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JohnHwangDD wrote:@OP, you're a liberal kid. We get it.
Not all political liberals are against gun ownership.
And I'm not, honestly, I would like the idea of owning a gun to deter intruders... It's when we start asking about "arms races" and kid safety that deters me from coming out as "pro-guns".
Grignard wrote:
JohnHwangDD wrote:@OP, you're a liberal kid. We get it.
Not all political liberals are against gun ownership.
And I'm not, honestly, I would like the idea of owning a gun to deter intruders... It's when we start asking about "arms races" and kid safety that deters me from coming out as "pro-guns".
Yes, I've noted all of the responses (up to your post) have been Americans so far: This is a culture clash as far as I can tell.
Grignard wrote:Well, it depends on your definition of politically liberal. I support universal healthcare and more environmental regulation. Does that make me a liberal? I don't think so, but some would disagree. I don't think labels really can define most people's political beliefs, if they have a mind of their own, at least.
I agree with this, it stems from American political definitions which are rather simpler than what we have here in the UK: If you call me a Liberal, implying a Libertarian, without me having any knowledge of American political terminology I'd probably be quite offended: I'd class myself as being liberal in a sense (in the sense that I respect personal freedoms to a degree) but I'm also firmly left of centre which makes any proper comparison to a libertarian a little nauseating!
Perhaps "Liberal" is just a nice word to use for slander against non-conservatives (an ironic distinction to make given my country's choice of government...)?
Frazzled wrote:You still didn't name one.
Me to a point?
I'd really like a definition of "Liberal"
I'm assuming you're referring to the reds-under-the-bed-evil-nazi-islamic-atheistic-socialistic-communist-fascist-obama-lovers?
Alpharius wrote:Why do Americans *really* love guns?
Why the hell not?
That... That is spectacular.
I own guns because I enjoy shooting them. I actually don't care for hunting, because I'm actually rather gnarled out by gutting a large animal. I've done it, but I'm really okay with paying other people to chop up the meat that I eat, thanks.
Anyway, firearms are just pretty much awesome and serve a variety of purposes. Nothing sexual about it, as the trolling in the OP suggested. I have a tremendous mule.
Henners91 wrote:
Grignard wrote:
JohnHwangDD wrote:@OP, you're a liberal kid. We get it.
Not all political liberals are against gun ownership.
And I'm not, honestly, I would like the idea of owning a gun to deter intruders... It's when we start asking about "arms races" and kid safety that deters me from coming out as "pro-guns".
Firearms owned by a competent citizen aren't a danger to their children. For example, when not in use mine are in a safe. If that for some reason didn't happen, I guarantee that if you ask my children what to do if they see a gun they would say not touch it and tell an adult.
This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2010/05/21 19:46:58
Drink deeply and lustily from the foamy draught of evil.
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Haters gon' hate.
Mine are all in a safe at most times. The one exception being my .45 which is either on the stand next to my bed or on my person when I'm away from the house.
I have no children and the only children that do come over are my cousins but they aren't allowed in my room so I'm not worried about gun safety.
Aria is 7 and Tyler is 10 and both have already shot rifles and know gun safety so I wouldn't worry about them anyway. They are the youngest kids to ever come over so I'm confident nothing will happen so long as they stay out of my room.
--The whole concept of government granted and government regulated 'permits' and the accompanying government mandate for government approved firearms 'training' prior to being blessed by government with the privilege to carry arms in a government approved and regulated manner, flies directly in the face of the fundamental right to keep and bear arms.
“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government.”
Fateweaver wrote:Mine are all in a safe at most times. The one exception being my .45 which is either on the stand next to my bed or on my person when I'm away from the house.
I have no children and the only children that do come over are my cousins but they aren't allowed in my room so I'm not worried about gun safety.
Aria is 7 and Tyler is 10 and both have already shot rifles and know gun safety so I wouldn't worry about them anyway. They are the youngest kids to ever come over so I'm confident nothing will happen so long as they stay out of my room.
I have no children and no children regularly visit. If I do have kids, I'll get a gun safe. I personally do not feel the need where I live now to have a loaded gun in the house, but I'm fine with people who do, as long as they take the responsibility that comes with that.
The clip and the gun are in the same vicinity but I know that neither one can load it and chamber a round without me showing them how.
In an emergency I can have it loaded in around 2-3 seconds, even in the dark so I don't feel the need to keep it loaded all the time.
My shotgun stays loaded but it's in the safe at all times so nothing bad to happen there.
In my family it's tradition that my Uncle would take any of the youngsters in the family hunting on their 6th bday and teach them to shoot. At 6 you aren't going to shoot anything more powerful than a .22 rifle without dislocating your shoulder but it's a good start to gun safety and training.
--The whole concept of government granted and government regulated 'permits' and the accompanying government mandate for government approved firearms 'training' prior to being blessed by government with the privilege to carry arms in a government approved and regulated manner, flies directly in the face of the fundamental right to keep and bear arms.
“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government.”
Six mistakes mankind keeps making century after century: Believing that personal gain is made by crushing others; Worrying about things that cannot be changed or corrected; Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it; Refusing to set aside trivial preferences; Neglecting development and refinement of the mind; Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do
agnosto wrote:Granted this information is a bit dated (2008); however you'll note that Texas isn't even close to the highest gun ownership in the nation.
I think you see a pretty strong bias for gun ownership in the more rural states without larger urban/suburban populations. Moreso than a pure red/blue split.
Yes, that's my general conclusion as well. Much of that has to do with the desire for greater arms control in urban areas, on the part of both the state and residents.
Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh.
... of course if you were DCMs then.... ahhh.. nevermind...
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
I think it's because we simply have the right to do whatever the feth we want with guns in some places barring physical violence. This leads to people exercising that right as much as humanly possible as we are one of the few places in the world where that happens.
Giggles,
Mr. Self Destruct
Kabal of the Void Dominator - now with more purple!
"And the moral of the story is: Appreciate what you've got, because basically, I'm fantastic."
Mr. Self Destruct wrote:I think it's because we simply have the right to do whatever the feth we want with guns in some places barring physical violence. This leads to people exercising that right as much as humanly possible as we are one of the few places in the world where that happens.
Giggles,
Mr. Self Destruct
Mr. Self Destruct wrote:I think it's because we simply have the right to do whatever the feth we want with guns in some places barring physical violence. This leads to people exercising that right as much as humanly possible as we are one of the few places in the world where that happens.
Giggles,
Mr. Self Destruct
Yeah, but most of the other places are third-world gak-holes, so...
Mr. Self Destruct wrote:I think it's because we simply have the right to do whatever the feth we want with guns in some places barring physical violence. This leads to people exercising that right as much as humanly possible as we are one of the few places in the world where that happens.
Giggles,
Mr. Self Destruct
Yeah, but most of the other places are third-world gak-holes, so...
Thats not true. There are countries in Europe that have looser gun laws than some US states.
Many of my friends, fellow students, and teachers own guns. Many of them are also avid hunters.
I can't understand however why they feel the need to buy a G36, even for self defense. A double barrel shotgun is fine enough for that.
I don't hunt as I lack the patience to do all the tracking to follow a deer through the woods after I've shot it.
For starters, I'm not that against guns... I mean, I can see both sides, I can appreciate guns as machines though I don't know too much about them and I wouldn't say no to owning one.
But ack, Americans actually scare me with their knowledge about guns: Go on YouTube and you see them arguing for days about little bits, and of course, some people actually seem to be sexually aroused by their weaponry (the same kinds of people who'd wear sunglasses indoors and drive a Hummer/SUV: Over-compensators), do less-freakish Americans feel the same way?
I'm not trying to be inciteful but I have to say I notice a difference between the UK and the US when it comes to weapons, I almost get the feeling that Americans kind of devalue life itself when they get in long-arse arguments about killing power and such: Why is this something to feel prideful over?
Fair enough you have your Second Amendment rights to buy the armoury of a small nation, but does that privilege naturally lead to such attitudes? I even heard that Texas was offering a bounty for DEAD burglars rather than living ones, though that may just be an urban legend... I guess the best way to describe how I perceive trigger-happy Yanks would be to ask Americans to watch The Eagle has Landed and keep a close eye on the American Colonel
Hippy rant over.
I have a gun. I love my gun, not sexually, but I'd rather shoot you than give it up. It's just how I was raised. That's just my life style.
Golden Eyed Scout wrote:I own a .22 rifle and enjoy shooting guns.
Many of my friends, fellow students, and teachers own guns. Many of them are also avid hunters.
I can't understand however why they feel the need to buy a G36, even for self defense. A double barrel shotgun is fine enough for that.
I don't hunt as I lack the patience to do all the tracking to follow a deer through the woods after I've shot it.
Hit it in the right spot it won't run far.
--The whole concept of government granted and government regulated 'permits' and the accompanying government mandate for government approved firearms 'training' prior to being blessed by government with the privilege to carry arms in a government approved and regulated manner, flies directly in the face of the fundamental right to keep and bear arms.
“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government.”
Golden Eyed Scout wrote:I own a .22 rifle and enjoy shooting guns.
Many of my friends, fellow students, and teachers own guns. Many of them are also avid hunters.
I can't understand however why they feel the need to buy a G36, even for self defense. A double barrel shotgun is fine enough for that.
I don't hunt as I lack the patience to do all the tracking to follow a deer through the woods after I've shot it.
Hit it in the right spot it won't run far.
I also lack the patience to wait for it to get in my crosshairs. Besides I can just hit one when driving anyway.
Golden Eyed Scout wrote:I own a .22 rifle and enjoy shooting guns.
Many of my friends, fellow students, and teachers own guns. Many of them are also avid hunters.
I can't understand however why they feel the need to buy a G36, even for self defense. A double barrel shotgun is fine enough for that.
I don't hunt as I lack the patience to do all the tracking to follow a deer through the woods after I've shot it.
Hit it in the right spot it won't run far.
I also lack the patience to wait for it to get in my crosshairs. Besides I can just hit one when driving anyway.
You're taking the thrill out of the hunt. The beauty in death man.
Golden Eyed Scout wrote:I own a .22 rifle and enjoy shooting guns.
Many of my friends, fellow students, and teachers own guns. Many of them are also avid hunters.
I can't understand however why they feel the need to buy a G36, even for self defense. A double barrel shotgun is fine enough for that.
I don't hunt as I lack the patience to do all the tracking to follow a deer through the woods after I've shot it.
Hit it in the right spot it won't run far.
I also lack the patience to wait for it to get in my crosshairs. Besides I can just hit one when driving anyway.
You're taking the thrill out of the hunt. The beauty in death man.
There is too a thrill! I had to cross three lanes last time to hit one!
Golden Eyed Scout wrote:I own a .22 rifle and enjoy shooting guns.
Many of my friends, fellow students, and teachers own guns. Many of them are also avid hunters.
I can't understand however why they feel the need to buy a G36, even for self defense. A double barrel shotgun is fine enough for that.
I don't hunt as I lack the patience to do all the tracking to follow a deer through the woods after I've shot it.
Hit it in the right spot it won't run far.
I also lack the patience to wait for it to get in my crosshairs. Besides I can just hit one when driving anyway.
You're taking the thrill out of the hunt. The beauty in death man.
There is too a thrill! I had to cross three lanes last time to hit one!
-- $k 
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Kabal of the Void Dominator - now with more purple! 
