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I own several handguns and feel that any responsible adult without a criminal history or mental illness should be allowed to own them. I also believe that anyone has a right to defend themselves or their family and if their lives are threatened they have a right to use deadly force if necessary. It seems as though this is one issue where I'm in agreement with conservatives and the religious right. I do think the NRA is often irresponsible in their positions and I think it's only common sense that we should require registration of firearms just like we do with an automobile. June and I were talking about this last night and it's one of the few things we disagree on. For those of you who are Christians how does your religious belief influence your attitude on this issue? The Bible talks about turning the other cheek but it also says an eye for an eye. What do you think?
I own several handguns and feel that any responsible adult without a criminal history or mental illness should be allowed to own them. I also believe that anyone has a right to defend themselves or their family and if their lives are threatened they have a right to use deadly force if necessary. It seems as though this is one issue where I'm in agreement with conservatives and the religious right. I do think the NRA is often irresponsible in their positions and I think it's only common sense that we should require registration of firearms just like we do with an automobile. June and I were talking about this last night and it's one of the few things we disagree on. For those of you who are Christians how does your religious belief influence your attitude on this issue? The Bible talks about turning the other cheek but it also says an eye for an eye. What do you think?
The bible doesn't influence my ownership of guns..
Littlethirsty is currently the author of the doctrine that states "No guns in Thirsty house".
Until we can take the guns out of the criminals house we should have the right to keep a gun in ours..for protection..Personally I am afraid of guns, even though I have had some training and can hit a target..There are are a couple of handguns here that belong to my husband, but they are locked in a safe, and the ammo is somewhere else..I am with LittleT about guns in the house simply because of BabyT..We have an alarm system, and I have an escape route through the door leading outside in my bedroom..If the alarm goes off in the middle of the night, I am outta here
Hmmmm... I'm a bit mixed on the subject. Forgive me if I'm not posting this as a Christian
My personal feeling is that our forefathers put the right to bear firearms in the Constitution for a reason. To me, that reason seems to have been a product of the times. I don't think they were so much concerned with gang violence, drug dealers, and criminals as much as they were with people defending themselves against an attack from foreign countries.
Of course, we, as a country, have always defended our rights to protect what is in the Constitution, and I'd be a hypocrite to say that we should take it out because that's "not what was meant" at the time.
With that, I think we have to balance out the good and the bad. Are more people hurt from firearms every year in this country than necessary? I think so. Does that outweigh Constitutional principles?? I would like to think so as well. On another note, are we susceptible to foreign invasion (such as was deemed the threat at the writing of the Constitution) to the point that we would have to arm ourselves? I don't think so. With all of that being said, it's impossible to know what our forefathers REALLY had in mind when that was written and I'm afraid that under that premise firearms are still a legal right, and I'm also afraid, that they should not be taken out of the Constitution.
As much as I think they inflict more damage than good in this day and age, I think that to concede any part of what our forefather's wrote in the Constitution leaves us subject to continue changing things. Where would it stop? Do we then take away freedom of religion, speech, and press?
As a matter of personal preference, I do not own a handgun. I don't really care for one, and I don't feel like going through the hassle to get one.
If we're really going to do something about gun control, my best guess is that we need to limit it to one handgun per household or something of that nature. I also feel that if someone's child manages to accidentally discharge a firearm and injure or kill themselves, than the parent's need to be held responsible as neglectful, and not "It was an accident. It happens. It's Ok." It's not a fix, this I know, but if we are talking about the "right to bear arms" in order to protect and defend, than how many firearms do we really need in our house?
In the end, I wish the guns would go away. I really do. But, you won't find me hammering at the footsteps of the Senate or Congress to try and take away a right given to us. It seems our country is in a tremendous "Catch 22" with this one, and it's a sad thing.
My personal feeling is that we have distorted the idea of the "right to bear arms". I believe that the amendment was written in such a way to enable citizens to bear arms as a community when under attack from invaders and then to relinquish such arms when the danger is passed.
My religious beliefs have nothing to do with my beliefs toward guns though. It comes from the stories that my mother told me relative to her childhood in Germany during WWII. The number of relatives, friends and citizens she witnessed shot and killed by gunfire was enough to convince her to never own a firearm and that train of thought carried over to me. We do not own a gun in our household and we never will. IMO, we have utterly twisted the constitution amendment to suit our own personal desires of freedom to do whatever we wish, whenever we wish, regardless of the consequences. Granted, there are many good, law abiding citizens who uphold the laws and take great care to see that a firearm is used only in extreme situations. However, for every upright citizen, there are probably ten who could care less about gun laws and those are the ones that should concern us.
The Supreme Court is going to take up this issue when it considers the Washington DC gun ban. This is a major case that really addresses the right of an individual to own a gun and they're going to have to clarify what the Second Amendment really means. The wording of the Second Amendment is pretty vague and the reference to an organized militia does muddy the issue when we're talking about an individuals right to own a gun as opposed to using guns in the military. It will be interesting to see what they decide.
In any case if June decides to pay a visit my 9mm will be safety tucked away.
2nd amendment was done by godly people. why the question?
eye for an eye is not self defense, it's illegal.
Last edited by Huckleberry3911948; 02-09-2008 at 09:25 AM..
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