Posted on 04/17/2007 4:53:38 PM PDT by DeaconBenjamin2
Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) has a simple solution to future shooting massacres such as the one that ripped apart Virginia Tech university Monday: more guns.
"People are a little more cautious if somebody might have a gun there," the GOP presidential candidate told Politico reporters Tuesday. "A concealed gun carried by a responsible person -- that might have ended the problem that they had at Virginia Tech with one person being killed or two people being killed."
Paul, 71, is the kind of lawmaker, and presidential candidate, gun control advocates love to hate at moments like this. And, based on public opinion polls and reader feedback at Politico.com, he's far from alone.
Echoing the views of many Americans, he sees calls for restriction on guns as an affront to freedom. The libertarian-minded Texan is one of the most outspoken defenders of gun rights in Congress. Since the obstetrician was first elected to Congress in 1976, he has never voted for a bill restricting gun ownership. And he said the tragedy in Blacksburg, Va., could have been prevented if the school allowed students and professors to carry concealed weapons on campus.
Paul, who ran for the Libertarian presidential nomination in 1988, is well known on Capitol Hill for his outspoken, maverick positions. He opposed authorizing federal funding to victims of Hurricane Katrina. He wants to abolish the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Department of Education. He has called for a return to the gold standard. He argues that tighter gun control laws would have no impact on gun crime.
"It's the lack of access to law-abiding citizens to have guns in many places that increases our crime rate," he said. "We just can't prevent every tragedy of a maniac. So to pretend this happened because of lack of laws would be the wrong thing to assume."
Despite his pro-gun rhetoric, Paul also often finds himself voting with Democrats, particularly in the area of civil liberties. He was one of only three Republican lawmakers to vote against the USA Patriot Act in 2001. He expressed concern that the Virginia Tech shootings would be exploited to crack down on civil liberties.
"I know there will be a call for, 'Boy, we've got to take hold of every single gun and register the gun.' It's sort of like after 9/11, we had to worry about terrorists, but what we've done is register every American," he said. "With national ID cards, inspection and loss of our liberties, warrantless searches, we've attacked law-abiding citizens. So, no, I don't think we need more gun control for law-abiding citizens."
Paul suggested that the Sept. 11 attacks could have been avoided if the pilots on the hijacked airliners had been armed. "If terrorists knew that every pilot had a gun in the cockpit, they wouldn't have done it," he said. "They would have all been shot and wouldn't have accomplished their mission."
Bravo, Dr. Paul. You’ll be getting my vote in the CA primary.
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The home owner next door -----------> has no firearms. Please don't hurt him |
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The home owner next door -----------> has no firearms. Please don't hurt him |
A Makarov (old ComBloc service handgun) is pretty cheap, is reliable, and fits nicely in a purse. It fires a 9X18mm round though, which might be slightly harder to find than the ubiquitous 9X19mm. Another option would be the Bersa Thunder, available both in .380 and 9X19. I find that the Springfield XD doesn’t fit my rather small hand very well, but I don’t know if that’ll be an issue. Maybe a Glock 26, or even a G19 in a more pricey category. The options are almost endless (Taurus, Kahr, CZ, etc.). It’s really a buyer’s market from a selections standpoint.
However, if you don’t think they’ll become proficient in shooting, it might be good to find a revolver as these are in many respects simpler to use and maintain. If so, I personally would get something in .357 and train using mostly .38 special.
You might want to check this or similar sites out.
http://www.packing.org/
Anyways, I’d think you’d be relatively safe from the gun-grabbers in Florida.
Good shopping!
I forgot to mention Kel-Tec, a local product. However, these sometimes are supposed to have teething issues.
Clarification: pricey category is referring to Glocks, not the G19 vs. the G26.
I hope that was intentionally ironic.
I’m not so sure. The guy who did this horrible thing was a raving lunatic - no amount of rational argument or ability to shoot back stops people like that, because their brains are so scrambled they dont take account of anything but what their beef is.
LOL! I like that!
Thats nuts! The owner isnt culpable for the deaths, for he didnt purpose them when he sold the weapon. (Providing he sold it legally and in good faith, which I assume he did).
He might be right in this instance, but his vote against the Patriot Act, his vote against authorization for the war and his cut and run strategy for Iraq all disqualify him as a legitimate Presidential candidate in my mind.
It’s too bad he wants to pull out of Iraq. I personally believe we need to finish that one.
Maverick positions, huh?
See, everybody, how the media portrays Dr. Paul and others who adhere to the Constitution?
We are the whack jobs who want to return this country to the rule of law, and if given half a chance would actually vote for Dr. Ron Paul for POTUS.
(crowd noise) YAAAAY!
If one of his victims or a bystander was armed and able to drop him, that would have stopped him, no?
ROFL!!!
I was mad at him too but in the past couple of years I am coming around to admitting he may be right. He is consistent and I try not hold it against the guy when his consistency runs counter to my desires. It doesn’t hurt to keep in mind he is following the Constitution.
Read what he has to say and if you lean libertarian or like Reagan conservative style policy, you will like what you see.
I’m from Texas and actually voted for Ron Paul waaay back in 1976. I have read what he says and seen him in action and that has brought me to the conclusion that I could never support him as a candidate. His views on the WOT disqualify him as a legitimate candidate in my mind. That issue is too important to compromise on.
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