Gun Control: Rights, Responsibilities, And Privileges

[Iznogud]

Most wise CCW holders I know have specific insurance coverage.

 

[scotttswan]

http://thinkprogress...ides/?mobile=nc

http://www.washingto...k-in-australia/

http://andrewleigh.o...yback_Panel.pdf

seems it worked pretty well in Australia/Tasmania.

 

[EricLovesBA]

http://thinkprogress...ides/?mobile=nc

http://www.washingto...k-in-australia/

http://andrewleigh.o...yback_Panel.pdf

seems it worked pretty well in Australia/Tasmania.

In the video the theme seems to be robbers and invaders acting with impunity. The links shown are about murder and suicide rates. Seems to be two different subjects really. An armed robber attacking a defenseless victim doesn't necessarily use deadly force, but can certainly make a powerful and permanent negative impact on the victims' lives.

For me though, the most important reason to have an armed citizenry is to maintain a balance of power between the government and the people. I understand the public was stripped of their guns before things went off the deep end in Nazi Germany. Likewise, we were warned very early on by key figures about the dangers inherent in standing armies and a growing military industrial complex.

A few independent reporters have indicated 2 additional shooters/detainees in the CT shooting spree who are completely absent from the mainstream media diatribe. It is suggested that the whole thing may have been orchestrated to sway public opinion exactly as is happening, and begin the process of stripping our guns. Who knows whether this is true, but any time that a story saturates the media and begins to slice through public opinion like butter, I am inherently suspicious that there is some agenda behind it. Think "weapons of mass destruction".

 

[Iznogud]

Still wondering about the word privilege in the title.

I feel it's any individual natural right to be armed to protect himself and family. Property is an open debate but life is non-negotiable.Respect other's rights and liberties is also fundamental. If society can not effectively provide for my security it defaults to me once again to do so. The social contract obligates the group to take appropiate measures to do so.
Do not use guns for self defense nor I plan to, have found other legal-socially acceptable and aproved uses for them.

We have an obligation to retreat. it can be legal but it's primarily moral. Taking a life or shooting someone like yourself does not sit well with our psyche for natural reasons. Staying put and be a victim also doesn't do us any good.
Just make your personal choice and leave the rest of us the fuck alone. Not your business.

 

[Ceviche]

No need of guns.

I have used this successfully a couple of times on BA streets in recent months. One whack and the intended robber goes squealing & crying like a puppy! Believe me!

http://real-self-defense.com/unbreakable-umbrella/

 

[Jaredberryman]

I am somewhat shocked that everyone (not just here) is focusing so intently on gun control, and that they are not talking about mental health. In he US. we have not been merciful to people that have mental health problems, and this case is definitely an example of it. Try getting help for a relative that has as issue like this--and see how expensive and difficult it is. Since Reagan's presidency, as a nation, we have done little for those with mental health problems. We have kicked them to the curb. I don't have any official statistics, but I'm betting you that in the U.S., a large percentage of homeless people have mental health issues. People will always can use something to do some kind of violence (I'm actually for some kind of gun control--what that should look like, I have no idea), so gun control will go a long way from fixing the issue. If we don't start paying attention to the marginal people in our society and helping them, or making them get help, these things will continue to plague us. Also, this issue is far more complex than gun rights/gun control, and there are a myriad of changes that need to take place. We, and politicians, need to realize a knee-jerk reaction will not solve this problem. It will take time, and a concerted effort on everyone's part.

 

[mrporoto]

Apparently in 2011 there were nearly 9,000 gun related deaths reported,probably more.80 people have been killed in these so called mass killings but the rest of the killings aren't nutters with rapid firing guns,just nutters with slow firing guns.It's the breakdown
of society in the US that is the cause of murders,suppose it helps that you can get hold of guns easily?The fact that single parents
especially in the black folks area and welfare becoming the main "employer" with around 50% of people not paying income tax,job
losses over 4 million since Mr O took over with 21million more on food stamps and disabilities.That's probably more to do with these
killings than lack on gun control,but I am only passing on some points I have read,I am not a resident of that country.

 

[StevePalermo]

@mrporoto Of course, its all Obama's fault! Thanks for pointing that out to us. Him and all the black folks. Take away all their guns and everything will be OK.

 

[ElQueso]

http://www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp

Interesting layout of some of the facts about handguns. Some negatives and some positives. Something to include in the discussion before people go off hysterical and talk about the epidemic, for example, of gun deaths in general. Long read, lots of information, well laid out.

 

[StevePalermo]

There's a lot of research out there; here's a few academic studies cited by The Harvard School of Public Health with their conclusions.

(http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/research/hicrc/firearms-research/guns-and-death/index.html)


Hepburn, Lisa; Hemenway, David. Firearm availability and homicide: A review of the literature.Aggression and Violent Behavior: A Review Journal. 2004; 9:417-40.


Case-control studies, ecological time-series and cross-sectional studies indicate that in homes, cities, states and regions in the US, where there are more guns, both men and women are at higher risk for homicide, particularly firearm homicide.

Hemenway, David; Miller, Matthew. Firearm availability and homicide rates across 26 high income countries. Journal of Trauma. 2000; 49:985-88.

We found that across developed countries, where guns are more available, there are more homicides.

Miller, Matthew; Azrael, Deborah; Hemenway, David. Household firearm ownership levels and homicide rates across U.S. regions and states, 1988-1997. American Journal of Public Health. 2002: 92:1988-1993.

After controlling for poverty and urbanization, for every age group, people in states with many guns have elevated rates of homicide, particularly firearm homicide.

Miller, Matthew; Azrael, Deborah; Hemenway, David. State-level homicide victimization rates in the U.S. in relation to survey measures of household firearm ownership, 2001-2003. Social Science and Medicine. 2007; 64:656-64.

2001-2003. We found that states with higher levels of household gun ownership had higher rates of firearm homicide and overall homicide.

And one from the economist Richard Florida http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/01/the-geography-of-gun-deaths/69354/

States with tighter gun control laws appear to have fewer gun-related deaths.