Peace

[ericadawn16]

“Peace begins with a smile..”

― Mother Teresa

In the 23 most "civilized" nations of the world, 80% of those killed by guns will be American.
Around 30,000 Americans will be shot and killed this year, just as last year and the year before that.

I'm faced with NRA ads on television about how Obama will take away our guns and how that will be devastating...they even imply that guns are the only way women can walk alone.

They won't even reinstate the bans on automatic and semi-automatic weapons, in what alternate universe are they banning handguns?

I understand that some people like guns AND can be responsible with them. If someone wants to hunt and use every piece of the animal that they murder, I'm fine with that, too.

However...No, the second amendment does not give you that right. The second amendment gives you the right to have arms AS part of a militia which means proper training, plus, having to protect our nation.

Less than ten percent of the population has served in our armed forces so they want to have arms without really understanding the militia part...
I thought letting civilians have Humvees in the form of Hummers was stupid, too.

I know I shouldn't let the tv ads get me so upset but the nation gets upset after Tucson, after Aurora, after Milwaukee and then, we do...nothing. We end up just accepting it.

Comments

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

Good gods, 30,000 Americans killed in a single year by guns? That's... unbelievable.

Isn't that more than were killed in the Two Towers attack?

[pwalkeri.livejournal.com]

I'd be interested to see, though, how many of those American deaths are by unregistered, illegal weapons. Because gun bans won't stop that.

Honestly, I can't decide how I feel about people legally owning guns. I've, of course, heard the horror stories about children getting ahold of them, but I've also heard horror stories that might have been avoided if the victim had a gun in their possession (honestly, the Colorado tragedy comes to mind; if one of those miltary men had been allowed to carry a gun, and had had it on them, they could have protected the whole theater from that man). And, again, criminals will still find ways to own guns, so banning them might not really reduce deaths by guns all that much. Banning law abiding citizens from owning guns could, in fact, make them a greater risk to criminals who don't mind breaking the law for gun ownership.

Lots of valid points on both sides and it's just not something that's clear-cut to me. :(

[psyko-kittie.livejournal.com]

Around 30,000 Americans will be shot and killed this year, just as last year and the year before that. I question how many of these are gang and drug related.

However...No, the second amendment does not give you that right. The second amendment gives you the right to have arms AS part of a militia which means proper training, plus, having to protect our nation. I'm certain that they were allowed to protect their properties as well... Cause the Colonies was not an easy place to live.

But on the whole, it doesn't matter if they are banned or not. If a person wants a gun then they will find a way to get a gun. I mean look at Great Britain; guns are banned there, and yet, it is still possible to buy certain types (like hunting rifles... which still kill).

I do believe there should be tougher gun laws and people should have to pass tests. If you have to pass a test to drive then I don't see why you have to pass a test to own and use a handgun.

[surreal-44.livejournal.com]

40,000 people die a year from car accidents. Most of those were just caused by carelessness. Perhaps we should ban cars because people can't be responsible with them.

We should take knives away too. They're sharp, and they kill people. And anything poisonous. And water....well, all liquids. And pillows.

Mostly we should ban the right to bear any arms at all, and should amputate those limbs right at birth so that people can't use them to hurt each other. :p :p :p

There isn't a solid number, but the estimate is 200 million guns are owned in the US. The belief is that somewhere between 43 to 55 million people own weapons of some sort.

The number of deaths and crimes attributed to firearms is shockingly low considering just how many people have weapons.

While it's always sad when someone dies from something like this, there is no reason to ban it. And before anyone gets too sanctimonious towards me, I know 5 people who have been killed by guns; four were murders, one was suicide.

And I still wouldn't ban weapons. The government has no right to disarm the people.

[ericadawn16.livejournal.com]

I didn't say banning handguns.

[beccadg.livejournal.com]

...the nation gets upset after Tucson, after Aurora, after Milwaukee and then, we do...nothing.

What frustrates me is how people will argue about guns after one of those tragedies, but they won't even talk about mental illness. That they shrug off as if there's no way to spot it or deal with it. If we as a country spent less time ignoring mental illness there would be fewer tragedies of all kinds. Some little old nuns that where beaten to death in their nunnery by a mentally ill man who's parents had desperately been trying to get him help for months would still be alive if mental health actually mattered to us.

[beccadg.livejournal.com]

Good gods, 30,000 Americans killed in a single year by guns? That's... unbelievable.

According to the CDC it's not accurate, or at least it isn't accurate to portray that as an unchanging homicide figure. Their stats show that the "Number of deaths" from "Firearm homicides" for 2009 was 11,493. Considerably less than 30,000. Yes it is more than 9/11, but 9/11 was a single act committed on a single day. Those firearms deaths are over the course of a whole year. According to the CDC those homicides amount to 3.7 deaths per 100,000 people.

[beccadg.livejournal.com]

Lots of valid points on both sides and it's just not something that's clear-cut to me. :(


*Nods.* It isn't clear-cut, and the hyperbole that gets thrown about on the issue doesn't help. I mean George H.W. Bush quit the NRA over some of their hyperbole. It wasn't that he stopped believing in gun rights. He just got tired of the noise.

[nesmith.livejournal.com]

Indeed, by almost ten times.

But nope, it isn't those guns that are the problem, no sir!

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

I was talking to my friend about something vaguely related to this today. Just that, here in the UK if the police pull you over, the normal procedure is to get out of your car, shake their hand, and ask them what the trouble is officer.

But I'm told in America that's the very last thing you do? If you get out of your car if the police stop you, they'll likely pull a gun on you?

[nesmith.livejournal.com]

Well, it depends where you are and unfortunately in some places what color your skin is. Police are trained to never take anything for granted, because doing so can put their lives in danger. There's no way to tell just from pulling someone over if they're armed or not. So in the US if you're pulled over, you sit still with your hands on the steering wheel until the officer comes to your car to tell you why s/he pulled you over.

I think even if there were no guns they'd still do that, since knives or other weapons, or even just a large, enraged person can still be dangerous.

[beccadg.livejournal.com]

I think even if there were no guns they'd still do that, since knives or other weapons, or even just a large, enraged person can still be dangerous.

They'd still do it, and it isn't just about the safety of the police officer. Some criminals have been known to pose as police officers to get close to people. If you stay in your car then you have that degree of safety from those criminals. A standard piece of advice is that you should pull over for an officer where you feel safe doing so. It's about everyone's safety.

[lil-1337.livejournal.com]

^all of this!

In addition we need to do something major about our mental health system because it is failing the people who are pulling the trigger.

[beccadg.livejournal.com]

...we need to do something major about our mental health system because it is failing the people who are pulling the trigger.

Exactly. Regardless of where someone comes down in the "gun rights" versus "gun control" debate, everyone should agree that a person who kills another person is mentally ill, and they needed help before they ever picked up a gun.

[bloodredroses1.livejournal.com]

I'm guessing you're being sarcastic but it *isn't* the guns that are the problem, it is the people pulling the trigger that are the problem.

I'd like to know how many of those were caused by legally owned fire arms? Well less than half I'm almost willing to bet. The vast majority of legal gun owners are law abiding citizens. The non-legal owners not so much.

[nesmith.livejournal.com]

I wasn't being sarcastic, actually. Very difficult to kill someone with a gun if there is no gun. But that gets into an argument I'm not really up for at the moment.

[ericadawn16.livejournal.com]

They're going to put the Feinstein's bill in front of the senate for a vote but nobody feels it'll pass or if it does, there's no chance the house will do anything...

bastards