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Guns do not save or secure lives (ETSU student for gun control)
East Tennessean ^ | 3/26/2007 | Darren Seiber

Posted on 03/27/2007 5:59:29 PM PDT by Libertarianchick

Edited on 03/27/2007 6:32:00 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]

It is often said that everything's bigger in Texas - and without the assistance of Academy Award worthy films such as "Debbie Does Dallas" - some may believe this saying to be nothing more than a myth. But for the Texans who don't quite measure up … there is always another way to compensate: own a gun. Because we all know how Texans love their guns, right?

However, the truth of the matter is, that Texas gun laws are no less lax than that of other states. It seems to be a love, hunger, thirst and desire for guns that has swept throughout the entire country - and with fatal results. An epidemic of intended crime prevention has proven to host a whole new genre of crime; one that's faster, easier and comes with a load of alibis. Now, now, a good American can never pass up a bargain.

Maybe that explains why 1,000 people die every day due to guns. Anti-gun control supporters will immediately attack that statement to say, and I only quote the ignorant, to not believe it, "Guns don't kill people. People kill people!" My, with such a mind set, every gun supporter should have a degree in philosophy. Maybe then they could articulate in such a way that the blame game just might work.

Sure, we can continue to blame guns for homicides, suicides, war deaths and freak accidents for as long as we like. But when other nations, such as Canada, reform gun laws only to see a 46 percent decrease in gun-related deaths, America might want to check its facts again. Not that our ego would ever allow any real admittance of having been in the wrong.

We are wrong because guns are wrong. They are deadly, unethical creations that do not save or secure any number of lives that could build a reliable statistic. Instead, there are mountains of statistics telling us otherwise.

Take, for instance, this statistic: for women, having a gun in the house increases the chances of being murdered by 172 percent. If that's not good enough, chew on this for a while: one study showed that people who attempt to use a gun in self-defense are four times as likely to die. Having a gun in the home does not make you safer. It is not an imaginary insurance policy.

I'm not sure any statistic could change the mind of someone set on owning a gun. No matter what is said in favor of gun control, it would seem that the Second Amendment has blinded us for too long. I suppose that 300 years ago, on the frontier, out in the West, and in the Appalachian Mountains, guns were necessary. Today, in 2007, with very few buffalo to eat, bears to fight or Native Americans left to slaughter … they seem a bit useless.

But never fear! Testosterone is here. He's the one behind it all, it would seem. America is fueled by the same male dominance that sees that laws regarding gun control are relaxed, if at all existent. No, there aren't any saloons full of dirty cowboys with spurs and iron belt buckles but the essence of masculinity still makes it smell like the Old West.

Of gun-related homicides, 90 percent occur amongst men. Every 30 hours in South Africa, a woman is shot to death by her partner. It's not hard to understand that if men make up the majority of gun owners, which they do, and men are far more impulsive and badly tempered than females, then deaths associated with guns is likely to be very evident. It's much easier to end an argument, unhappy life, child's crying, spousal cheating or a robbery with a simple click.

It's very rare that I insist that the government intervene in the lives of its citizens but in America, the leader of gun fatalities, something should have been done long ago. Our ambition, ego and greed have brought us this far. Undoubtedly, it will carry us to the end.

This paper will circulate for three short days. Each day, more people will die because of guns. By the time the next issue arrives, anywhere from three to four thousand more people will be dead. Not from heart attack, cancer or AIDS but from something that can be stopped but is instead ignored.

And for what reason? So that gun owners can feel more secure knowing that their families are safe, they may still enjoy the pointless sport of killing wild animals and their power is ensured.

The ultimate irony of this entire situation is that the United States currently tops the charts with $533 million made per year on gun exports, and the very people we go to war with are one in the same as those we helped arm in the first place.

Our stubborn ways will guide us in our growth. Yet, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. And when the time comes for that fall and America takes a bullet to the back of the skull, we'll wish that we had the luxury of a good old fashioned stabbing in the back. At least then we might have seen it coming.

All statistical information used in this article can be found at http://www.iansa.org.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; US: Tennessee
KEYWORDS: banglist; clueless; college; giuliani; guncontrol; guns; liberalassclwn; libtard; shortbus; tennessee
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To: Libertarianchick

Not much difference in those type students, if grad micros are anything like what they were when I was in grad school, decades ago. I don't need to destroy my quiet life with party people, but I travel and have two old cats who need out periodically too. I can't take them in my motorhome.


141 posted on 03/28/2007 1:56:04 PM PDT by MHGinTN (If you've had life support. Promote life support for others.)
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To: Billthedrill

......He will get older......

Not if he has/gets AIDS. He's from ETSU/Johnson City ya know


142 posted on 03/28/2007 1:59:56 PM PDT by bert (K.E. N.P. Abby is my girl....)
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Comment #143 Removed by Moderator

To: kcar
This is an undifferentiated mass of words. Paragraphs would be helpful.

Huh? It shows up neatly formatted in my browser.

(It's still incoherent gibberish, of course, but it's neatly formatted incoherent gibberish.)

144 posted on 03/29/2007 10:12:32 AM PDT by steve-b (It's hard to be religious when certain people don't get struck by lightning.)
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To: vpintheak
I think Darren is gay.

If so, maybe the Pink Pistols could set him straight (so to speak) -- unpopular minorities have more need than anybody else to uphold the right to keep and bear arms.

145 posted on 03/29/2007 10:15:02 AM PDT by steve-b (It's hard to be religious when certain people don't get struck by lightning.)
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Comment #146 Removed by Moderator

Comment #147 Removed by Moderator

To: DaveLoneRanger

Very good post!

B U M P


148 posted on 03/29/2007 4:51:25 PM PDT by stephenjohnbanker (Misery loves miserable company.......ask any liberal. Hunter in 08!)
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To: DaveLoneRanger

http://etsu.facebook.com/profile.php?id=57508465&hiq=darren%2Cseiber


149 posted on 03/29/2007 4:56:26 PM PDT by Libertarianchick
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To: DaveLoneRanger
Looks solid. I've been thinking about an example of guns protecting against tyranny, but I'm not sure if it's good.
would the Northern Alliance's ability to fight the Taliban because they are armed count as a Second Amendment example?
150 posted on 03/29/2007 4:59:58 PM PDT by Killborn (Age of servitude. A government of the traitors, by the liars, for the sheep.)
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To: DaveLoneRanger

I applaud your efforts but fear you would have a better chance of convincing liberals that this country is in jeopardy from terrorists, gangs, and illegals.


151 posted on 03/29/2007 5:57:42 PM PDT by lag along
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To: DaveLoneRanger

Excellent!

BTTT


152 posted on 03/29/2007 6:05:09 PM PDT by JoeSixPack1
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To: DaveLoneRanger

Slight correction. Japan has very SEVERE gun ownership laws. Japan also has a fairly monogomous population and a long history of a culture that is obedient to authority.


153 posted on 03/29/2007 6:05:41 PM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (G-d is not a Republican. But Satan is definitely a Democrat.)
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Comment #154 Removed by Moderator

Comment #155 Removed by Moderator

To: DaveLoneRanger

Oh yeah, Warsaw. That's a good one.

Thank you for the input.


156 posted on 03/29/2007 6:30:53 PM PDT by Killborn (Age of servitude. A government of the traitors, by the liars, for the sheep.)
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Comment #157 Removed by Moderator

To: Libertarianchick

Sorry National Safety Council disagrees with you, intentional homicides number one knives ($2 steak knife in home) followed by baseball bats and family car.


158 posted on 03/29/2007 6:37:26 PM PDT by Plains Drifter (America First, Last, and Always!!!)
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To: Libertarianchick
It is often said that everything's bigger in Texas -


159 posted on 03/29/2007 7:11:28 PM PDT by Sir Francis Dashwood (LET'S ROLL!)
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To: DaveLoneRanger

160 posted on 03/29/2007 7:15:06 PM PDT by Sir Francis Dashwood (LET'S ROLL!)
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