I got mugged

Joe already answered this quite well in about one sentence, but I also want to say that a huge reason our forefathers favored personal ownership of guns was to keep the government in check. The very last thing they wanted to see was for the newly created US government to become a tyrannous entity, in some ways akin to the British government that they had broken away from. Without the individual's right to own a gun, there are no safeguards in place when it comes to government abuse and ultimately a police state, and it is laughable to suggest that the writers of the constitution were in favor of a police state or even merely hadn't thought of that outcome.


+10000000 Thats ultimately why we can never lay our guns down.
 
How about the individual's right to own an Abrams or F22? Somehow I don't think small arms are going to do much to a military force packing that sort of punch. Maybe in the days of the forefathers personal arms were relevant in the ability to create a civil uprising that even had a remote chance of being successful, but these days it is suicide.
 
Here is a friend of mine that mods weapons. Only the best in home security.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
How about the individual's right to own an Abrams or F22? Somehow I don't think small arms are going to do much to a military force packing that sort of punch. Maybe in the days of the forefathers personal arms were relevant in the ability to create a civil uprising that even had a remote chance of being successful, but these days it is suicide.

While I'm sure nobody here, or those who would actually support a civilian uprising given the chance, believes that they can take on a fully equipped military, they have a fighting chance to protect their families

Now, this doesn't necessarily mean against the government, police, or whatever other organization. If there is social unrest to the point of this happening, I sure as hell want to be armed. Not just for the sake of the government, but thieves. People will become desperate and the police might not always be there to protect us.

I know it seems like quite the far fetched notion that this will happen any time relatively soon, but it is possible indeed.

Erms, you grew up in Bosnia-Herzegovina right? I understand, based on the history, why you have your point of view, but with that kind of lawlessness (perpetuated by the government and paramilitary forces of the Balkans in general), wouldn't you prefer to be armed? Not just to have a stand against your government, but to protect your general well being from the lawlessness that surrounds you?

Really interested to hear your response...(no sarcasm). I respect everyone's beliefs and like getting a different perspective from time to time.

-Joe
 
Sure, I do, but I'm more petrified at the thought of everyone around me being armed. I don't trust people in general. I have no faith in them, nor do I feel the majority of the human race has many redeeming qualities. The balkans is the LAST place in the world that people should be given free reign to firearms. That whole region of the world needs to be carpet bombed into oblivion, and those like me prevented from having children in the hopes of not spreading the degeneration any further, or at the very least given the wisdom to teach their children never to perpetuate those events again. That's the greatest thing about humanity - we never learn. Children are born without the hindsight of prior generations, and we're all doomed to repeat the mistakes of our predecessors. Arming an entire populace is the means to a poor end, whichever way you slice it. All it can breed is more violence. All it is, is a stop-gap measure to make the individual feel more secure in light of his government failing to adequately protect him. The entire situation has come about as a result of our failure to organize and administer ourselves effectively.

Regardless, what happened in Bosnia in 1992 was what happens when an armed civilian force takes on a full-fledged military organization in modern times. Those adamant at arming themselves for the same purpose should get familiar with the recent history and see whether the pay-off is worth it.
 
Sure, I do, but I'm more petrified at the thought of everyone around me being armed. I don't trust people in general. I have no faith in them, nor do I feel the majority of the human race has many redeeming qualities. The balkans is the LAST place in the world that people should be given free reign to firearms. That whole region of the world needs to be carpet bombed into oblivion, and those like me prevented from having children in the hopes of not spreading the degeneration any further, or at the very least given the wisdom to teach their children never to perpetuate those events again. That's the greatest thing about humanity - we never learn. Children are born without the hindsight of prior generations, and we're all doomed to repeat the mistakes of our predecessors. Arming an entire populace is the means to a poor end, whichever way you slice it. All it can breed is more violence. All it is, is a stop-gap measure to make the individual feel more secure in light of his government failing to adequately protect him. The entire situation has come about as a result of our failure to organize and administer ourselves effectively.

Regardless, what happened in Bosnia in 1992 was what happens when an armed civilian force takes on a full-fledged military organization in modern times. Those adamant at arming themselves for the same purpose should get familiar with the recent history and see whether the pay-off is worth it.

I do agree with a lot of your points. I will say, however, that our entire population is definitely not armed. And no, we shouldn't HAVE to arm the entire population either. Yes, we do have a high concentration of firearms, I'll give you that. But, I do think it should be the choice of the law abiding, mentally stable citizen to own a firearm if they choose to or not.

I DO think that to obtain these firearms, the background checks should be uniform for the entire country. There is no reason why someone in Texas can buy a handgun in five minutes, while I needed to be fingerprinted, submit to a mental health check, police background check, and have two non-family members attest to my character. I fully support these types of checks and they should be done EVERYWHERE!

I know responsible gun owners that I would trust my life with. Not because they own guns, but because they are good people. I'm simply saying that people like myself get a bad wrap because of those that choose to use firearms in an unlawful manner. I know that you think an outright band might be the answer, but I simply can't agree with that. That's ok though.

As far as the moral degenration in the world today, I agree with what you are saying. I believe that it is up to the parents to give their children the necessary attention - and to teach them the proper values, so they do not end up hateful, angry, and ready to do something with a gun that they will regret (if they have the chance to regret it...)

It really sickens me to see how little attention or involvement certain parents have in the lives of their children. It's as if they expect them to figure things out on their own. Family values are so damn important, yet a lot of kids miss out on this early in life.

While that takes care of the personal side of things, I think quelling the notion of pure violence in this world all together is a bit impossible....at least in my lifetime. I'm sure we would all love to see it happen, but I'm not putting my money on it. All I can do is to put my best possible effort forward to provide for my kids and make sure that they are brought up with a good head on their shoulders. (If I have the little buggers...lol)

Until that happens, I choose to own a gun...both for protection and for sport. By shooting as a sport, I'm also honing my marksmanship skills which is a big point of going to the range in the first place for me.

-Joe