to understand what was happening.)
My point being: My single, personal, experience in regards to crime in these two cities is demonstrably at odds with the actual, provable circumstance of those two cities at the time. If I went with my personal experience exclusively I would assume NYC now was far more dangerous, even in its safer neighborhoods, than Philly was 10 years ago. Thatâs not the case. Likewise that single incident you experienced does not necessarily accurately represent a typical experience, population wide risks, or the realistic risks an average person should expect to encounter. I never said these certain circumstance do not ever happen and do not need to be dealt with. Only that they are rare, and we do not need to expect them to happen with regularity, make specific plans for them, or tailor our behavior in risky ways because of them. Absent specific circumstances that increase their likelihood.
1 Like
Even cars have to be registered through the state when sold privately. Gun sales should be no different. No gun transfer should be outside of the process.
2 Likes
Cars are done so for tax purposes. Property tax. And they donât always get re-registered correctly. I just got a tax bill for a car I traded in literally 10 years ago.
Iâm not for a registration system because :
- Huge waste and added costs with the bureaucracy.
- People who shouldnât have guns wonât register their guns. Duh. People who are illegally selling and buying guns wonât register them.
- Too many times registration has lead to confiscation. Maybe not now, but 10 years down the road or what ever. People here are going to be extremely resistant to this idea and with good reason.
- Forcing private sales through the FFL process wonât stop where most criminals get their guns from people already willing to sell to a felon.
Why donât we enforce the laws we do have? Like look at how many people per year are REFUSED a gun purchase, and then look at how many of those people are CHARGED with a crime. Go look. The answer will shock you. Itâs like the ATF doesnât even care.
2 Likes
Cars are also registered for safety (title history, restrictions on salvaged titles, insurance), air quality (Smog tests) and consumer protection (mileage disclosures, title history) . So, yeah, actually it is a very good analogy.
How about an insurance requirement for guns?
7 Likes
I <3 this as much for the brilliant idea as for the timing of the two images. Bravo, digitalArtform, indeed!
Guns donât have any of these worries.
As for insurance - For what? The 800 accident per year?
Are guns not property?
1 Like
I would say hot lead is definitely an air quality issue.
4 Likes
11 Likes
There are no public safety issues related to gun ownership? Iâm going to go rush out the door and tell the family of the latest fatal shooting in my area. Theyâll be so relieved to hear it.
/s
3 Likes
Yeah, Iâm not saying its needed, but I had a rottweiller who loved people and hated other dogs (like hamas- didnât accept their right to exist) and I got a policy for that reasonâŚso I see the argument.
1 Like
I seem to have arrived incredibly late to this party, but for once I am not âthis thread has been lockedâ late, which is a welcome change for a hot topic. I get to say what I want to say! 
I think most (not all) of the substantial, important and cool stuff has been said by @Medievalist and @anon50609448. I think banning guns is a stupid idea, and that it does amount to a âwar on gunsâ with about as much effect as the war on drugs. Americans discussing guns is going to be about as heated a topic as any, where people will try to shout each other down, hold up carefully chosen statistics to support their views, and will generally ignore (or insult) opposition.
Carrying a weapon need not be about fear; it can be about confidence. The reason criminals arenât constantly knocking over armored cars is that armored car crews carry loaded weapons. Extend that idea as far as you like.
As someone who carried a variety of weapons professionally, I know what safe and responsible gun ownership looks like. I also know that accidents will happen, though most of them could have been prevented, without removing the gun completely from the picture. True, like abstinence is the sure way to prevent pregnancy, no guns would eliminate all gun accidents, but I donât think thatâs realistic or appropriate, especially in America - our culture is so far out on this one, it will be 50 years before we could effectively see reversal, if at all.
I can only hope that none of us become victims of gun violence or an accident involving a firearm. I will endeavor to keep my ownership and use of firearms safe and responsible, and I will do my best (again, without eliminating the gun from the picture) to keep weapons out of the hands of the very young or the insane.
Funny thing, is that for all of my support of gun ownership, I donât currently own a single weapon, because the other members of my household are in opposition, and I feel like Iâd be most likely to end up being a victim of my own gun in such a household.
Thanks for the opportunity share, now back to your regularly scheduled back and forth.
2 Likes
Phew. That thing looks more dangerous by design than a car with no brakes and a well-stocked minibar in the glove compartment.
(Thought. Would a strong magnet be good enough to hold the thing in place? Plus some trigger guard, and possibly an unlock lever (to pull the magnet away a bit, for example) that can be operated one-handed but leads the finger away from the trigger (and possibly to the side of the gun body where the finger belongs instead, until the very moment of fire)? The more natural the safe handling is, the more simpler than the unsafe way, the lower chance of mishaps. Always design things to be easier to run safely by default, not just gun holsters.)
(Another thought. Looks like such thing could be custom-molded from polycaprolactone. That material is pretty tough and springy.)
I am not in favor of an outright ban. Strong discouragement, together with better offers, should do the job instead. There are too many bans already, and they come with permits and fees and lawyers and bureaucrats in tow.
1 Like
You mean a regular Russian car 
2 Likes
So very agreed. I mostly lurk here, but @anon50609448 always posts really well balanced and smart things.
2 Likes
Youâve clearly never been to Philly.
You know, some people own and carry guns because they have the misfortune of having people in their life who might need shooting sometime.
That said, a holster that requires you to rip your shirt off to use it seems to be lacking in tactical advantage. Though I guess itâs more likely to get through a pat-down.
2 Likes
That quote is painful to read.
I know itâs vernacular, but seriously, spend half a second diagramming your grammar before you speak. Thatâs what I do, and people complement me on how erudite I sound, when really I just take a smidgen extra effort to form grammatical sentences. I only have a 12th grade-level vocabulary, but itâs baffling how many high school graduates never seemed to pick up the mid-level components of English in high school.
