Mike Huckabee: I want my gun when I want it!

[journalist3072]

So earlier this evening, I was listening to Road to the White House on C-span Radio, and was just absolutely floored by Mike Huckabee's speech before the NRA.

Regarding waiting periods, he said waiting periods were "an inconvenience for guys like me. I want what I want, when I want it." In other words, GIVE ME MY GUN! NOW!

Even more distressing for me, though, was how he talked about his late father's gun. And he says how he hopes to leave his gun to his own children. He said "I can't imagine any father saying to his child, 'when I die, I'm going to leave you my PlayStation."

In other words, it's better for a father to leave a child a gun than a PlayStation.

Culture of life, anyone?

[TwilightGardener]

1. Just a pandering dipshit, is all he is. He sings a different tune in front

of every audience.

[LeftyMom]

2. Did you hear the part about his certainty there's good duck hunting in heaven?

:rofl:

[mitchum]

32. Not much of a heavenly reward for the ducks

[Chomskyite]

3. I sure as hell don't want the Huckabee boy

. . . walking around armed.

Oops. That bullfrog already has. And he tried to get on a plane.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=3085058

[vireo]

9. The cop who arrested him is named Nugent!

"I removed the bag and asked Mr. Huckabee if he knew what he had in the bag," Little Rock police officer Arthur Nugent wrote in a report after being summoned to a security checkpoint. "He replied he did now."

:rofl:

BTW, is this the same sicko who hanged a dog?

[backscatter712]

4. I'm going to be flamed on this, but...

I agree with Huckabee on this issue. I don't agree with Huckabee on anything else, but I agree that waiting periods for firearms purchases are asinine. Granted, the way he said it was, well, typically Republican.

I'll live with the Brady Act background checks - those are reasonable, but since the technology exists for instant background checks, then people should be able to purchase guns the instant they clear the check.

[Bluebear]

31. 'waiting periods for firearms purchases are asinine.' - yes, especially when someone is enflamed.

:eyes:

[michreject]

37. I have 52

How is making me wait going to stop anything?

[Bluebear]

45. So what's the big rush for #53 then?

[michreject]

46. Never know when the urge is gonna strike

I have a CCW so I'm not delayed anyway. No checks what-so-ever. I see something I want, I pay for it and go.

[backscatter712]

48. Care to give me examples?

I suspect the angry yahoo who leaves an argument or fight, drives to the gun store, picks out a gun, and sits through the background check process (which takes 20 minutes in my experience, YMMV,) then drives back to shoot someone is a myth.

Normal people can cool down from anger in just a few minutes - if someone actually does all of the above, he's not facing 2nd degree murder for a crime of passion, he's facing 1st degree murder for a coldly planned execution.

[Hangingon]

38. I won't flame you...

I don't see any advantage to waiting periods either. Tye background check was supposed to take care of that. I didn't listen to Huckabee's speech. Passing guns down is an old tradition - one around long before Playstation was invented.

[saltpoint]

5. Man this guy is pukey.

[rusty quoin]

6. Well, you got to have a gun when you need it, like when you're in a bar fight.

[krispos42]

7. We'd probably save more lives with a waiting period on...

...fast food than we ever could with one on a gun.

Very few people actually legitimately buy a firearm with the intent of using it in a crime. Most crimes are committed by career criminals who cannot already legally buy, own, or posess a gun.

If you want to help cut the flow of guns to criminals, expand the federal instant background check to all firearm transactions, not just ones froma federally licensed dealer.


And regarding the handing down of sentimental items in a family...

Well, the gun will have a lot more 'real' adventure associated with it than a PlayStation.

Unlike a PlayStation, they are not obsolete in a few years.

And they are a hell of a lot more durable. In the year 2086 nobody will be playing with an original Nintendo Entertainment System or a Commodore 64. Hell, finding one now isn't that easy, and it's only been 20 years! Yet people today routinely hunt and shoot with guns a century old. And even if the gun itself if not a century old, the design is.


It never fails. Somebody uninformed comes up with an idea that they think will cut crime rates and that sounds plausable to the masses. Somebody else says "Hey, it's not going to work", at which point the second person is demonized as a gun nut who a) has a small penis, b) doesn't care about violent crimes, c) is salivating about getting the chance to legally shoot somebody, and d) has seen the movie "Die Hard" far, far, FAR too many times. And the uninformed person is taking too much time insulting the gun nut to actually ask "Okay, what's YOUR idea?"

[Mythsaje]

10. Good luck with THIS argument...

This subject--and the general right to self-defense--is one place where I tend to really diverge from the liberal norm.

[krispos42]

14. Me, too

For which I have been repeatedly accused of desiring to fondle a shiny metal penis! :-)

I typically ask them to be quiet because I'm polishing my Mannlicher...



:rofl:

[Mythsaje]

17. I haven't owned a firearm in years...

And, as I've discussed on several threads to no avail, my own education in the matter came from a small and very beautiful older woman when I was about 19... I was nearly a foot taller than her and outweighed her by about sixty pounds at the time. She asked me how, if not with a handgun, could she possibly defend herself against someone like me...

I couldn't argue that. And still can't.

Now people will tell me that folks are more likely to get hurt with their own weapon that defend themselves with it, but I have yet to be convinced by that argument.

[krispos42]

18. "God made men. Colonel Colt made them equal" I believe is the quote.

There are about 200 civilian justified homcides a year.

From that fact, one might infer that rarely defend themselves. However, there are an estimated 1.2 to 2.5 million defensive gun uses per year. So that just shows that honest, gun-wielding citizens rarely have to shoot criminals.

The police shoot and kill less than 400 people a year. So the jusifiable homicide body count isn't an indicator of effectiveness.

[Mythsaje]

19. Makes sense...n/t

[backscatter712]

24. People are NOT more likely to be hurt by their own firearms

I'll have to dig up some specific statistics, but go check out http://www.guncite.com/

Also, check out books by sociologist Gary Kleck, including Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America, which brings some good, solid research into self defense with firearms.

But please do not tell me that guns are 43 times more likely to kill you than to defend you - that "statistic" has been thoroughly debunked!

[Mythsaje]

25. I don't believe it either...

Though I'm sure someone can quite eagerly argue that it was debunked at all. :shrug: Personally, that stat never passed the smell test in my opinion. I know weapons and I know self-defense. It just didn't ring true.

[spag68]

8. I'm going to give

my play station to my grandson, as it will be worth something as an antique.

[BenDavid]

11. Damn! Read your heading and I thought I

was reading about Viagra and he wants his erection when he wants it.....DAMN! Need my reading glasses....

Ben David

[napi21]

12. Hmmm...part of the instant gratification society is he?

Isn't THAT the very society the RWers condem? Actually Hick seems to be one of the better of the RW group, but I don't want any of them because I'm MOST CONCerNeD about the SCOTUS! If a Pub Prez gets to appoint even one, let alone three nore Justices, we're screwed for more than a generation!

[derby378]

13. I inherited an old shotgun from my great-grandfather

It passed to my grandfather, and then to my father, and then to me. I lovingly cleaned and reblued it a few years ago, but it's strictly a wallhanger due to its age and the power of modern shotgun cartridges. Still, ginbarn does not want any guns in the house, so it's back with my parents for the time being.

As for the NICS checks, I'm fine with them. Better to wait a few minutes rather than a few days in order to take home a new gun. If there's one thing gun owners like me need to learn and remember, it's patience. Being an impatient gun owner can sometimes get you injured or worse.

[qdemn7]

15. You know as little about gun owners

As a virgin does about sex. We already have the National Instant Check System, there is absolutely no need for any waiting period, anywhere. And handing guns down from father to son, or even from father to son to grandson are all time honored traditions.

Finally, although armed self-defense may be legally permissible in the American legal system, gun control advocates consider it immoral and shameful, and the right to protect one's life itself must be subjugated to "civilization" and gun ownership is a blot upon civilization.

[Mythsaje]

20. In my eyes, the 2nd Amendment, at its base,

is the right of self defense by whatever reasonable means necessary.

[Kelly Rupert]

16. I inherited a shotgun

from my grandfather. I almost never use it, but I take care of it. I don't think there's anything wrong with that; it's something that gave him a lot of joy in his life, it's not cheap or poorly-made, and it still works perfectly well. Should he have asked that it be thrown away upon his death?

While I agree with the concept of waiting periods, I don't believe there's anything "distressing" about bequeathing a firearm.

[Prophet 451]

22. Nor I

I still have my grandfather's WWI service revolver. I don't dare try and fire it with modern rounds but the thing has a real history. Not only did it belong to my grandfather but it fought in the trenches of Flanders. I wouldn't pass it on to a kid but in due course, I hope to leave it to my nephew (I don't and won't have kids).

[Prophet 451]

21. Oh dear

For the record, I'm pro-gun rights. However, I also can't see why a waiting period of a few days is such a bug-bear to a legitimate gun owner. A minor inconvienience, sure but the world is full of things enacted for public safety which are minor inconvieniences for teh rest of us.

The Playstation line, I'm actually with him on. He's right but he's right because it's a bloody stupid comparison. Gaming technology changes every three years or so while the basic mechanics of a firearm have been unaltered for over a century. Also, there's something more romantic about passing on something which can't be replaced in any shop, something which carries some real history to it. I still cherish my grandfather's service revolver (WWI vintage).

[goodgd_yall]

23. What a weird Baptist minister

People say the wackiest things when they speak before the NRA.

What is a guy like him anyway? A spoiled, compulsive, immature politician?

[aquart]

26. Was there something defective in his toilet training?

Did his parents fear the word NO would damage his psyche?

[candymarl]

27. Agree Aquart

What? Are the British coming? Is the Civil War raging? If you need a gun ASAP you'd better call a cop. I don't think your attacker is going to wait while you rush to the local gun store. If you're already a gun owner I'd figure you'd have planned how to get to your weapon before your attacker strikes. I know how to use a gun. No, I don't own one. Why? Most people (see FBI/other Law Enforcement stats) are killed by people they know, not strangers.

[mvccd1000]

28. I'm surprised by the pro-2nd Amendment responses here

I thought the Iraq war and gun rights would be the two areas where my opinion differed from most here.

Looks like we're down to just the Iraq war. :)

I own and carry an unregistered handgun, because the state I live in (Arizona) does not have any gun registration. I don't see any need for a waiting period, because - as has been stated above - the background information is available instantly.

How many people do you really think run out of a heated bar fight, straight to the gun store, and back to the fight with their new gun so they can blow someone away? How many clerks in a gun store do you think are going to sell a gun to a person who comes running in, red in the face, out of breath, and demanding that they hurry up with the purchase?

As I said, I carry frequently. I have yet to pull my gun to intimidate or shoot a waitress who brings me the wrong order, or a driver who cuts me off in traffic, or some rude person in the bank who takes all day in line (and yes, we can legally carry in the bank).

Carrying a gun actually tends to make you 1) pay a lot more attention to your surroundings, and 2) act much more polite and tolerant than you may otherwise act.

The other night in Arizona, a pregnant woman was assaulted walking home from her waitress job in Gilbert. As it happened, she had a knife and was able to slash her attacker until he ran off, but the part I found interesting was that the perpetrators had been driving around for 20 minutes looking for an opportune victim. The simple act of wearing a holstered pistol would likely have removed her from their consideration as a victim, thus saving her from having any interaction with the criminals.

Just to keep this somewhat on topic, I agree that Huckabee will say whatever he thinks his audience wants to hear.

[Richard Steele]

33. Many Dems support the 2nd Amendment. Good luck supporting the Iraq Occupation here at DU. nm

[derby378]

34. You'd be surprised...

[Hangingon]

39. My last gun purchase took over an hour - NCIS

NCIS isn't "instant".

[mvccd1000]

40. That sucks. :(

I've only had to have a background check once, but it really was instant. He was off the phone before he finished writing on the paper. I probably wasn't in the store 15 minutes total.

[Hangingon]

53. Actually, the problem was the number of checks they were running

I have a CHL which should make the check go really quickly. Still, the check is not always fast. I don't see any good in waiting periods.

[Kelly Rupert]

41. Surprisingly, most Democrats do not take their policy positions off what Rush claims they believe.

Good luck on that supporting-the-Iraq-occupation business, though. That's generally redeemable for a one-way ticket to Tombstone if you start parroting the administration defenses of it.

[mvccd1000]

54. Thanks for the advice, Kelly

I had my own views on Iraq long before this administration was in place, so I'm definitely not in lockstep with them on it. I just have a different opinion than most here, it seems. :)

It is refreshing to see the variety of gun views here, as I would have guessed that issue to be one as polarizing as the Iraq occupation.

[Mythsaje]

43. A lot of the anti-gun rhetoric seems to stem from big city liberals

whose only contact with guns were on the negative end. People who grew up in more rural areas tend to be more nuanced in their perceptions of the matter.

However...on the Iraq War, you're going to find very little agreement. Afghanistan was one thing--Iraq another thing entirely. It was little more than a waste of time, money, lives, and resources. We'd have been better off going after the Sauds than Saddam.

:shrug:

[benEzra]

49. Lots of DU'ers own guns...

I'm also a CHL holder, "AK" owner, and married to a gun owner.

[Sherman A1]

29. I want good government all the time

but it sure seems hard to come by these last 6+ years in DC.

[Bluebear]

30. And I want my MTV. And I want my Maypo.

Deal with it.

[JerseygirlCT]

35. Did you hear him on Hardball, arguing that NYC subways would

be safer if everyone was packing heat?

What a dolt!

[Mythsaje]

44. Yeah, nothing safer than a packed train full of armed people

ready to blast away at anything that looked funny.

Ugh.

[-..__...]

36. In what context was the term "waiting period" used?

"Waiting periods" for firearms sales can mean two separately distinct meanings. By one loose definition it can mean the 3 day wait that's part of the Brady/NICS check that all firearms dealers must perform. Under the current system, once an FFL (dealer), initiates a background check, the FBI must respond back within 3 business days with either a "proceed" or "deny". If the dealer doesn't get a response back after that time period they have the discretion whether or not to proceed with the sale.

The more accurate definition of the "waiting period" is a mandated time period between the time of purchase and time when the buyer can take possession of the firearm(s)... regardless of the outcome of the NICS check. As an example, in California a gun buyer must wait ten days from time of purchase to time of receivership even if the NICS results in a "proceed". In fact, the Brady Bill/NICS check as originally enacted required a 5 day "waiting period"

The logic/reasoning given by the anti 2nd amendment crowd is to serve as a "cooling off" period to help prevent crimes of passion and persons with the intent of committing suicide.

With that in mind, the NRA supports the former definition and is opposed to the latter...

FABLE III: NRA opposes all "reasonable" gun regulations.

Anti-gun activist groups claim that all of their proposals--including gun bans, prohibitive taxes, registration and licensing to name a few-- are "moderate and reasonable." Those who oppose such ideas, they say, are "unreasonable." And they claim that NRA opposes all gun laws. The truth is, NRA supports many gun laws, including federal and state laws that prohibit the possession of firearms by certain categories of people, such as convicted violent criminals, those prohibiting sales of firearms to juveniles, and those requiring instant criminal records checks on retail firearm purchasers.

http://www.nraila.org/media/misc/fables.html#FABLE%20III:

The more accurate description of "waiting periods" is complete anti-RKBA nonsense. Never mind that anyone with the intent of committing mayhem or a "crime of passion" is really going to be put-off by it, but it's also pretty ridiculous to make a law abiding citizen who already possesses firearms to repeatedly wait any time period above and beyond what is required under the current NICS system. If anything, what really needs to be done is to improve the current system so that any background check results in shorter delays (without sacrificing reliability).

[auburngrad82]

42. "I don't want to wait! I'm mad NOW!" - Homer Simpson nt

[slackmaster]

47. What's the point of a waiting period for someone who passes the background check?

Especially if the person already owns one or more firearms?

(Just a data point, I avoid California's waiting period on curio or relic firearms by using my federal firearms license.)

[-..__...]

50. You still have to wait though.

(Just a data point, I avoid California's waiting period on curio or relic firearms by using my federal firearms license.)

"The Big Brown Truck is here!... The Big Brown Truck is here!...

:bounce: :woohoo: :bounce:

[slackmaster]

56. True enough, but at least it's not 10 days

:D

[Nickster]

51. And in the meantime I have to show my drivers license and sign a log to get sinus medicine! LOL

[Sparkly]

52. This is the issue where self-proclaimed "lefties" decide the rightwing view is "progressive."

And that's all I'm sayin'. :crazy:

[benEzra]

55. Historically, attempts to limit gun ownership to society's elites IS the right-wing position.

This is the issue where self-proclaimed "lefties" decide the rightwing view is "progressive." And that's all I'm sayin'. :crazy:

Historically, attempts to limit gun ownership to society's elites, and restrict it from minorities and the working classes, IS the right-wing position.

The Conservative Roots of U.S. Gun Control

Gun control in the UK originated as an attempt to keep guns out of the hands of leftists in the 1920's. The Australian gun confiscations were carried out by conservatives. NYC's Sullivan Law was based on xenophobia, and Jim Crow is the reason why the South led the nation in gun control until recently. The original Federal "assault weapon" ban was the brainchild of arch-right-winger William J. Bennett, Sarah Brady is a Reagan republican and proud of it, and the president of the Brady Campaign is a repub.

That position is fundamentally incompatible with the Enlightenment foundations of progressive thought.

Half of U.S. gun owners are Dems and indies. Were you aware of that?

"By calling attention to 'a well regulated militia', the 'security' of the nation, and the right of each citizen 'to keep and bear arms', our founding fathers recognized the essentially civilian nature of our economy. Although it is extremely unlikely that the fears of governmental tyranny which gave rise to the Second Amendment will ever be a major danger to our nation, the Amendment still remains an important declaration of our basic civilian-military relationships, in which every citizen must be ready to participate in the defense of his country. For that reason, I believe the Second Amendment will always be important."

-Senator John F. Kennedy, April 1960

And last but not least,