Yeah, Conan... your gun purchases virtually guarantee that you or someone in your house has an exponentially greater chance of committing suicide over someone else who doesn't see the need to have guns at home. I completely understand the sentiments of those who feel they NEED a firearm at home for personal protection. Yet the person who chooses not to weaponize gets accused of somehow being a wimp, or less of a man, or an unpatriotic "liberal" by folks who clearly have never lived in WALKABLE URBAN DENSITY. And they've never had the experiences of the local police officer who's put in the position of facing the kind of firepower that SHOULD BE ILLEGAL in this country.
Thieves ain't gonna rob me while I'm at home. And if I'm walking down the street, why should I be packing heat spending every minute of my walk as "a good guy with a gun" looking to shoot a mugger in the bushes?
That's vigilantism; and, IMHO, it's no way to live.
And I feel sorry for the kids, spouses, nieces, nephews, aunts or uncles of the gun-obsessed in general or anti-gubmint conspiracists in particular who think they're John Wayne or Clint Eastwood or Walker Texas Ranger. I also feel sorry for my ex-girlfriend who taught at Englewood HS on the southside of Chicago... a student of hers was on his way to full scholarship at any number of first rate colleges, then he got killed... use guns to hunt, kill deer, and/or keep a handgun at home, I don't care... but when a high-paid industry lobbyist with no "skin in the game" like Wayne LaPierre tells us "good guys with guns" are the answer, I want to ask him how he feels about this...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-021217englewood,0,666683.storyAnd... Gas proved my point by spotting exactly three black people... were these fairgrounds workers?, or people working for the gun show?...
I didn't see any black folk in line at the fairgrounds for tickets last week, but maybe they had special backstage passes....
Didn't see any Obama/Biden bumper stickers either...
I'm tired of the minority of gun owners who are unbelievably conspiracy driven and I'm tired of their industry's special interest dominating and ultimately silencing the debate.... I wouldn't have got this angry if it weren't for the rantings of LaPierre... and now this Alex Jones dude, who could seriously use some DECAF...
There need to be limitations to getting guns-on-demand, not unlike restrictions on "abortion-on-demand."
And there's no reason why responsible gun enthusiasts shouldn't be asked to sacrifice a few "shiny guns" from time to time, so that a few less kids will likely die the next time this senseless crap happens in some non-descript, middle class 'burb with a relatively low crime rate...
Giffords, Kelly Say 'Enough' to Gun Violence on 2nd Anniversary of Tucson Shooting"Enough," Giffords said.
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Giffords, 42, and Kelly, 48, are both gun owners and supporters of the 2nd Amendment, but Kelly had strong words for the National Rifle Association after the group suggested the only way to stop gun violence is to have a "good guy with a gun."
There was a good guy with a gun, Kelly said, the day Jared Loughner shot Giffords and 18 other people, six fatally, at her "Congress on Your Corner" event.
"[A man came out] of the store next door and nearly shot the man who took down Jared Loughner," Kelly said. "The one who eventually wrestled [Loughner] to the ground was almost killed himself by a good guy with a gun, so I don't really buy that argument."
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"I bought a gun at Walmart recently and I went through a background check. It's not a difficult thing to do," Kelly said. "Why can't we just do that and make it more difficult for criminals and the mentally ill to get guns?"
The debate over high-capacity magazines and assault weapons has been renewed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.
Kelly, a veteran of Desert Storm and a gun owner, said he doesn't believe an extended magazine is necessary for the sport.
"An extended magazine is used to kill people," he said, "lots of people."
Loughner used a magazine that had 33 rounds in Tucson, while accused Aurora shooter James Holmes had a 100-round magazine. Adam Lanza, the Newtown shooter, used numerous 30-round magazines to load his Bushmaster AR-15.
Finally, Kelly hopes to address the issue of how the mentally ill are treated in the United States. Loughner, who was deemed incompetent to stand trial, pleaded guilty to 19 counts in August.
"Jared Loughner was clearly mentally ill," Kelly said.
"Sad," Giffords added.
Kelly said, "We have to learn how to identify these people and get them treatment. And we don't do a very good job at that."