Gun Control
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I don't like guns, but I understand their purpose.
The problem with total gun control/gun restriction/outlawing is that if you tell people they can't own guns legally, people will STILL own them illegally, thus putting the "good" citizens at risk.
Let's say you live in a bad neighborhood in Detroit where this is plenty of gang activity and robberies. You know that many people have guns, legally or illegally, and will use them to their liking. If someone breaks into your house and you do not have a gun to defend yourself with, you're pretty much screwed.
It's like drugs: the more you outlaw something, the more CRIME becomes of it as people try to illegally traffic, sell and consume.
I don't like guns, but I'm not going to say that we live in a perfect, smiley happy world where people never need them for defense.
The thing is, if guns were gone, we'd find other ways to kill each other. If you want to kill someone, you will, gun or no gun.
*Our world is far more complex than the rigid structure we want to assign to it, and we will probably never fully understand it.*
"Those believers who are sophisticated enough to understand the paradox have found exciting ways to bend logic into pretzel shapes in order to defend the indefensible." - Hamby
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I'm not sure where you're coming from, here. The only thing I've argued is that firearms are almost always a poor tactical choice for a civilian. If your focus is so heavily on defending yourself or protecting your loved ones, then train for it. At least then, you'll have more opportunity to handle these dangerous (and strangely detailed) situations in which you find yourself.
Saint Will: no gyration without funkstification.
fabulae! nil satis firmi video quam ob rem accipere hunc mi expediat metum. - Terence
Maybe that's part of the problem. In the States, you have a federal police department in the FBI, but they are very narrowly defined into federal crimes. There's a lot of friction between forces in the States. In Canada, the RCMP IS the local police force for the vast majority of the country. Ontario and Quebec have provincial forces, big cities like Edmonton, Toronto, Calgary, Montreal, etc. all have their own police forces. But most populations under 50k are the RCMP's responsibility. RCMP cars are common everywhere except Ontario and Quebec.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
That sound was my jaw hitting the floor.
Agreed on that point. Though I did notice that all those cases that got shot down were citing Constitutional law. I'd figure that a state would have a law stating that the police are obligated to respond to a crime. In my searching, I found mention that California has a law specifically releasing police from the obligation to protect citizens.
One website summed it up that the suspects in custody have more rights protected by the Constitution than the people the victims of crimes. (I'm all for suspects having rights, but the disparity seems a bit striking.)
-Triften
I'm not sure how related this is to the issue at hand, but this video is about guns and it is really interesting.
http://www.vbs.tv/full_screen.php?s=DGFE2305DC&sc=1363196
That was very interesting. I had heard before that Pakistani blacksmiths would make guns. I didn't realize that it was such a large trade though. The Pakistanis and the Chechnyans will take scrap metal and turn it into fully automatic weapons. I have seen some designs online for build-it-yourself fully automatic weapons. I bet I could contruct one. Not that I will, since it is illegal and I would be afraid of it blowing up in my hands.
"You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours."
British General Charles Napier while in India
Well I just got my CCW permit for florida. And I have a wife and baby girl to protect. I packe a full size RIA 1911 with 230 grain hollow points.
"Take all the heads of the people
and hang them up before the Lord
against the sun.” -- Numbers 25:4
I'm against gun control. The problem isn't guns, it's Americans. Norway and Canada have the 2nd and 3rd most guns per household and their gun-related deaths is significantly lower. Way safer than most countries. In contrast, take a country like England that doesn't have guns and their violence is really bad. Also, in 2008 it was found that 55% of all gun-related deaths were suicides. I'd hardly blame guns for that, considering it's premeditated and there's countless ways of doing it. It's not the same as accidentally shooting someone or killing someone in a fit of rage.
I would love to get a CCW, but in California that just isn't going to happen. Recently I read in a newspaper that a local sherrif in my area will be reviewing the CCW's in my county and revoking those that aren't justified. I can only get one if the cops think I should have one, and cops in my county are so against CCWs that they are revoking old ones just to mess with gun owners.
Good choice on the gun by the way. I bought a Springfield XD a few months ago. I can't get a CCW, but it is still good to keep in my bedroom and fun to bring to the range.
"You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours."
British General Charles Napier while in India
yeah, I heard Cali's gun laws suck. I got my permit in washington state as well, it only took 4 days, the one in florida took 5 months. You really can't beat any 1911 on accuracy. The only problem with it is its size. It is pretty uncomfortable to carry, I have to wear big shirts with it, and that sucks when it is over 100 degrees here in florida, that is why I also have a Bersa Thunder .380. it is perfect when I am just wearing a T-shirt. And I use my glock as my outdoor gun for when I go fishing, hiking, etc. It can take a lot more punishment than any other.
I don't see how they can revoke old ones. Oh well, I still carried my guns even without a permit. I really don't think I need a politicians permission to defend my family. Just don't get caught, it is a 3rd degree felony.
"Take all the heads of the people
and hang them up before the Lord
against the sun.” -- Numbers 25:4
Its all very simple...if you don't walk into my bedroom uninvited in the middle of the night, there is no reason for you to even know I own a gun.
But over and above that fact...the 2nd ammendment was put into place so that the citizenry would be able to form malitias...The founding fathers all recognized that citizens should never fear their government, it should be the other way around. Try forming a malitia with broom sticks and gardening tools...
The thought of criminals and the government having all the guns frightens the hell out of me. But then again, so do the words "President Palin"
www.RichWoodsBlog.com
One Sheriff in particular is going out of her way to revoke CCWs in Orange County. She has already revoked about 15% of them. Read the link if you want to get a taste of what its like to live in California.
http://www.gunreports.com/news/handguns/Concealed-carry-gun-rights-Orange-County-sheriff_881-1.html
Thanks to this, I can not get a CCW and I refuse to do anything that could get me a felony conviction. So basically my gun sits in my room and will never be carried with me in public unless it is in a locked container and unloaded. Someday I'll move to another county and I'll ask the police there if they issue CCWs and I'll get one if they let me.
"You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours."
British General Charles Napier while in India
Good luck.
I had my CCW interview in Ventura County back in 2005, they decided I didn't have a good enough reason (Hiking and trail running in the Santa Monica mountains, before, during and after a spate of mountain lion attacks) but the retired detective who interviewed me said if I had a lot of money that is always viewed as a mitigating circumstance.
There are already too many laws on the books for law-abiding citizens. Make cars harder to acquire and operate, they kill far more people and that's not a main design feature.
How can not believing in something that is backed up with no empirical evidence be less scientific than believing in something that not only has no empirical evidence but actually goes against the laws of the universe and in many cases actually contradicts itself? - Ricky Gervais
Cool. I am seriously considering getting a Springfield XDM ( the M suffix designating a newly produced accurized version
) in either .40 caliber or preferably .45 caliber.
The only semi-auto handgun that I presently own is a stainless Kimber TLE ( Colt 1911 clone ) that has tritium night sights and a five inch barrel. It's a great gun and plenty accurate but it cost me over a grand and it's therefore not the kind of gun that I would like to expose to the knock-around environment of daily carry. Hence my interest in the highly durable XDM.
I've owned Glock .45's ( model 21 and model 30 ) and I'm really pretty bored with the Glock design at this point. What's your impression of the Springfield XD ? Any problems so far ?
I hear you. I've thought about various ways to get around the problem of carrying a fairly large handgun in hot weather while keeping it concealed, yet accessible.
The only thing that I've come up with that seems promising is to buy one of those "man purses" that some of the more artsy dudes are fond of carrying. I've considered using a couple of different style military surplus medical bags as it suits me a little more ( I like military gear, anyway
). At any rate, they're spacious enough to carry a full-sized handgun, they don't look suspicious, you can carry a ton of extra magazines ( if you wish ), etc, etc.....
Ps, RIA ? Rock Island Arms ?
My impression of the XD? I love it. I have put hundreds of rounds through my XD40 without a single jam or misfire of anykind. I love the feel of it too. It sits well in the hand and feels natural to aim (for me anyways, I suppose the feel of a gun will be different for everyone). If you already owned a glock you'll be use to the lack of manual safeties; which is a big plus as far as I am concerned. Since I'm in California, I can only have 10 round mags, so I kind of wish I purchased a .45 rather than a 40. Oh well, it is still a great gun and I'd recommend that anyone looking for a gun try out an XD and consider it. The compact and sub compact versions seem like they'de be good for someone with a CCW, but I've never fired one so I don't have a real opinion on them.
"You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours."
British General Charles Napier while in India
Thank you Jormungander. Reliability is the over-riding requirement for any self defense weapon so it's nice to hear such a good report about the XD.
As for the feel of the gun the few times I've handled the XD my first reaction was that it was so ergonomically superior to the Glock. I suppose as a handgun the Glock gets the job done but the Glock feels so blocky and fat that it feels like I'm holding a brick.
Thanks again.
I have to agree about the glock feeling blocky, but I don't think that it was intened for concealed carry. If you are looking for a gun to used outdoors and put through a lot of abuse, then the glock is the handgun of choice. It is the AK-47 of handguns.
"Take all the heads of the people
and hang them up before the Lord
against the sun.” -- Numbers 25:4
I agree with you that the Glock is a durable handgun. In fact my first large capacity .45 was the original model 21. I liked it so much that I purchased two of them. Later, when Glock revised the model 21 with an accessory rail and finger grooves on the frontstrap I traded the two older 45's for a new style model 21 and also purchased the model 30 which is a compact .45 that still retained a high capacity, double stack magazine.
Incidentally, I love AK's. I've had various Chinese, Hungarian, Bulgarian versions and they are all rock solid. I fact I like most all of the Warsaw Pact weapons. For good reasons the AK design formed the basis for even further refinements by non Warsaw Pact designers working in Israel ( Galil assault rifles ), Finland ( starting with the Model 60 ) and even apartheid era South Africa ( R4 and R5 assault rifles ), etc...
BTW, please don't interpret my sometimes long-winded replies as assuming that you aren't already knowledgable regarding this topic. I'm just a civilian that loves military technology but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong regarding stats or background history.
Cheers.
No its cool, just gun chat. I am a veteran who loves military stuff, I even have NVG's. I actually have an egyptian AK-47. It is called a Maahdi. It has a longer barrell than normal ak's and in my opion, and when shooting it against others, it is way more accurate. I even put a picanni 4 way rail system on it. So it now has a forarm grip. And I put a X9 scope on the top, but I am going to replace it with a red dot sight bc the recoil makes it impossible to keep in sighted in. Everyone tells me I need to get an M-4 style rifle, but I honestly prefer my ak over them.
"Take all the heads of the people
and hang them up before the Lord
against the sun.” -- Numbers 25:4