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One other thing on this topic just as a "gee whiz" sort of thing...
I've only taken but a handful of college courses but one of them was Aviation Law which was offered when I was stationed in Kuwait. The professor was over there teaching to Havard or Yale's "detachment" in Kuwait and offered to come and teach at the base to give us something to do in our off-time.
Needless to say, the course was not so much about Aviation Law as it was a general "Law" class which discussed a variety of different topics from search and seizure, self-defense, torts, takings, etc...
I'll never forget when he told us that using a handgun to defend yourself in your home can be, under certain circumstances, questioned in a court of law. More specifically, he noted that the perception of threat can be brought up and the homeowner, in some situations, can be held liable for trial in something like a manslaughter or perhaps even 2nd degree murder case if the DA feels there was not a sufficient enough threat to take the intruders life.
His suggestion was that beating them to death with a baseball bat proves without a doubt that the intruder was close enough to pose an imminent threat because, well, you could reach out and beat him to death.
He also offered the advice to make sure you kill the guy so that there's only one side of the story. I'm pretty he sure he was lightheartedly joking about that.
I'm not thrilled that it's legal to have guns in this country as I really don't feel as though any civilized society should really need them but I also advocate upholding the Constitution and allowing those who wish to carry weapons to do so in a responsible manner. My one major stipulation is that I feel any death resulting from a gunshot (whether self-defense or not) should be investigated as though a murder did indeed happen and if the person was found to use their weapon in an inappropriate manner causing the death of another person, they should be held to a much stricter penalty than something like manslaughter.
If you ask me, there are far too many people who legally own handguns that can't wait to pull the trigger on someone because of the intense power trip such a weapon offers.
The thing about gun ownership and America is the fact that our country has such a wide variety of cultures, for lack of a better word, and environments. I grew up in Montana where guns are common but people tend to be knowledgeable about how to use them responsibly and the main focus is on hunting or shooting in some sort of competition. That is very different from the situation in places like Chicago, New York or other big cities in which they are associated with crime. I don't think you can apply the same legislation to places like Montana or Wyoming versus New York or Washington, DC. In Washington, DC we think of firearms in terms of crime because crime and the protection against armed criminals are the primary concern in that city. That's the reason they had a court case that went to the Supreme Court. I'm probably just a result of my environment growing up in small town Montana and it's very possible that I would have a completely different point of view if I had grown up in a big city. It's really more complex when you stop and think about how different the attitudes are in small, relatively safe communities versus big cities in which guns are used in crimes on a regular basis.
What he said!
We live in a very rural area. All of our neighbors have guns. Most of them hunt. We have 2 rifles and a pistol. The rifles are for hunting. The pistol is for me when I hike with my dogs in the mountains. My husband got me the pistol to protect myself and the dogs from mountain lions and crazy pot farmers. I also carry a big knife, pepper spray, and a big stick. The gun is the weapon of last resort. I don't have a problem with guns in responsible hands.
Well I still don't know if I am a Christian or an Atheist or Agnostic....But I have no problem with guns for self defense. We have a rifle, a sword, and some nun chucks. And yes, my husband knows how to use the nun chucks...I would knock myself out with them! Here in Southern MS everyone carries a gun. You can sell them at flea markets out of the back of your pickup truck! But it's a bad guys dream world for the good citizens to have no self defense against them.
What I would like to see though is the option to live in/have gun free states.
I can understand your feelings but that wouldn't be possible because people will often travel to states where they can buy large numbers of guns legally and then bring them home to their more restrictive state and sell them for a profit. This has been happening for years.
I don't own any guns. Although, i was raised in a small rural town where gun ownership was the norm. Though they were mostly for hunting and sport. I think in the past 20 years or so there have only been two gun related incidents. When people are more educated on the subject, there is less room for missuse.
That being said, im not opposed to owning a gun, or ones rights to own a gun. But i do think that there is a line. For instance i know of now reason that a civilian would need a high powerd carbine rifle. But thats a different topic all togther
That being said, im not opposed to owning a gun, or ones rights to own a gun. But i do think that there is a line. For instance i know of now reason that a civilian would need a high powerd carbine rifle. But thats a different topic all togther
I agree that the average citizen doesn't need military weapons and there needs to be some limit to the firepower. However the gun lobby is very powerful and Obama and fellow Democrats appear to be backing down from reinstating the assault weapon ban. I'm not an expert on the pros and cons of owning an assault rifle as opposed to a regular hunting rifle and someone like Rifleman could probably elaborate on that subject. Assault rifles are essentially military weapons but there's alot of controvery because the style and shape of a rifle might get it categorized as an assault weapon although it's no more deadly than a regular hunting rifle. There's also a .50 caliber rifle that is still legal in 49 states, all but California, and you can break boulders with it from very long distances. It's an incredibly powerful rifle and it does make you wonder what practical use an everyday citizen could possibly have for this kind of destructive force.
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