Guns in TN (Memphis: violent crime, felons, house)

[Geneyus]

I'm a Conservative who lives in the Memphis area. I support the 2nd amendment and carry a gun every day, since I have my permit. However, I'm a little concerned with the obsession with guns among state legislators.

Here's why I'm concerned:

• When I got my permit a long time ago, you had to attend an 8 hour class and shoot for a grade. It was a joke then, but now you can just get it online without shooting.
• The "guns in cars" bill made it possible to have a gun in a car, without a permit. This tied law enforcement's hands when dealing with thugs who are driving around with guns in the middle of the night. I know of one traffic stop where 4 guys had an Uzi in a car in a nice neighborhood in the middle of the night, and they were let go. They were likely going to commit a home invasion or some other violent crime.
• Due to "guns in cars", auto burglaries are way up. Guns are stolen out of cars almost every night where I live, because people just leave the guns in cars instead on their person.
• Now, legislators are considering allowing people to carry without a permit, as if the permit process was difficult. This sounds great if you live out in a rural area, but this is really bad for areas like Memphis. I think the legislators know that, but they only care about their own backyard, instead of considering the entire state. NRA campaign donations play a role as well.

So, where does this end? Do we eventually hand everyone a gun and an NRA membership card at high school graduation in the name of the 2nd amendment? We need reasonable controls.

Originally Posted by News Channel 3 in Memphis

Via News 3 in Memphis:
"MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A bill that would allow Tennesseans to carry guns without a permit passed its first hurdle in the state capitol, after the Memphis police director told lawmakers it would be detrimental to the city’s safety
Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings went to Nashville to express his concern to lawmakers,
but it didn’t work.
“With masks and guns, it will appear to be the wild, wild West,” Rallings said.

The bill would allow Tennesseans 21 and older, or a military member between 18 and 20, to go armed without a permit. It sparked hours of discussion Tuesday in the House Judiciary Committee, where it ultimately passed.
Read the bill here
Shelby County Crime Commission President Bill Gibbons said he’s nervous about what it could mean for convicted felons."

https://wreg.com/news/bill-to-carry-...mphis-leaders/

[JOinGA]

Originally Posted by Geneyus

I'm a Conservative who lives in the Memphis area. I support the 2nd amendment and carry a gun every day, since I have my permit. However, I'm a little concerned with the obsession with guns among state legislators.

Here's why I'm concerned:

• When I got my permit a long time ago, you had to attend an 8 hour class and shoot for a grade. It was a joke then, but now you can just get it online without shooting.
• The "guns in cars" bill made it possible to have a gun in a car, without a permit. This tied law enforcement's hands when dealing with thugs who are driving around with guns in the middle of the night. I know of one traffic stop where 4 guys had an Uzi in a car in a nice neighborhood in the middle of the night, and they were let go. They were likely going to commit a home invasion or some other violent crime.
• Due to "guns in cars", auto burglaries are way up. Guns are stolen out of cars almost every night where I live, because people just leave the guns in cars instead on their person.
• Now, legislators are considering allowing people to carry without a permit, as if the permit process was difficult. This sounds great if you live out in a rural area, but this is really bad for areas like Memphis. I think the legislators know that, but they only care about their own backyard, instead of considering the entire state. NRA campaign donations play a role as well.

So, where does this end? Do we eventually hand everyone a gun and an NRA membership card at high school graduation in the name of the 2nd amendment? We need reasonable controls.




https://wreg.com/news/bill-to-carry-...mphis-leaders/

I am a liberal. That is all most of us want. Reasonable controls. I understand why some people want to own guns. I have no issue with that. But the absolute right to own a gun, with no regulation, is not supported by the Constituion or by any reasonable person.

[Frank DeForrest]

So the o.p. doesnt really support the 2nd or property rights

[grouse789]

Maybe OP should run for office.

[Bamaman1]

I moved to Memphis in 1968, and the city has changed 180% since then. No longer is it America's cleanest city with a beautiful church on every corner. (Note: I left January of 1987.)

It's one of those places where too many blacks are killing blacks. A society where crack cocaine, the Tennessee Lottery and gambling in Tunica have sucked every dollar out of the Memphis community.

Middle class neighborhoods have been reduced to middle class ghettos with a basketball goal in every cul de sac. Both parents have to work. Nice strip shopping is boarded up with plywood--far out in the burbs. And every business has a guard in the parking lot every hour they are open.

And it's a place where my daughter was tail ended one Saturday morning by those intending to carjack he.

Memphis is a place where you're damned if you carry a gun, and damned if you don't. And it's a place where intensive weapons training should be required.

Our community has an ex-Green Beret/DEA Agent teaching personal protection and gun handling seminars out of gun ranges--including legal ramifications of using a weapon. They also make house calls doing security checks and making a plan of action.

[Geneyus]

Originally Posted by Frank DeForrest

So the o.p. doesnt really support the 2nd or property rights

Not sure how you jumped to that conclusion. I've carried a gun every day for over a decade, and I own my own home.

[Geneyus]

Originally Posted by JOinGA

I am a liberal. That is all most of us want. Reasonable controls. I understand why some people want to own guns. I have no issue with that. But the absolute right to own a gun, with no regulation, is not supported by the Constituion or by any reasonable person.

I think we need more intelligent Moderates with strong financial backing who can run and appeal to both sides. The "all or nothing" partisanship is getting us nowhere. I don't like gay marriage, but I didn't throw a fit and post angry messages online when it was legalized everywhere. Like marriage, you give a little, and you get a little.

[Shakeesha]

Originally Posted by Geneyus

I think we need more intelligent Moderates with strong financial backing who can run and appeal to both sides. The "all or nothing" partisanship is getting us nowhere. I don't like gay marriage, but I didn't throw a fit and post angry messages online when it was legalized everywhere. Like marriage, you give a little, and you get a little.

I am a liberal and agree with you sans gay marriage. You should run for office.

[Geneyus]

Originally Posted by Shakeesha

I am a liberal and agree with you sans gay marriage. You should run for office.

Anyone who wants to run for office these days has to be crazy. You can spend 20 years volunteering, serving the public, and keeping your nose clean, but they'll find that one social media post or that one girl you kissed when she didn't like it and try to ruin you. Who wants to put their family through that mess? The media really does a disservice to the public.

[Igor Blevin]

I have pro-gun opinions. I will bow out, since these discussions quickly become heated and devolve into flame wars and personal attacks. "In before the lock" and all that rot.

Other than that, the conservative OPs viewpoint on guns runs contrary to every conservative I have ever known. I would have extreme difficulty finding a conservative I know who thinks current gun laws are too weak. They all think current gun laws are too restrictive and infringing.

It would be a wonderful change if this thread results in a calm, respectful discussion on the topic. I am not optimistic.