Thread: USA Gun Laws Poll

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Cain and Abel, the first example of brotherly love, was also an example of murder with a rock IIRC.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Damn Jimmy you are freaking old Muhahahaha


Gotcha !!!!

Hey G, I never said I was around when that happened .... but I'm sure enough getting old.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Hey G, I never said I was around when that happened .... but I'm sure enough getting old.

As a then 87-year-old friend once said to me on the subject of getting old: "Sure beats the alternative."

Originally Posted by Pithor

I voted "Yes, and I am not a US citizen".

I'm not saying I'm against owning guns per se, but it seems relatively easy to get guns in North America (although apparently Canada has less gun related incidents). I'd say every gun requires an application, and every application requires a serious psychiatric evaluation, plus training.

You can never get rid of all gun related violence, but you'll weed out quite a number of accidental mess-ups.

And just on a side note, the argument against illegalizing guns, "If someone really wants a gun, they'll get it anyway", is BS. It's pretty much identical too: "If someone really wants cocaine, they'll get it anyway," so why not legalize that, with registration?

I don't know exactly what you are advocating when you say serious psychiatric evaluation, but any gun purchase is done with a background check, and if you have any barring mental or criminal issues you will not be able to buy one.

And your drug argument as a counter example actually made me chuckle. You know it's exactly the same, and a good idea for the same reasons. I don't know of a single person who would do cocaine if they could get it legally. Just like now, if I wanted to get some heroin, I know to what part of town I need to go, and I'd probably be able to score. I mean, you can get cocaine legally in some respects, with certain over-the-counter medicines which are essentially the same. And yes, they are abused, so in that respect you already can get drugs legally.

Anyways, with regards to decriminalization there are many great examples of success from it. Portugal for example:
Drug Decriminalization in Portugal: Lessons for Creating Fair and Successful Drug Policies | Glenn Greenwald | Cato Institute: White Paper

Now consider how much money the USA, for example, wastes on "the war on drugs" which is a complete and total failure. Not only that but the people who profit from it are horrible people who conduct killings en masse (look to mexico) and fuel an economy of shady hardcore crime.


Note: i'm not pro drug, and I'd never use one, but if you think making something illegal is synonymous with making it disappear for good, you need to google "prohobition" - or watch boardwalk empire if you're not into reading

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I've read that in prisons they will sharpen the handle of a toothbrush to make a "shank." Necessity is the mother of invention. Cain and Abel, the first example of brotherly love, was also an example of murder with a rock IIRC.

The toothbrush shiv doesn't beat the newspaper crossbow. I think they tested that one out on mythbusters... Either way, when you have nothing but time to build a weapon, crazy stuff can come out of the results.

Iduno about clubbing my brother to death with a rock, but I did tape him in a cardboard box and spray JOOP! inside ...

I hadn't heard of the newspaper crossbow. Brought to mind Joe Valachi. He was a mafia 'soldier' who was marked for death , in prison, by Don VIto Genovese. The Don was also an inmate and gave him the 'kiss of death.' Joe became a bit paranoid, understandably so. He thought a guy who appeared to be following him was out to fulfill the contract so he laid for him with a length of pipe and beat him to death. Turned out he got the wrong guy. This lead to him being the first mafioso to break the code of omerta (silence) hence the 'Valachi Papers' and a role for Charles Bronson.

I was talking to my uncle from Holland not that long ago. He asked how I was enjoying living in "The Land of The Gun?" Being I am a gun nut, and think that guns in America are about as identifiable to the nation as apple pie and baseball, I got into how the country was founded and how people here really believe that they have the right to own guns in order to ensure their defense from a tyrannical government bla, bla, bla.

He listened politely and when I was done (and feeling rather good about myself if I can say so myself), he simply stated, "yeah we felt the same way here in Holland, but when the Nazi's came in tanks, we put our guns down." I was dumbfounded! He then went on and recited that after hurricane Katrina, they just took everyone's guns anyway...

Well he's right! One tank will take an entire state of guys only armed with guns. One jet or chopper - two.

That's all to say restriction isn't going to help unless we understand what exactly we are restricting! Restricting for the sake of restriction or as knee jerk reactions after a shooting doesn't solve a thing if you ask me. But I am with the Fin Pithor thinking that there should be some kind of restrictions on gun ownership... in KS anyway.

Seriously, a paranoid stereophonic who's on enough drugs to put down a horse can walk into gun store here and get whatever he/she wishes within ten minutes just so long as that person doesn't have any criminal record. If that person walked into a Walmart here to get said weapon - they could get their drugs, a six-pack, and some snacks on the way out too LOL.

It is illegal for persons in the US with serious mental health issues to buy firearms. Most persons that purchase a firearm must sign the federal form asking that and other questions. Disqualified persons having mental health issues can lie on the form in spite of possible serious penalties for perjury. While computer background checks are required for most firearms sales, personal medical information is protected in the US with severe penalties for its disclosure and probably could not be released for computer records searches. A court order is usually necessary to gain involuntary access to personal medical information. Computer systems having medical information are required to comply with certain security standards. There is also no single central repository of medical records in the US, one would have to know which health care providers and insurance companies to serve with court orders to obtain a medical record. US/State/Municipal authorities cannot interfere with persons having mental health issues, unless they can convince a court that the person has become a danger to themselves or others.

The French resistance in WWII certainly gave the nazis some problems with their guns. It is not feasible that the citizenry in the USA could overthrow a tyrannical government. It is feasible that individuals can protect themselves and their neighbors from predatory individuals. Happens every day. I always like the parachute/gun analogy .... you may never need it, but if you ever need it and you don't have it ..... chances are you'll never need it again.

Originally Posted by sheajohnw

It is illegal for persons in the US with serious mental health issues to buy firearms. Most persons that purchase a firearm must sign the federal form asking that and other questions. Disqualified persons having mental health issues can lie on the form in spite of possible serious penalties for perjury. While computer background checks are required for most firearms sales, personal medical information is protected in the US with severe penalties for its disclosure and probably could not be released for computer records searches. A court order is usually necessary to gain involuntary access to personal medical information. Computer systems having medical information are required to comply with certain security standards.

Right and you think someone who's sick is going to fill out the form correctly LOL! By the time one notes said person "perjured" the application it's all over LOL.

Just saying.

Or, as I am fond of saying, "It's better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it."