Questions about Gun Control in SF City

[mkdude_08]

Originally Posted by iTsLiKeAnEgG

Guns are for hunting. If you're carrying a gun and not headed to a range then you must be hunting (whether animals or people). I'm all for owning a gun within the home or taking one to a range, I think they are cool. I'm completely against every jack hole on the street having the ability to carry a handgun whether concealed or not. People are not predictable and losing your cool while in the presence of a deadly weapon may mean someone losing their life.

Tell that to the innocent people who were killed in NY last week. If one of them had a gun, that jagoff would have been dead in the first 10 seconds. Instead, they are now all dead. There are plenty of states with CC laws and people don't go around shooting each other after losing their cool. They do, however, have the ability to defend themselves from one of these crackpots. Remember, there is no such thing as a 'gun free zone' (although I wish there was!)

[iTsLiKeAnEgG]

Originally Posted by mkdude_08

Tell that to the innocent people who were killed in NY last week. If one of them had a gun, that jagoff would have been dead in the first 10 seconds. Instead, they are now all dead. There are plenty of states with CC laws and people don't go around shooting each other after losing their cool. They do, however, have the ability to defend themselves from one of these crackpots. Remember, there is no such thing as a 'gun free zone' (although I wish there was!)

If every state allowed CC we'd have a significantly higher loss of life than occurs in these horrible tragedies. I'd rather lose 14 than a 100. Not to mention the higher rate of police shoot outs that are certain to come with it.

[mkdude_08]

While I respect your opinion, help me understand why states with CC laws (e.g., Arizona, Minnesota, etc.) don't have the issues you raise (e.g., police shoot-outs and increased loss of life since implementing CC laws).

[wburg]

It is possible to buy fully automatic weapons with a Class III license from the BATF. California's assault weapon laws specifically ban a large number of firearms based on external features and specific makes and models, but is focused on semi-automatic firearms, not fully automatic or selective fire firearms. Basically, if it looks black and scary, it is probably illegal in California due to our assault-weapons laws, regardless of the function and performance of the weapon. However, several selective-fire weapons, such as the 1918 Browning Automatic Rifle, and the 1950s era M-14, are not covered by the ban because they lack Scary Black Rifle features, although you would need to find 10-round magazines for them because part of the law bans magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds.

Many weapons are banned specifically by name, including just about every variant of the Colt M-16/AR-15, and the AK-47. Those that were in the state prior to the ban could be registered, but they cannot be sold or transferred within the state of California.

Generally, full-auto and selective-fire weapons cost at least several thousand dollars, plus the $200 tax stamp required for each purpose. By comparison, the semi-auto versions of most fully automatic firearms cost considerably less than $1000. So if you really, really want to rock-and-roll, there are ways to do it, but it will cost you a pretty penny.

San Francisco's pistol ban was overturned by a recent court case, but I'm sure you need to be a fairly serious VIP in order to get a CCW permit, and open carry is right out!

[iTsLiKeAnEgG]

Originally Posted by mkdude_08

While I respect your opinion, help me understand why states with CC laws (e.g., Arizona, Minnesota, etc.) don't have the issues you raise (e.g., police shoot-outs and increased loss of life since implementing CC laws).

Because there are a huge variety of other characteristics that differentiate states with CC laws from those without them.

[UB50]

Originally Posted by mkdude_08

Remember, there is no such thing as a 'gun free zone' (although I wish there was!)

Sure there are! "Gun free zones" include places with metal detectors and bag checks. When was the last time you saw a shooting at any professional baseball game in California? Basketball game?

[demartile]

To answer your question about legally open carry in California. Yes you can, however the pistol must be unloaded. I thought I heard of a bill making its way through assembly that would ban open carry, but I can't be sure. I'm not about to get I to how I feel about california's absurd approach to gun control and real crime statistics, oh wait I just did.

[415_s2k]

Originally Posted by mkdude_08

While I respect your opinion, help me understand why states with CC laws (e.g., Arizona, Minnesota, etc.) don't have the issues you raise (e.g., police shoot-outs and increased loss of life since implementing CC laws).

[415_s2k]

As an aside, I live in San Francisco proper and legally own a couple firearms. Had to talk to the PD and have a background check done, all that stuff, same as anywhere else in CA. I've never been scrutinized for my firearm ownership here, even when there was a shooting in my area (guess not many street thugs feel like paying to keep a .40 or a .454 loaded?). I do not have a CCW; I've also heard that it's near impossible to get, and that it can bring more added scrutiny on you... however, a former coworker of mine had one for Alameda Co. and was allowed to bring it into SF, because she lived in a high-crime area of East Oakland.

I pulled a gun on someone in the International District of Seattle once when he refused to get out of the way of myself and my companion and went from asking for change, to demanding change, to demanding my wallet and her purse. I've never really felt like I needed to carry a gun here in SF, but I do carry a blade.

[esmith143]

Guns are for hunting. Owning a gun for "protection" is silly and it tends to put your life and lives of your relatives in more, not less danger. For every person who successfully defends himself with a gun against an attack, at least one kid accidentally kills himself with his or her parent's handgun, two people accidentally get killed by their own guns, 100 people end up in the ER with accidental gunshot wounds, and 150 commit suicides with guns.

Given the pattern of handgun use in this country, the proper way to see a personal handgun is not as a protection/self-defense tool, but as a portable suicide machine that will quickly and reliably send you (or possibly your teenage son) to the next world when you get too drunk and depressed.