Posted on 12/03/2002 6:32:19 AM PST by Iron Eagle
Edited on 05/07/2004 7:38:55 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Published in the Asbury Park Press 12/03/02 Fire alerts authorities to nearly 500 weapons By MICHAEL CLANCY STAFF WRITER FAIR HAVEN -- Three dump trucks removed an arsenal of live ammunition and almost 500 weapons -- all of them apparently held legally -- which police found in a home after the fire department responded to a chimney fire and the homeowner threatened the fire chief with a rifle, authorities said yesterday.
(Excerpt) Read more at app.com ...
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I already gave one reason - having loaded handguns "scattered throughout the house" enables home invaders to find a deadly weapon ready to hand.
Additionally, when one has 150 handguns scattered around with some loaded and some not, it is quite easy to lose track of which ones are loaded and which are unloaded.
This raises the risk of involuntarily discharging a firearm through carelessness - by sitting on one that fell through couch cushions, by absentmindedly reaching for something on a countertop, etc.
Guns aren't toys. They're tools, and they need to be treated with respect, not nonchalance.
Brian-dead idiots such as your hero in this story are doing much to set back the cause of the Second Amendment. Activist supreme courts are more than willing and able to interpret the Second Amendment narrowly to restrict and regulate the right to keep and bear arms. Fools such as this give them opportunity reason to ratchet it down more tightly each time.
Go ahead and rage all your want. Praise stupidity. Make it an artform. Irresponsible jackasses such as the kadiddlehopper showcased in this story have nothing to worry from about from me (although if I were all powerful I would exile them to their own island where they could set fire to and burn down as many grass huts as their little pea brains desire). They have plenty to worry about from other citizens and activist justices who aren't nearly as warm and fuzzy about the Second Amendment.
Why, it's the People's Democratic Republic of New Jersey, of course! My own understanding of the law is that permits are only required to purchase the weapon. Once you have it the issue is moot.
In the PRNJ (get the term straight - they don't have "Democratic" in the name), all that you need to own a long gun and any ammunition is a Firearms Owner Identification Card. Once you have it, you can buy as many as you'd like (provided that they are state-approved long guns - "assault" rifles aren't permitted). In other words, there isn't any permit for each long gun, just one general permit - the FOIC. Handguns are different in NJ - you need a permit for each one, signed off by your local police chief.
The system sucks. I used to live there, until I escaped to Texas, Free America 2 years ago. Here I don't need a permit to buy or own anything, just to carry concealed (oh well, not every place can be Vermont). But at least I was able to get the CHL - fuhgetaboutit in the PRNJ, unless you're a friend of some pol.
Getting back to this idiot, I personally don't think that he intended to threaten the fire chief or anyone else. I think that he grabbed the gun to save it from the fire, or from being grabbed by one of the firemen. He certainly had many loaded guns with which to threaten anyone. Still, I think he was stupid. He should have very specifically told the chief that he was grabbing the gun to save it (if that was the case). Now he will lose all of his guns - this IS New Jersey that we're talking about.
There is a lot of truth to this. E.g., libertarianism is apparently the preferred political ideology of wiccans and satanists. A google search will bear this out.
It does not state that loaded guns were scattered thoughout the house. It does later state that about 25% of the handguns were loaded, but it does not describe these as scattered about.
A minor point? Not necessarily. Perhaps that 25% were "around the house" and carefully placed where the homeowner knew they there if he ever had need of them. This is his right. None were ever described as sitting on a couch or the counter, or in any way carelessly placed. None. That's reading something into the article that's not there. Having loaded handguns around the house is not unsafe. Having loaded handguns would be more properly described as prudent.
Our house could be described as "having loaded handguns around". They are carefully placed so that our young children can not get to them. If this guy has no small children about, there is nothing unsafe about having loaded handguns around the house.
Good advice! My pistol is in the cupboard right above the sink. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen when I am at home, so that is likely where I would be if someone broke into the house during the evening. Therefore, it seems to be a logical place to keep a gun.
Frequently Asked Firsts
First Volunteer Fire Company in America
In 1736 in Philadelphia, PA, Benjamin Franklin formed the first volunteer fire company, called the Union Fire Company.
Franklin served on it as America's first volunteer fire chief.
First Paid Fire Department in America
A large fire in Boston in 1679, led to the organization of the first paid fire department in North America, if not the world.
Boston selectman imported a fire engine from England and employed a fire chief, Thomas Atkins, and 12 fire fighters to operate it.
First Firehouse Pole
David B. Kenyon, Captain of Engine Company No. 21 of the Chicago Fire Department, was the inventor of the sliding pole in 1878. Information from: A Synoptical History of the Chicago Fire Department..., published by the Benevolent Association of the Paid Fire Department of Chicago, Chicago, 1908.
First Automatic Sprinkler
The idea of automatic sprinkler protection dates back to about 1860. The first automatic sprinkler system patented in the United States was developed by Philip W. Pratt in 1872 in Abington, MA. From 1852 to 1885, perforated pipe systems were used extensively in textile mills throughout New England, and from 1874 to 1878 Henry S. Parmalee of New Haven, Connecticut, continued design improvements on his invention: the first practical automatic sprinkler head.
First Fire Alarm Telegraph
The fire alarm telegraph was invented by William F. Channing of Boston, MA, and Moses G. Farmer of Salem, MA, in 1847. After many attempts, Channing was successful in getting the city of Boston to agree to test the device. Channing, working with Farmer, tested the system, solved the problems, and installed the first municipal fire alarm system using a telegraph in Boston, MA, in 1852.
The people on this thread who just immediately assume this guy was some nutcase are jumping to conclusions. Why bother to do this unless they have some agenda to paint gun owners/colletors as nuts whenever they run afoul of some particularly oderous government official?
Fascists. Commies. Liberal gun-haters sent here to disrupt any meaningful discourse.
Do a search and read some of the posts from some of them. They aren't even ashamed to be against freedom and all its attendant responsibilities.
Ah, so you are positing that monads DO have windows?!
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