Americans brush aside gun fears in desire to bear arms

ft.com ^ | October 3 2001 | By Betty Liu in Atlanta, Sheila McNulty in Houston and Christopher Bowe in Chicago

[Gilbo_3]

Bump for the Bullpoop about a 'gun show loophole'

[alaskanfan]

I was lurking at a gun control forum a few months ago. There was one surrender monkey(as in surrender your freedom)who was constantly in favor of gun control. One of the posters asked if he would be willing to put a sign in his front yard stating his reluctance to own a firearm in defense of his family and property. The surrender monkey dissapeared from the forum threads and has not returned.

IMO the lesson is, when put into a real application, gun control fails.

[xm177e2]

Did we ever have "gun fears?" Or were they invented by the media?

[wcbtinman]

"People can buy guns at these shows from certain dealers without undergoing background checks."

Don't forget the obligatory lie.

[GVnana]

Thanks for pointing that out. I'm a journalism school grad. Easy to spot, also, the lazy method of providing a quote from "two sides" to fein "objectivity."

[Imperial Warrior]

How many people in total were just killed because of box knife wielding terrorists in which just one passenger with a concealed carry permit could have shot dead? Any fool who "fears" owning a gun deserves to die on his knees begging for his stupid, worthless life.

[DWSUWF]

'Gun Control', in any of its forms, is an attempt to restrict a right enumerated by the Bill of Rights.

And that's an act of treason.

Those who have advocated, or authored, 'gun control' measures of any sort are traitors who should be indicted on treason charges and bound over for trial.

And those who are convicted should be swiftly put to death.

Those of you who believe that 'gun control activists' are merely a misguided but loyal opposition with whom we have a 'disagreement' over 'policy' are deceived and defeated before you ever leave the gate.

These people are damnable traitors, plain and simple, whose goal is to destroy our Constitution and our way of life.

But they can't do it without your acquiescence.

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

I know you have been very busy.
When you get a chance let me know about my idea.

[VRWC_Member428]

I've got a question for everybody here. I was originally going to post this as a main topic, but decided against it so that it wouldn't be labled vanity. Especially since the general basis of this question has been asked many a time in these vast halls of FreePdom.

Now is a time when many people are buying guns for the first time. But what should they buy? I put the question to those reading this thread, what would you want, within reason, for all your home defense needs? Let me clarify what exactly I'm looking for.

First, what would be your concealed carry weapon to take with you wherever and whenever.

Second, what weapons (plural - weaponS) would you want for well rounded home defense? Please define what type of home the weapons you list would be best suited for. (apartment, city home, 5-10 acre country lot, wide open spaces)

For me, my answers would be thus:

For concealed carry, I'm getting a Kimber Compact CDP .45ACP 1911 style pistol. I have one gun right now, but I purchased it a few months back as a compromise between critter protection and home defense. (large frame .357) As such, it doesn't lend itself well to concealed carry, although it can be done.

For home defense, I'm in the 5-10 acre country parcel range. I'd like a handgun for close-up protection. I'd also like an assult rifle such as an AR15 with high capacity clips for outside work. Also for outside work, I'd like to have a high capacity short barrel shotgun for sweeping the driveway if need be, along with a good hunting rifle with a well dialed in scope in case I'd need to snipe someone or something on my property.

Of course, I can't imagine any one situation in which I'd need all of these weapons at my disposal. But I can imagine various situation where one of these weapons would be good to perform it's own specialized task.

I know we all like to post pictures of tanks, AAA batteries, and Australian made guns that can fire one million rounds per second. But let's try to stay within the budget of the average American citizen.

[M.K. Borders]

Keep in mind that there are laws about when deadly force can be used. Though there are vast differences between states, generally you must be in direct, immediate, physical danger before the use of a firearm can be justfied. In plain language, an armed attacker is coming at you, or has forced his way into your home. In either case, if the attacker turns his back toward you, you may not fire.

All this implies short ranges. Therefore in terms of protection I would consider a shotgun ( an awsome bit of firepower to face) for the home and your 1911 for your carry weapon (more than enough knock down power). I would not consider a rifle as a good defensive weapon.

[Godebert]

"Actually, now might be a good time to try and get the Assault Weapons cosmetic prohibition lifted. "

What? Allow Americans to attach bayonets to their post-ban, hi-cap rifles? You can't be serious. Don't you realize how dangerous those sharp knives can be? And forget about folding stocks, flash supressors and pistol grips.....they are to great a threat to our safety and security.

[packrat01]

It sunsets in 1994. I would love to see it go away.

It's 2004, and Bush already said he'd sign the extension legislation...

[SauronOfMordor]

Is anyone out there really buying bulletproof vests right now? This sounds like more disinformation to me.

When I was taking a class by Masaad Ayoob, he pointed out that having a gun, and getting trained in its use, implies that we think there's a significant chance of needing it someday. This would imply the possibility that the other guy has a gun too. Thus it logically follows that maybe having a vest among the gear in your gun cabinet might be a good idea

[SauronOfMordor]

"People can buy guns at these shows from certain dealers without undergoing background checks."
Don't forget the obligatory lie.

Actually, you do not need to undergo a background check, or do paperwork, to buy a gun from a private individual who is not engaged in the business of regularly dealing in firearms.

So if I want to sell a shotgun that I don't need anymore to a friend or family member or a stranger, I can just do it. So, you CAN but a gun from a dealer at a gun show -- if he's a T-SHIRT dealer, or some such, who does not regularly or frequently but/sell guns. The lie was in the implication that you could do it with a FIREARMS dealer

[SauronOfMordor]

I should proofread my posts more often: "but" = "buy"

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

SECOND AMENDMENT BUMPS

[dr_who]

...that promises to complicate the already complex debate on gun control.

First sentence, and you can already tell this is an anti-gun rant.