Probably the best explanation of why guns are an important part of America

[GreyGeek]

It also references the importance of Faith in America as well.
http://www.absolutesurvivalist.com/1...k-teacher.html

I want to tell you about my recent death. I will be brief, because I know there are many other stories to be told about my tragic day. I hope that my death brings about the the type of conversation that will help to prevent more unnecessary deaths of teachers and children, or of any persons caught in similar circumstances.

I was a normal person. I liked many of the things that you like. But mostly I loved my children and I loved teaching them. That is what I was doing four days ago on the day that I died, when a man out of his mind attacked us in our sanctuary.

I am sure you already know most of the story, so I won't reopen that wound if I can avoid it. However, the part that you may not know about, and never hear about is the fact that I was prevented from protecting myself and my children. That's right, the school board, the state, and the federal government told all teachers including me, that so long as we were on school grounds that we could not defend ourselves against a deranged person, hell bent on killing us.

When the man came into my room armed with a rifle, we were huddled in the corner. He shot me with a rifle several times, the bullets easily passing through my body and through several children behind me. We didn't have a chance. The inadequate training we received to combat such a person or situation failed. I know you will mourn our deaths, and you should. But when you get to that point of being mad, ask why we were not allowed to defend ourselves? Ask how it is that an unarmed school teacher can be asked to defend themselves and the children under her care against an armed aggressor? Why don't they ask police to be unarmed and defend themselves against aggressors?

So far, it is nice here in Heaven. We are not beyond The Gates yet - the line is very long. We do have many people from the other side of The Gates who have come out to help us with the transition. Some of them are familiar faces to us, and some are not. Some are helping us grieve, while others are helping us to understand our new reality, but all of us are happy. It is impossible not to be happy here.

I met a fine young man from the military shortly after I arrived here. He is not from this era, but one long before my time. He presented me with this computer so I could write this to you. It was funny when he saw the expression on my face and said, "we have a very special Wi-Fi connection up here." I couldn't help but laugh. It's obvious they have dealt with this before.

I asked him what he wanted me to write. He told me to write whatever I wanted. We both sat silently for a while when he suddenly asked if I had any questions. As I started to speak, he indicated that he could not answer any questions about the other side of The Gate, so I just asked his name.

"John Smith," he replied, still looking forward at the children standing patiently in line. "I fought and died in the Revolutionary War."
"I am sorry," I replied.
"Why are you sorry?"
"Because you died fighting in a war...a very horrible war,"I said to him, the tears starting to well. He was so young.
"So did you," he said as he turned his head to look at me. "That is why I was sent out here for you."
"What?" I said incredulous at his false assertion.
With calmness and much love in his teenaged voice he said, "I know it is hard for you to see, or even believe, but you and I fought the same kind of war for the same reasons. The difference is I volunteered for my war and wore a uniform and you did not volunteer. Even your children," he rotated his eyes towards the line of six and seven year old angels standing in front of us,"fought the war."
"I don't understand."
"I died in 1778 fighting under George Washington. I was fighting for the Liberties granted to all men by God that had been stolen from us by King George and the British Crown..."

I was a school teacher. I had to cut him off before he went too far. "I know these things, John. I taught school remember?"
"Yes ma'am, but did you know about all of the tyrannous legislative Acts imposed upon the people?"
"Sure. There was the Stamp Act and the Tea Act that eventually spawned the Boston Tea Party," I responded.
"Yes ma'am, but there were many more, both before and after those most infamous ones. There was the Sugar Act, the Currency Act, the Quartering Act, the Declaratory Act, the Townshend Revenue Act, the Boston Non-importation Agreement, the Boston Port Act, the Administration of Justice Act, the Massachusetts Government Act, Quartering Act of 1774, and the Quebec Act. This was the government's way of stripping the God Given Natural Born Rights of mankind in the new colonies. These are but some of the things that added to the fuel that became the Revolutionary War. The 'shot heard 'round the world' were the attempts by the redcoats to kidnap Sam Adams and John Hancock as well as deny the use of arms by capturing gunpowder."
"That's all well and good Mr. Smith, but I still don't understand why you believe I am fighting a war too,"which was more of a question to him than a statement. I was feeling like I was back in school myself.

John continued, "It is not just you, but tens of thousands of you fighting the new Revolutionary War."
"No. You're mistaken, Mr. Smith."
"Do you believe the Revolutionary War was a good fight? That is was worth the cost?"
"Well...yes."
"Do you believe we could have won that war if our motives had not been Just and Right in the eyes of God?"
"No. But they were Just. You and your men were fighting for our freedom from unjust laws imposed upon the people by a king across an ocean," I told him, showing him that I had retained my education about the Revolutionary War.
"Do you believe we could have fought a war against the redcoats had we been disarmed?"
"Well, of course not!"
"Then why would you believe that you could defend yourself and your children against a gunman with no arms yourself?"

I was shocked and dumbstruck. I didn't believe such a thing...or did I? No, I know that I didn't believe such a thing. That was ridiculous. My head was spinning. How could he make such an assertion? He doesn't know me...

"Then why were you unarmed?" he asked softly.
"What!?" Could he hear me thinking?
"If you don't believe that you could defend yourself and your children against a gunman with no arms yourself, then why were you not carrying a gun?"
"We can't carry guns in school!" I wanted to be mad, but I couldn't be. Not in this place.
"Says who?"
"Says the law."
"What law are you speaking of? God made no such law. God gave you the Right to defend yourself and those in your charge against such aggression," he stated, still speaking softly.
"The laws of the country and state say that schools are 'gun free zones.' They even have signs all around the school."
"How did that work out for you and your children?" John asked as he got up and walked away.

Before I had a chance to answer or call him back, a woman on the other side of me, who I never noticed before addressed me.

"He's right. You were fighting a new war, along with many others who have now passed on. There are still others fighting it now."
"I still don't understand how I was fighting a war. And who are you?"
"It is probably better that I don't tell you who I am. The news media painted myself and others like me with a broad brush in order to turn the people against us, and I was killed in a fire holding my children. But like you, we were unwittingly fighting the same war."
"Exactly what war is that?" I wanted to know.
After a brief pause, she looked up at the line of children, took a deep breath and began, "the war to retain the Rights and Liberties God gave you when you were born..."
"I have all of my Rights. What are you talking about?" I interrupted.
"Yes ma'am, you do have them, but you don't practice them for fear of retribution by your government," the unknown woman said.
"No, I did everything I wanted to do." I told her.
"Did you?"
"Of course I did," answering her rhetorical question.
"Ok, I believe you. But let me ask you this. If you had to do it all over again, would you have taken a gun to school with you this morning?"
"Well...no. I would have gotten fired."
"So it is more important to you to keep your job than your life, or to preserve the lives of those children?" she asked.
"What? NO! That is not what I was saying." I had to pause and collect my thoughts. "I am saying that I am not allowed to have a gun at school, and that if I had taken one to school, and used it to defend myself or the children, that I would have been fired and most likely put in jail," I restated to her.
"My question still stands. You would still choose the shackles of tyranny over the life of yourself and your children. You feared the retribution of government more than you fear the retribution of God," she said as she looked towards The Gate.
"No. That's not true. I couldn't...There was no...The laws don't allow..."
She put her hand on my shoulder and looked at the side of my face as I stared at The Gate, "You don't have to answer to me. God knows that Adam Lanza killed the children, your co-workers and yourself. But he also knows that you chose to follow man's laws over His laws, for which twenty beautiful children now stand at The Gates waiting their turn to get in, and He may want an explanation for that."

I went cold. I was numb. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I turned to look at her, but she was gone. As I turned back to The Gate, I saw a police officer and an older military man approaching me. I wondered what was going to happen now.

"Ma'am. We know you may be confused. Maybe even reeling a bit. Sometimes the truth can be harsh and painful. We hope to help you through a little bit more of it," the police officer said as he neared me.

They each took a seat on either side of me. It was only now that I realized that we were not sitting on anything at all, just air. Maybe that explained the comfort. I wasn't ready to hear any more, but I was certain they were going to deliver it anyway, even against my objections if I chose to lodge one.

"I'm Officer Tally, and this is Sergeant Munson. We wanted to help you understand a few more things about this morning."
"I am not sure I can take any more guys," I said meekly.
"You can. You're stronger than you realize," Sergeant Munson tried to reassure me.
"I don't know about that."
Officer Tally started, "You were taught to put your faith in men like us. Men who volunteered to step in harms way to protect and defend the defenseless, and we gladly did so."
Sergeant Munson continued the thought, "But what they did not teach you was the part about you taking the personal responsibility for yourself in the event we cannot make it in time."
"...and we generally cannot make it in time," Officer Tally finished.
"I don't understand."
Officer Talley continued, "Using this morning as an example, several people were already dead or injured before the call to police came in. Even though an officer was on the scene within one minute after receiving the call, serious damage had already been done. A mass murder had already been committed in that short sixty seconds. Even after officers entered the building, they saw the gunman enter a room from the hallway. Before they could make it to him, he was shooting teachers and children."
Sergeant Munson continued the conversation, "Had the teachers and staff, including yourself had guns for defense of yourselves and the children and the proper training to use them, the outcome would have likely been much different. The teachers and staff would have been able to attack the shooter from multiple angles and ended the hostilities long before they reached these dimensions," he was gesturing towards the line of happy children who were talking with other children who had come out from the other side of The Gates.
"But..."
"There is no but," the Sergeant calmly stated. "We know what you are going to say, and those measures don't work against someone who is intent upon killing. Taking guns and weapons away does not prevent mass murderers from committing their acts of violence, it only prevents the unarmed people from properly defending themselves against such people. Connecticut has some of the most oppressive and strict gun laws in the United States, and still the massacre happened there, not in Alaska or Wyoming where gun laws are minimal."
Officer Tally put his arm around me and said, "There was an Assault Weapons Ban that started in 1994 and ended in 2004 that prevented the sale and manufacture of certain types of guns and magazines. There is also the National Firearms Act of 1934 and the Gun Control Act of 1968, but none of these laws prevented Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold from committing mass murder at Columbine High School in 1999. In fact, they broke multiple federal and state laws in the planning and executing stages of their killing spree. Not a single one of the man made laws stopped them, or prevented them from killing twelve children and one teacher that day. But had the teachers and staff been following their Natural Born Rights to self-protection that day, maybe things would have turned out differently."

On the computer screen in my lap an article appeared. It was an article about mass murders by knife and bomb. Most of these occurred in places where guns had been outlawed. The Osaka School Massacre grabbed my attention, because I noticed that it involved children the same age as mine. The man had used a kitchen knife to murder 8 children and seriously wound 13 more children and two teachers. There was also a story of a man that killed 8 children with a knife at another elementary school. The list was very long, with many different ways that killers had adapted to the laws of the land to use what was available to them to commit their crimes, including knives and explosives.

Officer Tally pointed to the screen, "most people forget that one of the worst mass murders in history was perpetrated by men with box cutters. They were able to kill over 3000 men, women, and children. What would have happened if multiple people on those airplanes had been following God's laws by carrying guns for self-protection?"
"Explosive decompression?" I said rhetorically.
"That's a myth," the sergeant said, "unless you were talking about the terrorists suffering from explosive decompression, and then you would be correct."

I wasn't, but I let it go.

"Your training wasn't adequate for what you encountered," Officer Tally continued. "Your systems of defense were also inadequate. The only reason Adam Lanza didn't kill more people isn't because the doors were locked, it was because he didn't know what he was doing."
"Didn't know what he was doing? He killed all of these people...and me!"
Officer Tally calmly forged ahead, "Had he known what he was doing, he would have brought the shotgun with him and shot the locked doors off of their hinges. With the shotgun, he could have done some serious damage and easily gotten though every locked door with little fanfare."
"Even worse," Sergeant Munson jumped in, "had he carried a gun that had more power, like the type most hunters carry, he could have shot straight through the walls, even if they were made of cinder block."
I was stunned, "guns can shoot through walls?"

A video of a man shooting a rifle at a cinder block wall popped up on the computer screen. The first round punched a hole the size of a fist in the wall. The second round made the hole the size of a head. It only took a few more rounds for the majority of the wall to collapse.

"Yes, quite easily. That is a video of a man using a common hunting rifle. So just having ballistic locked doors and cinder block walls won't stop a determined assailant. Only equal or greater force will," Sergeant Munson finished.
Looking at her beautiful children, "So we were doomed no matter what?"
"No. Not if you, the other teachers, and staff had been armed and had been even minimally trained. You would have been able to confront him with bullets instead of harsh words, because there was nothing you were going to be able to say to stop him," Sergeant Munson said.
"Your mistake was believing in man's laws over God's laws," said Officer Tally.
"But we have to follow man's laws...the Constitution," I rebutted.
"No. God's laws, and mankind's Natural Born Rights existed long before the Constitution, long before the existence of the United States, or the nations of Europe, even before mankind learned to write. Man's Rights are not given or guaranteed by governments. They are not subject to negotiation, dilution, curtailment, distribution, or removal by any man or government. They are YOUR Rights, given to mankind as a gift of Life. Only mankind can protect them, not governments."

I didn't have anything to say. Everything they were telling me made sense. I was personally responsible for my own life and Liberty. It wasn't up to anyone else nor any government. I died because I had voluntarily relinquished my Right to self-defense, not because the police had not come to rescue me in time. They would never had made it in time.

"You gave up more than your Right to self-defense, you just didn't know it," said a new voice. I looked up and noticed Officer Tally and Sergeant Munson were gone.
"I did?" I asked, looking up to notice a vaguely familiar face that I couldn't place.
"Yes."
"In what way?"
"Would you have publicly criticized your school's superintendent or the chief of police, if you had had a problem with them?"
"Of course not?"
"Why not?"
"Because I probably would have lost my job?"
"So you feared retribution for speaking freely. You gave up your Right to speak your mind," the now more familiar man said.
"OK."
"Would you have driven your car without a license, or registration?"
"No," I answered. Realizing he would ask why, I went ahead, "Because I would get a ticket, or have my car towed, or be jailed."
"So the threat of government punishment kept you from doing it?"
"Well...yeah."
"So you allowed the government to convince you that driving a car was a privilege; that it was a requirement to register your car and have a license to drive it. There you gave up your Right to free travel upon God's earth. Why did they not register horses and wagons, and require licenses?"
I was feeling exasperated, "I don't know."
"Because the government could not convince people that riding a horse was a privilege," he said. "I could go on, but I think you get the point."
"Yes. I get it: I am dead because I relinquished my God Given Natural Born Right to defend myself in lieu of a false belief that the police could do it for me when seconds mattered. I was not as free as I thought I was because I lived in fear of retribution from my government if I broke their laws. I was put in this unfortunate position by an overbearing government who forced me to choose between my job and my Liberties. And....what am I supposed to do with this information now...now that I am dead?"
"Well, when I was killed in a school murder spree over a decade ago, they didn't have independent blogs like they do now. The internet was not as wide spread as it is now. You have the opportunity to continue the new Revolutionary war from here, at least for a little while. Because of the deaths of these beautiful innocent children, you, and your coworkers, there is talk of more laws that will only weaken other teachers and people of the world like yourself. You have been shown that no law will prevent a mass murderer from doing their evil, but that it will only result in more deaths of innocent people who have been hamstrung by their governments if they further restrict the God Given Rights of self-defense through ill-advised legislation. It has never worked. It never will work. Gun free zones are only free of guns in the hands of people who would stand against a murderer. Write your story. Tell the people that they must not tolerate the reduction of their Rights to adequately defend themselves. Convince them that had you been armed, less people would have died this morning. Show them the Truth, because once seen, the Truth cannot be unseen."The man started to walk back to The Gates.

As I was letting his words sink in, he turned and said,"if no one has told you yet, we have special Wi-Fi up here."

*Note: If you are seething mad after reading this story and want to leave an insulting comment, go here.

Copyright AbsoluteSurvivalist.com 2012. All Rights Reserved.
The preceding story may be reproduced in WHOLE for publication on the web for non-commercial purposes only, and or linked in any web publication. It may not be reproduced in part in any manner or form, in any media for any reason.

And, as you might expect, some disagreed with his writing and said so. So, he made a comment about the comments:

My Comments to Your Comments 12/21/2012 When I wrote the story "I'm a Dead Sandy Hook Teacher," I was mad. I am still mad. I am infuriated that 20 young children lost their lives to a gunman inside a school. I am infuriated that 6 teachers lost their lives in the same incident. I know I am not alone in feeling like this. For some reason people seem to think that I feel otherwise. I am still mad that Holmes killed movie theater patrons, and I am mad about the Sikh Temple shooting. In fact, I am mad at the multitude of mass murders that have happened over the decades. But I am not mad at the victims (mostly), and I am not mad at the perpetrators (mostly.) I am mad at my government for forcing The People, through coercion, threat of jail and fines, and threat of loss of Liberty to give up their God Given Natural Born Rights to self-defense against these murderers. I am tired of hearing about people dying from an assailant who took advantage of a situation where good, honest people were congregating in a place where firearms were prohibited. I am more tired of hearing of similar stories where people died in places where guns were allowed, but the people didn't take responsibility for their lives. I am tired of people not taking the personal responsibility for themselves and their safety. I know there are plenty of people who do not agree with me (it is evident in the vile comments they made), but there are too many people who need to be grabbed by the shirt and told the truth. They need to be awakened from their slumber. We are being attacked on all fronts, by a power seeking government that is supposed to be limited within the confines of the Constitution, and this will eventually lead to all of our Rights being taken from us by force of legislation. Not just gun Rights, but also the Rights which you hold dear. For those of you who found my process of delivery of a message despicable (or worse), I hope you are complaining just as loud about the politicians who are using the same tragedy to further their agendas - agendas that STEAL your Rights. They were on the air in less than 24 hours following the tragedy spewing their tyranny, and the controlled media were gladly giving them a platform to do so. But I highly doubt you complained about that, or spit your hateful comments towards them as you did me. No, you found it easy to vilify the person hell bent on defending your Rights in the wake of this tragedy. You found it easy to pass judgement on a person who will stand up for your Rights, even if that person does not agree with you. You found it easy to call me hateful names for using the blood of the victims in an effort to protect your Rights from an intrusive government. Your government is using the dead children and teachers to HARM YOU, but you're not complaining about that! Hell, you probably don't even realize it is happening. It seems that too many people falsely believe that some draconian legislation banning "Assault Weapons" and magazines with a capacity of more than 10 roundswill fix the problem. If you think that, you are delusional. There are 300 million guns that are not going away. There are over 1 trillion magazines with a capacity of more than ten rounds that are not going away. There are people like me that can reload a magazine-fed firearm in one second; there are people who can do it faster. Laws that steal my Right to self defense only hurt me and you. Because when some maniac with a gun enters a place where you and I are congregated, hell bent on destruction, I will be legally limited to having ten round magazines, while the maniac will not have any limitations; because as usual, they won't adhere to the laws. You won't be armed, because you don't believe in it, while I will be forced to defend you, my family, and myself against someone better armed than me. But when it comes down to it, I won't have enough rounds in my magazine to protect us all. No, I will only have enough for my family and myself, and you are going to be ****-out-of-luck, because you thought it was OK for the government to restrict my Rights. As for those of you who mistakenly believe that I am not close to such a subject, the mother who raised me was a teacher for 20 years; my sister is a teacher, my aunt is a teacher, both of my neighbors are teachers, most of my friends are teachers and school administrators. So, I am kind of close to the subject matter. On top of that, only one of the people mentioned above never owned a firearm, while the rest own multiple firearms. Since none of them are hunters, we can surmise the purpose for having the guns is for self-defense. What do those teachers know that you do not? Now let's move on to some of the asinine arguments presented: "Thou shalt not kill." The Commandment reads, "Thou shalt not murder." The Bible is clear on the difference between murder and self-defense. It is also clear on the Right of a person to defend not just their person, but also their property with deadly force. "If only Lanza's mother had been armed." She was sleeping, stupid. It is for this same reason that SWAT does most entries in the wee hours of the morning - it's easier to defeat someone who is sleeping. It is not rocket science, its superior tactics. I "should be ashamed of myself." No, I am not. I will never be ashamed of fighting to retain Rights. I "feel that [I] have the [R]ight to co-opt the teachers who died that day to push my personal agenda." I certainly do have the Right, regardless of how off-putting it may be to you. And if you think I'm wrong, then I expect you will be writing letters to a few select federal government officials, including the president, and media, expressing your disgust and displeasure with them for doing the same. No? I didn't think so. "You can still defend yourself without a gun." Only provided you are within reach of the person with the gun, you have the knowledge and experience to disarm them, and you have some luck on your side. However, it is impossible for an unarmed person to disarm a crazed man with a rifle or pistol who is fifty feet away. There are plenty of examples of this, including some dead administrators at Sandy Hook.There is a pleasant caribbean island that has some masterful crooks. Three unarmed men approach tourists who have strayed out of the "tourist" areas.They tell you they want all of your money and jewelry and they point to a man standing 50+ feet away off to the side with a rifle aimed at you. There is absolutely nothing you can do. There is no way you could close the distance before you were shot and they robbed your dumb ass anyway. "Teachers should not have guns." Only if you want more dead ones. This happens to be an already proven fact. If you are a teacher (or anyone for that matter), can you honestly say that you would not want to have a loaded gun in your hand if someone was pointing a gun at you and your children, and you knew that person would pull the trigger. If you say that you would not, you're a liar or live in a delusional world where bullets don't kill. "A child could take a gun out of the teacher's desk or purse." They sure could if the teacher were dumb enough to put their gun in the desk or in a purse. A gun should be worn on the body in a manner that makes in quickly available for use. Properly worn, in a suitable retention device, it is nearly impossible for anyone but the wearer to remove. I am "right-wing." Not in the least. I am a Liberty minded centrist. Though I have always voted in every election, I have never voted for a Democrat or Republican. I doubt you can say the same. I wrote this story to get clicks or sell products. Nope. I don't care about either. I wrote this story because I was mad and needed to get out the things rattling around in my head. No one was forced to read what I wrote. No one made any of you come to this website and read anything on it. You did so voluntarily. And to condemn me for your willful action is childish. I "value [my] Rights over what's right." My Rights are what's right; that is why they are God Given Natural Born Rights. Thinking that God would grant mankind something (in this case, the Right to self-defense) just to cast it aside is delusional. I "value my guns over the lives of [my] countrymen." No. I value my Right to self-defense with any weapon I deem suitable for the situation (including guns), and the ability to protect, not just my countrymen, but all mankind from tyranny, whether that comes from a lone shooter, a terrorist cell, or a government gone mad. "Everyone supporting the gun industry is responsible for Sandy Hook." That's funny. Adam Lanza is responsible for Sandy Hook. There's is nothing like the delusional musings of a person who was never been taught accountability to try and lay blame where it does not belong. Actually, all those people who are not being accountable for their own personal security, and that of their children are responsible for Sandy Hook. Guns are NEVER going to go away. Therefor you have one choice in the defense of one's self from a gunman - your own gun and the training and will to use it. "Who the hell am [I] to speak on behalf of a victim of violence?" Hmmm....let me think....OH YEAH! A victim of violence. Did you think that the victims of Sandy Hook are the only people to have ever been victims? Apparently. "Where do [I] think the money comes from to fix potholes?" Probably China. I wouldn't know. My road is covered with potholes, and has been for many years. That's not the point. Cars originally used carriage tracks. Once upon a time, roads were privately built and maintained, then the government decided to get in on the action by proxy, creating a need to lay taxes for their trouble.Paved roads are not necessary, but most of us grew up with them and just expect them to be there. I prefer dirt roads. They are cheaper to make and maintain, and they don't eat tires like paved roads do. I would rather have my Liberty and money than roads. Call me a country-hick-hillbilly-redneck. It's a complement. I should reveal who I am? I have a Right to privacy, and I shall retain it. I shut down comments because I am a coward or could not handle the [insults.] Nope. I have had far worse things happen in my life than having people hurl obscenities and insults at me in the comments section of a blog. No, I had to get on the road for holiday travels and am unable to moderate the comments for a while. I wrote this piece while using the Wi-Fi at a rest stop. I would just leave comments on, but is seems that drunk people leave some pretty strange comments that make little or no sense, or people write a paragraph in a single unreadable run-on sentence with no punctuation and strange spacing.

[blackpaw]

Wow, that is one sick twisted piece of crap

[Snowhog]

It has never been guns that are the problem. Responsible gun owners are never the problem. Guns in the hands of irresponsible people isn't the problem. Irresponsible people are the problem. Always has been. Always will be. Even where possession has been made illegal, the crime rate involving guns doesn't go down.

Culture of violence: Gun crime goes up by 89% in a decade

History of Gun Control in the 20th Century <<< This one should give everyone nightmares, because it's all true!

[67GTA]

I was arguing with my mom about this yesterday. There are no laws that could have stopped this from happening regardless of where you stand on the second admendment.

[arochester]

I thought that guns were made to kill people (e.g. warfare) or kill animals (e.g. hunting).

Why should a "responsible" person want to own a gun? To shoot at a target? To preserve "freedom" or "property"by killing the opposition?

1 in 4 people will be mentally ill in their lifetime. Could be you. Could be me. Could be tomorrow. If I was "ill" I would hope that I would be given treatment and not just killed.

There are arguments that say if it wasn't guns it would be knives, sticks or stones. I would rather face any of those rather than an automatic rifle in the hands of a gunman who mostly shoots the bullseye. I think I might have a better chance.

[Snowhog]

Why should a "responsible" person want to own a gun? To shoot at a target? To preserve "freedom" or "property"by killing the opposition?

To protect themselves from those who would desire to take their 'freedom' or 'property' as their own. Simple as that.

The only thing you gain by outlawing the personal possession of guns, is ensuring that those who don't obey the law anyway, are the only ones (other than the 'trustworthy' Government authorities) who will have guns.

"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." [ Thomas Jefferson ]

[arochester]

"To protect themselves from those who would desire to take their 'freedom' or 'property' as their own. Simple as that."

I am 60 years old. I have never met anyone who wanted to take my freedom or property as their own. I would not wish to kill or maim such a person.

I acknowledge that in society there are policemen (mostly unarmed in the UK) and soldiers (e.g. fighting in Afghanistan).

If a burglar came to my house I would telephone the police if I could. Not shoot them.

[Qqmike]

Always an interesting subject. As you know, I lean quite Left, and would favor "gun control" (background checks and such, limitations on types, etc.). But I think citizens should be allowed to own 'reasonable' guns. I don't hunt, but own two pistols, am pretty good with them. Someone breaks into my home? Without hesitation, I'd use the gun, maybe both of them.

I can't quite recall the specifics, may have even been said in jest, but I recall some thinking during the cold war period when people feared that maybe somebody like the Russians might try to attack, invade, and occupy the US. The counter to that thinking was, no country would ever want to even try to physically occupy US because the citizens have so many firearms, that managing the populace would be impossible. Some truth in that view, maybe.

There are sicko's everywhere, not just mass murderers but also people who torture animals, fight dogs and roosters, drive drunk for the umpteenth time and injure another round of innocents, steal identities, and so on. We need to pay attention to the psycho-social-educational-family infrastructure of this country.

[whatthefunk]

The only thing you gain by outlawing the personal possession of guns, is ensuring that those who don't obey the law anyway, are the only ones (other than the 'trustworthy' Government authorities) who will have guns.

"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." [ Thomas Jefferson ]

There are so many flaws with the top argument that I dont even know where to begin.

The Jefferson quote has absolutely no relevance. The government does not fear citizens with handguns. A group of citizens with handguns stand zero chance of inflicting harm against the US military with their tanks, planes, and warships.

Guns provide a false sense of security. For all the security that Americans feel they have with guns, just last week 20 small children were slaughtered in a school. A few months ago dozens of people were shot up in a movie theater. The CDC predicts that within the next few years, gun deaths with exceed deaths from traffic accidents. The US has the highest gun related incident rate of any developed country. You feel safe because you think you are in control if you have a gun. In reality, you have no more control than an unarmed person does in nearly every situation. Guns are a plague and Im glad I live in a country where they are outlawed.

[Snowhog]

I am not against 'reasonable' gun controls. I firmly believe in the U.S. Constitutions 2nd Amendment which reads

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

"...the right of the people to keep and bear Arms,..."
is the most important right guaranteed to it's citizens.

But, citizens who have proven themselves to be 'unstable' or who have otherwise demonstrated through their own actions, that they are a menace to the society in which they live, should be stripped of this right.

I am against gun registration, and will never stand for it. I don't have a problem with a waiting period while a background check is conducted however.

[Goeroeboeroe]

I'm not an American, so I think my opinion is not that important. As an European I'm completely used to guns etc. being illegal, just like a lot of Americans are used to the opposite. So it's pretty hard for me to understand this right to have weapons. Just like the opposite for a lot of Americans, I guess. I'm in favor of a very strict weapon control, that should come as no surprise. But even if you don't agree with that, I've two things I really don't understand.
* How on earth can people divide humanity in two kind of people: completely good and completely bad. Okay, so you put a weaponed guard in every school. And how do you want to prevent that guard from running mad? Who guarantees the 'good guys' are always good? Here in the Netherlands we've had a few policemen murdering the last few years. About two years ago a policeman raped and murdered a young child. About half a year ago a policeman (with a pretty high position) murdered two people and killed himself because of something with a drug deal that went wrong.
If you put an armed guard in every one of the many thousands of schools etc, or even worse: arm every teacher. There must be hundreds of thousands of teachers. How do you know nobody of that very big group of people is starting to shoot with his own weapon? Of course that can happen all the time, but if I run crazy at least I first have to buy a weapon. And before I can do that, I first have to find out where I can buy a weapon. Pretty big chance I change my mind during that time.
* I don't agree, but I can understand people want a weapon for self defense. But why the hell do you need heavy automatic weapons for self defense? ? ? If it's only for self defense, I think a 'normal' simple gun or pistol should be enough. Why do you need lots of automatic weapons?The police here is armed and use their weapons regularly. But normal police here has a very simple pistol, nothing more. (There are of course special units with heavier arms.) If this is enough for police, shouldn't it be enough for everybody/

[arochester]

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

The UK is not a free state? France is not a free state? Sweden is not a free state. Etc. Etc. Spot the Militia. There is none.

Want a bear arms? Join the Army?

[Snowhog]

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[whatthefunk]

I just read that the NRA has suggested that every school have an armed guard. What kind of country has paramilitary units at schools? Americans need to sit down and consider the real costs of all these guns, without the NRA which receives millions from the gun industry and has everything to gain from more gun violence.

[james147]

Also coming from the UK, a county where guns and all weapons are illegal I also do not understand why people would want to own a gun.

The only thing you gain by outlawing the personal possession of guns, is ensuring that those who don't obey the law anyway, are the only ones (other than the 'trustworthy' Government authorities) who will have guns.

Not true, guns are illegal here and I have never ever seen a gun in my life... Big time criminals.gangs might be able to get their hands on them, but small time ones that you would encounter wont... It is just too much of a risk to be found with one. Hell, you don't even see people carrying knives around here (which are also illegal if more then 3" or locking blades). Do I feel unsafe? hell no, I know that no one carries a gun, so have a much better chance at defending myself from an attack. And the guns that are around tend to be used agienst other gangs or people related to gangs rather then jsut random people like the US seems to suffer from.

The one time that I think some one tried to mug me I just walked right by him... he was threatening me with an invisible knife as far as I could tell even if he had a knife, I could have run. Not saying all encounters are like this, but it is rare to actually be much worst... where as when I watch American TV I am always seeing people being held up or killed by a gun during a mugging not saying this is common, I cannot really comment on that but it seems common enough to be used allot in movies... (I cannot even think of one British show that shows a mugging here never mind someone being killed from one).

Guns provide a false sense of security. For all the security that Americans feel they have with guns, just last week 20 small children were slaughtered in a school. A few months ago dozens of people were shot up in a movie theater. The CDC predicts that within the next few years, gun deaths with exceed deaths from traffic accidents. The US has the highest gun related incident rate of any developed country. You feel safe because you think you are in control if you have a gun. In reality, you have no more control than an unarmed person does in nearly every situation. Guns are a plague and Im glad I live in a country where they are outlawed.

I agree with this. So many times I have heard of a school getting shot up and many people killed due to some idiot with a gun? Your (not you whatthe****, the people who are pro guns) solution, don't give idiots guns? Then they will get them from the lesser idiots and still have them... Your other solution, give guns to more people, then more idiots have guns... Freely available guns (aka non illegal private guns) will always result in some idiot getting their hands on one. At least here I know the idiots cannot get hold (yes, I KNOW they cannot get hold of them, not saying no one can, but the people who do the things I see on the news cannot as they are not smart/responsible enough to not get caught how do I know this? Well, I don't think we have had any school shootings in the UK ever).

The major problem the US has now is it cannot get rid of them... at least not in the next 50 years or so...

First it needs to convince its people that owning a gun IS bad/stupid... which seems to be starting to happening, it is just a shame that so many children have to lose their lives for people to start to think this...

Then it needs to start fighting the companies that make money from this madness... they are not going to give up without a fight...

Then the needs to start getting rid of the millions of guns people own that are not going to want to give them up...

Then it needs to outlaw them...

Non of that is going to be easy and skipping to the outlawing stage what some of the pro gun people say will happen might happen (not everything, not even most things) most notable, that guns will first move into the hands of criminals and out of the hands of citizens... The only way to stop this is to make it hard to get hold of them first.

Culture of violence: Gun crime goes up by 89% in a decade

It is still far safer to live here then in the US. The problem here is gangs, not the lack of guns. Violence have been on the rise for along time here... this is partly due to a number of reasons, increase in population and increase in crime reporting have both lead it seeming that violence in the UK is increasing more then it actually is. Though I admit that those stats higher then these can account for... but I still do not think this validates your views on owning a gun.

History of Gun Control in the 20th Century <<< This one should give everyone nightmares, because it's all true!

This was is actually quite funny... Do they really think that lawful guns would have made that much of a difference?

I think that during the world wars that many Jews would have still been killed as they didn't have any reason to fight back at the time, they where lead to the concentration camps through subterfuge and trickery which is why they did not fight back that hard. That article makes it sound like if they had guns they would have been fine... this is an outright lie... there was allot of effort by the Natzies to hide what the concentrations camps where for as long as they could if they did not the Jews would have rioted with or without guns and could have won either way (they had enough numbers).

There is far more to those stories then "who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated" as when there are that many people being "rounded up", they can defend themselves, the problem is that they did not for one reason or another and there is far more going on then that article actually shows (this is what I think that article is a joke, I don't think what happened is in any way funny)