Tornado damage in Lawrence County, AL included finding several shotguns in surrounding fields...

[Dawggie]

Around the remains of trailers and homes that were destroyed.

Just think what the disaster would have been if we didn't have our guns to protect us.

On a more serious note, a lot of people died last night in the SE. Probably a lot more than were killed in their neighborhoods by gun toting baddies in the last several years.

A lot of the people lived in trailers. They probably had those shotguns because they enjoyed dove hunting in Septembers past.

It amazes me to see so many posts and threads glorifying the sanctity of the American firearm as if there was a Clanton gang around every corner in every city. as if every home experienced a violent home invasion several times a year.

As if we needed guns at close hands in case the government turns on us so we can recreate Red Dawn and fight off an equiped army with 30-30's and crossbows.

What protections do we need as Americans?

We need a FEMA that can work.

We need a government that will really help people rebuild.

We need a populace more concerned with helping others rather than praying for a chance to be Dirty Harry.

[NightWatcher]

1. turning a tragic weather event into an occasion to mock gun owners is shameful

this is not the time to debate the gun issue at the expense of people who were killed and/or lost everything.

[Dawggie]

2. I was here.

Some of this was less than a mile away from my home.

Hearing the reports of the shotguns in the field struck a chord.

Did I mock you? If I did, I'm sorry, there was nothing intended to mock you.

There was, however, a motive to point to true issues of humanity rather than wet dreams of Rambo.

[Richard Steele]

42. Indeed. nm

[Ian David]

3. Were they trying to shoot the tornadoes?

And for the record, my gun has killed one less person than Laura Bush's car.

[Dawggie]

5. no... there were just that many shotguns in the trailers that were destroyed earlier this morning...

It struck me as odd that the local TV was warning people to stay away because there were loaded guns laying around in the path of the tornadoes.

An edit to your edit.

And I'll bet your gun has killed several less people than... Take your choice.

[Ian David]

15. Guns don't kill people. George W. Bush kills people.

My wife won't let me put THAT one on my car.

[stellanoir]

22. See if she'd let you put this one on your car. . .

From a Far Side cartoon bumper sticker on a flying cartoon car.

"Ray guns don't vaporize Zorbonians. Zorbonians vaporize Zorbonians."

Gary Larson

[NightWatcher]

7. I love the 'laura bush' argument. it goes so well against the 'ted kennedy' argument too

[Ian David]

24. Michael Dutton Douglas

Michael Dutton Douglas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Michael Dutton Douglas (November 16, 1945 – November 6, 1963) was a 17-year-old acquaintance of Laura Welch (later First Lady Laura Bush) who was killed when Welch, also 17, failed to stop at a stop sign while driving and broadsided his vehicle. Welch was not ticketed or charged in connection with the collision. According to some accounts, Douglas was a former romantic interest or ex-boyfriend of Welch. <1>

Douglas and Welch were students together at Robert E. Lee High School in Midland, Texas. Douglas has been described as an active athlete, physically attractive, and intelligent. He was nominated as the school's most popular male student while a junior, an honor typically awarded only to graduating high school seniors.

In May 2000, a two-page police report detailing the fatal crash was made public. The report revealed that on November 6, 1963, Welch was driving her Chevrolet Impala sedan with one passenger (Judy Dyke, also 17). It was a clear Wednesday night, shortly after 8 p.m., when Welch entered the intersection of State Highway 349 and Farm to Market Road 868. Welch failed to observe the intersection's stop sign and collided into Douglas' Chevrolet Corvair sedan. Welch and Dyke sustained minor injuries; Douglas was pronounced dead on arrival at Midland Memorial Hospital. Welch was not charged with any offense.

The future First Lady made a brief remark in March 2000 about the crash, "I know this as an adult, and even more as a parent, it was crushing ... for the family involved and for me as well." <2>



More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Dutton_Douglas

[alfredo]

32. I had a neighbor who would shoot at thunderstorms.

[Wcross]

44. How did that work out?

Seriously? He (I am assuming a woman wouldn't be that ignorant) would shoot at thunderstorms? I wonder if he gave any consideration as to where the bullets hit. I hope someone whacked him upside the head and explained the danger of shooting without knowing where the bullet would hit.

[alfredo]

46. I think it was a whack up side the head that made him that way.

He used a shotgun, so he was feeding deadly pellets to birds that used them in their gizzards.

[stellanoir]

4. Did they really try to take the tornado out with shotguns?

Yikes.

I'm listening to a report from Jackson TN right. . . now just devastating.

http://www.here-now.org/

The show will be archived and available for streaming by 2:15 pm EST.

[Dawggie]

6. No... As I just mentioned in a post above this one, there was a concern

about loaded weapons lying around in a civilian disaster zone.

[Wcross]

8. What a twisted post.

Nobody EXPECTED a gun to be of any use in this situation. You will notice that the local police didn't prevent this tragedy. Fema couldn't prevent this tragedy. Nothing can stop nature from taking its toll on human beings.

Anything else from you about what could have stopped this tragedy? Maybe the anti-sex toy laws in Alabama caused this? Maybe a vibrator could have stopped the destruction?

[Dawggie]

10. Well, duh.

Of course they didn't. This was just a juxtaposition of natural violence versus man made violence.

Violence sucks and I will do my best to quell it where I can.

I have no effect on the weather.

[Wcross]

20. Guns = violence????

Criminals may use guns in violent acts but a gun laying in a field is not going to "get violent". How about the carving knives that are also laying in the field? Are they a cause of violence? Baseball bats? Crow bars?

Guns are nothing but tools. No need to use the term "duh", I had already assumed that part from your first post.

[Dawggie]

28. Usually, when used outside of a sporting venue....

A loaded gun unattended in a field is a threat to any child that might come upon it.

[Squatch]

34. ...

[Dimensio0]

30. To what specific incident(s) of...

...man-made violence do you refer?

[karlrschneider]

61. It's pretty clear you don't have any effect on sanity or decency either.

:puke:

[jody]

9. What's your problem? n/t

[Dawggie]

11. I'm sorry. I didn't realise that concern for my neighborhood constituted a "problem."

peace.

[jody]

13. How does a law-abiding citizen possessing a firearm affect your neighborhood? You do know that

self-defense is your personal responsibility, not government -- don't you?

[Ikonoklast]

12. The First Amendment didn't save them, either

Nice to see you advancing a personal agenda on the shoulders of others' misfortune.

[Dawggie]

17. Thanks. I've spent all morning listening to sirens and going in and out of a brick stairwell.

Agenda? To stay alive?

Sorry, I'm a bit cranky with no sleep and watching the local news of the destruction. I tend to make it personal in situations like this.

[Ikonoklast]

21. Spare me. I live in Ohio. My childhood home was levelled

By a tornado.

I didn't blame it on my neighbors gun ownership, or whatever absurd leap of logic you were trying to accomplish.

Stay safe.

[Dawggie]

26. I don't think I blamed this on anything....

My "absurd leap of logic?" Just a juxtaposition of "self protection" and the futility of it.

[stellanoir]

25. So sorry you had to deal with this. Just sounded so intense on that report.

See if you can get some rest.

I think they said on that report that more storms may be hovering.

Take care and thanks for the report.

Sorry I misunderstood.

best

[Coyote_Bandit]

14. You are obviously

unfamiliar with some of the finer aspects of living in a rural area.

Cops come after bad stuff happens. In many rural areas there is only one deputy available to patrol an entire county and respond to police emergencies at any given time. Police emergencies do not get the same quick response as they do in the city. Even if staffing wasn't an issue travel time to remote locations is. If you find yourself hiding in a closet making a 911 call because someone just broke in it could easily be a 45 minute or more response time. Good luck. More than likely your intruder is armed.

I've seen livestock and pets brutalized, mutilated and murdered. I've seen houses, barns, workshops and fields intentionally and maliciously set afire. I've seen lots of burglaries. And I have on multiple occasions awakened in the night and looked outside to see folks walking in my yard with flashlights. I have no idea who they were or just exactly what they were doing but without quesiton they had no legal right to be there. And I promise you if they had tried to enter my home I would have shot their sorry asses. No fucking way am I even going to try to hide in a closet and wait for a cop that might not arrive for hours.

So i guess you can just call me dirty Harriett.

[Dawggie]

19. Sorry to dissapoint, but I have lived more in rural than not...

Cops come and they usually bring trouble.

EMS come and try to help.

What century are you talking about? Range wars?

Do people cross your lawn on a regular basis with flashlights?

LOL! Thanks, I needed a laugh.

[Wcross]

38. I had to confront armed poachers in my back field a month ago.

I armed myself before asking them to leave. They were intoxicated & claiming to be "looking for a deer they had shot". It was well past sundown (10pm), I don't know what they were really up to. I couldn't afford to let armed drunks to wander my property. I felt more comfortable being armed when I asked them to leave.

[Coyote_Bandit]

39. Well isn't that special?

Happened recently. All of it.

Some rural counties are sparsely populated, have small budgets and small police forces. Do you realize that there is one state that has a populaiton density of less than 7 people per square mile? The state does have some towns and small cities. How sparsely populated do you think the rural areas of that state are? Not everybody's experience is like yours.

If you had repeatedly had your home broken into and burglarized and had your animals mutilated and killed then you just might find it a bit uncomfortable to see folks walking around in your yard at night. Especially if nobody else lived in a three mile or so radius.

Hope things go well for you Dwaggie. I will not be reading any more of your posts. I do not invite guests into my home or my place of work - whether in real life or electronically - who denigrate my legal rights (gun possession) or who ridicule fear. And that is exactly how I understood your comments. Did I misunderstand?

[Dawggie]

52. "repeatedly had your home broken into and burglarized and had your animals mutilated and killed..."

I suppose so.

Bwahahahaha! Are you serious or do just really do a great job of pissng your neighbors off?

[Wcross]

27. There are very good reasons to keep a gun in your home.

I am sure you are no more eager to play "dirty Harry" than I am. I would be horrified if I had to kill someone but if it came down to my life or a criminals I wouldn't have much of a choice. We have two deputies on patrol in my 700 sq mile county. If guns aren't useful when confronting a criminal, why do cops carry them? I guess some are more comfortable "outsourcing" their personal safety by calling someone with a gun to rescue them.

[Dawggie]

41. I guess I just don't spend so much time fantacizing about it as many here seem to do?

[Wcross]

43. Oh, I also fantasize about my house catching fire so I can use my extinguisher.

You seem to spend your day fantasizing about what other people are fantasizing in their heads. I have never seen ANYONE post here about wanting to shoot someone. The mere fact that a person owns a gun does not mean they WANT to shoot someone.

[jmg257]

45. You sure seem to spend ALOT of time bitching about it though...what gives? nt

[NightWatcher]

16. I also see bottles and cans laying around. So I guess recycling efforts to save the planet...

didnt save their own neighborhood

[EnviroBat]

18. Why the hell do I even come here anymore...

[Squatch]

23. Comedy relief?

[EnviroBat]

35. I gotta wonder sometimes Squatch...

[Squatch]

37. You and me both, brother...

when I first read the title of this thread, I was thinking: "that SOB Dawggie...found some perfectly good shotguns strewn about a field. I bet it's a matched set of Winchester 101 Pigeon Grade O/Us."

Then I read the rest of the OP...:rofl:

[EnviroBat]

40. Heheheh

:rofl:

[jmg257]

29. So those shotguns were the cause of the tornadoes?? The cause of the deaths?

Were the people SOO stupid they thought their guns would save them in this instance, and so brandished them against nature?

If not - then what is the point??? You don't like guns - we get it! THEN DON'T OWN THEM! It's YOUR choice!


What we REALLY need are less assholes using every tragedy imaginable as a way to somehow justify trying to infringe on constitutionally secured rights of their fellow citizens.

[Dawggie]

31. Ummmmm.... If you had read the previous posts, it would have explained it for you.

Thanks for calling me an asshole. It's barely noon and I have been missing my allotment.

[jmg257]

33. Anytime! :) nt

[NeedleCast]

36. I'm Shocked That

Them thar southerners are able to resist their desire to go beat each other to death with the debris laying around. I mean, fields of ripped up two by fours...I'm amazed that we're not seeing outbursts of violence all over Alabama with all the newly created and exposed potential weaponry.

I'm sure all those shotgun owners sit in their trailers nightly, waiting for someone to shoot.

(I should probably point out that this post was a work of satire, aimed and the ridiculous notions in the OP)

[uppityperson]

47. Best wishes to all there and I like your last 3 lines in OP

Hoping it calms down soon and no more people die.

[CRF450]

48. I dont see any good coming out of these wise ass comments.

Stop it already.

[Dawggie]

53. exacty. God forbid that anyone say anything against tools made for killing.

Call me a nut, it's okay. I was called that when I protested the Viet Nam war. I'm used to it.

[Wcross]

57. Tools made for killing deer & ducks.

What a "wonderful" world you must live in when you can be upset that people hunt for sustenance. You naturally consider the presence of a gun "violence" waiting to happen. Most of us who live in the rural south consider guns a normal household item. Have you ever tried to shoot a coyote with an arrow?

No, God forbid you make SILLY comments about tornado's & guns. You have been called a nut in the past? Go figure.:bounce:

[malaise]

58. Keep on protesting

Lots of people use guns to kill people. We had 1500 murders here last year - well over 1200 were gun murders. It's February 6th and 150 people are already dead - the majority by men with guns.

[Wcross]

81. Jamaica has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world.

Please read this link;
http://www.saf.org/LawReviews/Jacobs2.html

How would strict gun control laws that have FAILED in your country work anywhere else? Perhaps you should look at the person who willingly pulls the trigger. Explain to me why, with such "GOOD" gun control laws you still have such a horrendous gun homicide rate.

Here is a clue; Criminals do not obey laws. The only people disarmed by gun control are those that obey the law.
You could have not brought up a better poster child for the "gun control fallacy" than Jamaica. Thanks!

:bounce:

[SecularNATION]

74. I won't call you a nut.

I'll just call you stupid. Stupid for bitching and moaning about guns. That issue is what's kept the Democratic Party from winning many important election. Keep it up, if you want that to continue.

[Wcross]

80. LOL! I didn't have the heart myself but do agree. n/t

[NickB79]

49. Tornados hit trailers, crap flies everywhere

A few shotguns lying amongst the debris, in a rural part of the country, wouldn't surprise me at all.

[MindPilot]

50. There are probably some sex toys and porno too.

Hope the kids don't find THAT stuff!!

[Wcross]

51. Thankfully sex toys are illegal in Alabama.

As a former kid myself, there is nothing wrong with "found porn", it would be a "red letter day" for the lucky kid who finds it.

[Dawggie]

54. But a kid playing cops and robbers with a loaded shotgun is perfectly cool.

[jmg257]

55. Those kids were rasied around guns - probably know what's what. nt

[Wcross]

56. You ought to go out and collect the guns to save the children.

It seems like it would be your civic duty.

[jmg257]

60. Yea - And send them to me! :) nt

[NickB79]

63. Heck, they might find Granny's pain meds

And OD on oxycotin.

What your point is in all these postings, though, is beyond me.

[LanternWaste]

68. How often has that particular scenario happened?

"But a kid playing cops and robbers with a loaded shotgun is perfectly cool."


How often has that particular scenario happened?

[Firespirit]

59. What is your point exactly?

If a disaster occurs that destroys homes, then there will be stuff lying around in the open. Some of it will be dangerous. That's why you shouldn't nose about in a disaster area.

It's the Southeast. People hunt. I wager 99 percent of those guns were purchased and used for that purpose. Deal with it.

[karlrschneider]

62. If you think that poster has a point, you deserve an award for optimism!

:D

[Dawggie]

66. Karl, there was/is a point.

I'm sorry it escaped you.

[krispos42]

64. Cool! Free shotguns!

:woohoo:







On a more serious note, some 41 people a day, every day, are murdered by other people. You are far more likely to be killed by another person that by a tornado, yet you run downstairs when the storms come and criticize people that own guns?

[Dawggie]

69. Yes I do.

Because during a tornado, a basement will most likely nullify the threat.

A man with a gun...

Sorry, I'd still rather face a tornado than an angry gunman.

[Wcross]

82. Why do you have angry gunmen after you Dawggie?

I don't have any gunmen after me. Oh, please convince me why it is in my best interests to be unarmed while being attacked by an "angry gunman".

[krispos42]

88. And when facing an angry gunman...

who is he facing? Scared, armed Dawggie, or scared unarmed Dawggie?

Which do you think he wants to face?

[Throd]

65. Good thing the tornado didn't hit any police stations

There would be guns-a-plenty strewn about and the only rational conclusion is that the townspeople would all exterminate one another in a hail of slugs and pellets.

[Dawggie]

67. Homes and paramilitary institutions are two different things for most folks.

[slutticus]

70. ?

Weird post.

Are you trying to say that FEMA sucks because people want the right to own firearms?


I've read this four times and I can't quite grasp it.

[bluedawg12]

71. It's a weird post because it's a stretch. n/t

[Shakespeare]

72. Considering my family (who live in one of the areas hit) hunt for subsistance...

...I'll just chime in with others on this thread who've pointed how idiotic and offensive your post is.

[DainBramaged]

73. Wow the gunnies are PISSED off. I guess government that works isn't good enough

Lifestyles of the poor and ignorant. :eyes:

[Wcross]

83. I guess a clean environment isn't good enough for you.

See, I can pull something like that out of my ass too.

Please link me to a post with that statement. Tell me why my owning a shotgun makes me against a government that works. What was the point of the original post? Look at the thing. Was it a protest of an inefficient government or a rant about people who had guns in their homes before they were destroyed?

[nealmhughes]

75. This post is ludicrous. I live one county north of Lawrence in North Alabama.

Not merely trailers, but one solid 2400 stick and brick home was levelled. The tornado was 18 miles long and 3/4 of a mile wide. It originated in the Bankhead Forest and thank God for that, or the devastation would have been 1000X worse.
The tornado also touched down in the center of Decatur and skirted Brown Ferry Nuclear Plant when it crossed the Tennessee. It then barely missed Madison, a very large suburb of Huntsville, a city of over 100,000, home of Redstone Arsenal and the Marshall Space Flight Center, which by the way sent the shuttle up a little after 1:30 pm Huntsville time today at Cape Canaveral.
Besides shotguns, one would be bound to find DVDs, CDs, a few laptops and even some Bibles, I would wager.
Lawrence County's primary vote on Tuesday was as follows:

Candidate Party Votes
Hillary Clinton Dem 7003
John Edwards Dem 231
Barack Obama Dem 4097
Joe Biden Dem 30
Chris Dodd Dem 11
Bill Richardson Dem 38
Uncommitted Dem 46

Candidate Party Votes
Rudy Giuliani GOP 56
Mike Huckabee GOP 6772
John McCain GOP 5342
Mitt Romney GOP 4060
Ron Paul GOP 511
Uncommitted GOP 8
Hugh Cort GOP 8
Duncan Hunter GOP

This shows that the split for the primary was about 3 Republican voters for every 2 Democrats, which is odd for North Alabama, it is not usually that Republican!

I don't know what the intent of the OP was, but to introduce a rant about people owning shotguns into a discussion about a tragedy is very strange. I stayed up until 4:30a.m. Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, waiting of the storms to abate, as my mother was terrified and my dog nervous beyond belief. When the reports started to come in from Memphis and Jackson, then into Middle Tennessee and North Alabama, the first things on our minds was not their politics, race, religion or gun ownership, rather the safety of friends and neighbors.

[Dawggie]

86. Neal (?) This post was about a lot more than a question of gun control.

It was the fact that at 7:00 AM I'm hearing warnings to stay away from areas that have live firearms lying about.

That kinda sucks.

Or is that a good thing for you?

[nealmhughes]

87. Your phrasing was imprecise to say the least. It frankly made no sense to me.

You have clarified in subsequent posts what you meant, but I did not read them before your original post. The reading I got, as did most, was some sort of conflagration to tornado rant that was "odd" (and I am being kind at "odd").
The 5 Ws still apply: who, what, where, when and why.
The "loaded guns found in tornado debris" portion was lacking, only "guns" was there. You did not mention any police warning at all when you posted your thing. It was disjointed and seemed to be rather stream of consciousness Joycean prose to me, and apparently, to most readers.
Actually, guns are about the last thing I would normally even begin to consider when thinking about tornado debris -- bodies, personal papers lost, photos and art lost, etc., but not guns. I would think about live electrical wires and propane tanks leaking, but not guns.
I don't find a gun/guns being found in debris after a tornado any more unusual than I would a Bible or a baseball cap or a teddy bear. One tornado, the "State Line" tornado of 15 years ago or so, had a person's unopened bank statement from Iuka MS land in my sister's yard north of Rogersville!

[Dawggie]

89. Sorry., I admit to being a bit disjointed at the time o the writing.

And I make no apologies for my opinions on unchecked firearms in America.

As to tornado refuse it can be a terrible thing. The day I found an arm in my yard will stay with me for ever.

Violence in any form is just that, Violence. It's hard for me to put a good spin on it.

[SecularNATION]

76. We need...

...less Democrats who can't STFU about guns. Gun control is the single most damaging issue to the Democratic Party, and has caused it to lose elections it could have otherwise won. George W. Bush would never have become President in the first place, if it had not been for stupid anti-gun Democrats.

[Dawggie]

77. that is certainly true to low posting dems who don't like us "stupid anti-gun Democrats.

[SecularNATION]

78. You can complain...

...all you want about guns. You can complain about folks who point out, it's people like you who helped put George W. Bush in office, with your foolishness. It won't change the fact, that is exactly what happened.

[Dawggie]

79. Oake doakeee... All anti gun people are evil.

I'm sorry. I'll start a petition.

[Wcross]

84. Ok, I will say it isn't helping.

I had to look up my post count to see if I would qualify. I only have posted 6600 times AND have a donor star. The MOST IMPORTANT THING is I want Democrats in the white house & controlling congress. What do you suppose an undecided voter who owns a gun will think if he/she hears a party wants to ban guns? Do you reckon they might be swayed by that? I suspect gun control costs us more votes than not.

btw- I don't dislike you Dawggie. I dislike your thoughts on my right to own a gun. I agree we have too much gun violence in our country. I disagree that disarming only law abiding gun owners is the solution. I see from your profile you enjoy gardening. I am into that myself. I have been trying to perfect my musk melon & cantaloupe patch. Unfortunately I am allergic to watermelons, otherwise I would be working on those as well. (see, we have something in common)

You have every right to express your opinions. I have every right to disagree.

[Dawggie]

85. Yes we do. And that's a good thing.

We can always agree to disagree, but it's when one faction declare a "war" on another is when it really gets ugly.

I respect you and your ideas. I will hope that you will do the same for me.

I feel that all in all, we both want the best for our country and our people. I doubt that this one issue will keep us from working toward the ideals we have in common.