Guns Suck!

[G_j]

I know I'm just pissing in the wind,
but certainly humanity would be better off just getting rid of guns altogether.
This includes military and police, because, of course, if they can have them, it is only right that ordinary people can have them too,
but...
How I wish the human race would actually EVOLVE!

So now we have people saying students need guns to protect themselves.
I'm telling you, things are not going to get better.
We are devolving.

useless rant over..
:argh:

[tridim]

1. A-friggen-men!

[Pavulon]

2. Lack of self control sucks...Mental Laziness sucks

cars suck because they ran over my doggy. No the ass on the PHONE who ran over your dog is responsible. Responsibility is tough. Worse when it comes to MENTAL health issues and skewed crime statistics that make minority youth more probable victims of gun violence.

But it is easier to blame the car than the driver. And easier to gloss over problems than to confront them.

[G_j]

4. Cars were designed to run people over?

interesting..

[Pavulon]

8. They do a great job of it...

they kill many more than guns do.

But a ban is great. Such examples as prohibition, the war on drugs, and REGANOMICS supply side manipulation are so effective.

[G_j]

10. no. I offer no solution

of course prohibition will not work,
in fact I don't think anything will work


I am just digusted by the whole thing
when I was in college, people were not talking about bringing guns to class
what's next?

[aikoaiko]

16. When I was in college in the 80s, we (students) had guns on campus and no one was shot.

Northern Arizona Univeristy.

My dorm hall had 132 when we did a count.

[zanne]

18. Holy crap. I wouldn't let my kid go to a college like that.

They should have called it Gun Nut University. (By the way, I don't believe that no one got shot.) On campuses, alot of things go unreported.

[aikoaiko]

19. Well. there were no mass shootings or shoot outs.

But you are correct there may have been an negligent shooting or suicide on campus that I never learned about.

[fascisthunter]

27. Bullet Proof Vests May Become Mandatory...?

Cycle of shit just some people can have easy access to buy a product that kills more efficiently. That is what guns are designed for...

Guns promote paranoia, death, and violence. Why is there such a push for it? Ask the gun lobbyists who cash from manufacturers. They are the ones pushing guns on society.

[G_j]

52. great question

What kind of warped logic says MORE guns is better?
How else can one describe a downward spiral into hell?
Do guns promote paranoia, death, and violence?
Of course they do, even as a tool for self defens,e they are meant to cause fear or injury or death.
First and foremost, guns are made for killing!
Perhaps we never grow out of killing each other.

[fascisthunter]

67. Paranoia and Greed

notice the push in the last week or so by certain DUers. There's legislation up for a vote to allow people to carry in Parks. Nah... these Duers have no agenda...

[MrCoffee]

3. useless rant is right.

yawn.

[Junkdrawer]

5. I may go with this Vonnegut quote as my new tag line:

That there are such devices as firearms, as easy to operate as cigarette lighters and as cheap as toasters, capable at anybody's whim of killing Father or Fats or Abraham Lincoln or John Lennon or Martin Luther King, Jr., or a woman pushing a baby carriage, should be proof enough for anybody that, to quote the old science fiction writer Kilgore Trout, "being alive is a crock of shit."


--- Kurt Vonnegut

[G_j]

6. beautiful!

like he said.....



love ya, Kurt!

[burythehatchet]

7. excellent nt

[HCE SuiGeneris]

9. I would have said that if I'd thought of it!

A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved.
Kurt Vonnegut, Sirens of Titan
US novelist (1922 - 2007)

[fascisthunter]

26. I Forgot About That

Excellent point which seems to be lost on most rabid pro-gunners who erroneously call guns tools.

[EstimatedProphet]

30. I expected better from Vonnegut

1) Proper gun use isn't as easy as using a cigarette lighter. Do you know how often people train in shooting? Probably not if you think that's a worthwhile statement.

2) As cheap as a toaster? Really? A toaster costs about $10. A basic handgun from a gun store is going to cost a minimum of $200, and $500 if you want one that's usable. That leaves out a lot of people.

3) Unless you're within 5 feet of someone, picking up a handgun for the very first time and assassinating someone is not likely at all. So there goes the whole "anybody's whim" thing.

4) I'll grant him that being alive is a crock of shit.

The problem I have with the arguments I see on DU was stated in the OP. People seem to have the belief that guns actually cause the problems we have, as if they have some sort of mind-control device inside. So you're successful in your efforts to ban guns. Will society's problems go away? You're foolish if you think they will. The ban guns idea is simply putting a bandage on a cancer. But unfortunately, that bandage will encourage the growth of the cancer, because people are trying to sell it as an actual cure for all our problems, and that will only make people stop looking for a real cure. Ban guns, and there will be people saying society is fixed now, and then we'll never get around to really addressing the injustice and inequality that causes the gun violence we have. I say let's focus our energies where they are needed.

[Junkdrawer]

33. I shot a gun once in my life...I hit bullseyes from 50 yards with a hand gun...

Aim down the sights...squeeze, don't jerk the trigger...

Couldn't be simpler.

[EstimatedProphet]

40. That's called a rarity

I'm sorry, I don't believe that you simply picked up a handgun for the very first time and consistently shot bullseyes at 50 yards. If by some chance you did do that, you should be a professional marksman. Most people can't do that with a rifle, let alone a handgun.

[Junkdrawer]

42. It was 17 years ago...I remember shooting about 20 rounds...

I remember missing the target only a few times and hitting the bullseye several times.

I did much better than my friend who belonged to the range and whose gun I was using.

BTW: He became a *ahem* "gun enthusiast" after buying a house in a bad neighborhood.

[EstimatedProphet]

45. OK, if that happenned, you're a prodigy

The average person cannot come close to that kind of ability. And I mean average in the statistical sense too - go out about 3 standard deviations and you might find people with an ability like that, maybe 3 out of 1,000. The rest will not be able to hit a target from 10 yards with a handgun at their first shot.

[Balbus]

41. There is something simpler..

telling bullshit stories on an internet message board.

[spin]

62. You should have stuck with it.

Some people have a natural talent at golf, some at baseball, some at pool and some at shooting. Two videos to watch:

long distance shooting with a handgun...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQBM0_-yGrg

rapid fire with a revolver...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3fgduPdH_Y

[G_j]

56. of course they do not cause our problems

humans already have LOTS of very serious problems! Guns were specifically designed to kill or maim.
That is just a shitty combination.
And with billions in the world already, we argue about the earth's population needed more of them!
Excuse me, but that is just fucking lame.

[B Calm]

11. With billions of guns in the world, a reasonable person would come

to the conclusion that there's nothing that can be done about it.

[G_j]

12. yep

that is my conclusion.
I just find it depressing enough to remark about it.
with billions of guns already out there, for many the solution to tragic shootings, is to arm more people.

[margotb822]

13. How I agree with you!

Who hates another so much that they wish him dead without cause? This is not the 1700s. People do not need guns to survive. Gun laws must be strict to protect the citizens!

[michreject]

14. You're right. Totally useless rant

And one I disagree with.

[xchrom]

15. recommend

[Freddie Stubbs]

17. AP: Obama Supports Individual Gun Rights

By NEDRA PICKLER – 17 hours ago

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Barack Obama said Friday that the country must do "whatever it takes" to eradicate gun violence following a campus shooting in his home state, but he believes in an individual's right to bear arms.

Obama said he spoke to Northern Illinois University's president Friday morning by phone and offered whatever help his Senate office could provide in the investigation and improving campus security. The Democratic presidential candidate spoke about the Illinois shooting to reporters while campaigning in neighboring Wisconsin.

The senator, a former constitutional law instructor, said some scholars argue the Second Amendment to the Constitution guarantees gun ownerships only to militias, but he believes it grants individual gun rights.

"I think there is an individual right to bear arms, but it's subject to commonsense regulation" like background checks, he said during a news conference.

more: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5isOFwdbq0tsqatW6vJpkDRTI1gMgD8UQVCAO0

[aikoaiko]

21. WOW ---> "he [Obama] believes it grants individual gun rights"

I need to see the press release, video or transcript of what he actually said because that is the strongest pro-gun statement I've seen from Obama or Clinton.

[Freddie Stubbs]

28. From Obama's website:

As a former constitutional law professor, Barak Obama understands and believes in the constitutional right of Americans to bear arms.

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/additional/Obama_FactSheet_Western_Sportsmen.pdf

[aikoaiko]

37. nothing from Obama on 2nd applying to civilian self-defense -- only hunting

The second amendment has very little to do with hunting and target shooting; it guarantees individuals the right to keep and bear arms in order to remain free.

Obama really seems to ignore other more constitutionally important uses of firearms.

"PROTECTING GUN RIGHTS
Respect the Second Amendment: Millions of hunters own and use guns each year. Millions more participate in a variety of shooting sports such as sporting clays, skeet, target and trap shooting that may not necessarily involve hunting. As a former constitutional law professor, Barack Obama understands and believes in constitutional right of Americans to bear arms. He will protect the rights of hunters and other law-abiding Americans to purchase, own, transport, and use guns for the purposes of hunting and target shooting.

[doc03]

47. Obama is in favor of confiscation of all handguns

the questionnaire he filled out has been posted here two times that I know of.

[doc03]

48. I have six guns in the closet none of them have ever harmed

anyone. It takes a human to pull the trigger.

[derby378]

51. Obama AND Clinton support gun rights the same way a chicken supports Colonel Sanders

Their records and public statements speak for themselves.

I'll vote for the Democratic nominee for President - but I'm also going to vote for as many pro-RKBA Democratic nominees for the House and Senate as I can in order to cool the ardor of the next President in terms of targeting legally-owned guns.

[ileus]

20. Guns Boom....Vacuums Suck.

[MadHound]

22. If there weren't guns, unstable, insane individuals would find something else

Homemade bombs, arson, what have you. It would amount the same thing, a lot of people needlessly dead.

Guns are simply a symptom of the problem. Rather than uselessly addressing a symptom, we should be addressing the root causes of this madness, like the crippling stress that is a part of most peoples' lives, or poverty, or mental illness. Address the root causes, solve those problems and you won't have to worry about guns. However if all you address is a symptom, guns, then all you're going to change is the method by which people express their rage and madness.

[madmom]

31. Well said Madhound..I tip my hat to you!

:headbang:

[EstimatedProphet]

32. Exactly, and not only that...

but, as I made the point earlier, you won't ever address the root causes of our problems. I really think sometimes that that is the whole point - maybe this is smokescreen for people who don't want us addressing our problems.

[Paladin]

44. The Only Smokescreen Going On....

...is gun militants claiming theyre really committed to solving those root causes. It's nothing more than a diversionary tactic to try to take attention off the obscenely high rate of gun-related homicides in this country.

[EstimatedProphet]

46. I'm not claiming that gun rights activists are trying to solve the problems

I'm saying the problems will never even be paid attention to if gun banners have their way.

[derby378]

50. Don't waste your energy...

The term that comes to my mind is "hit-and-run."

[EstimatedProphet]

65. Yeah, I agree

[CanSocDem]

68. "The problems...."

...are the guns. No guns, no problem.


.

[east texas lib]

23. Hmm...

Not having a gun when someone who does have one has decided to kill you sucks worse. A lot
worse!

[donsu]

24. agree - rooting for a gunless, including military, world.

nt

[EstimatedProphet]

25. Sure, it would be

It would be a great world if we could get rid of disease too, or starvation. We can't. In the meantime, I'm keeping my guns, thank you.

[tkmorris]

35. But you'll notice........

That we ARE trying to rid the world of disease and starvation. Some of us are anyway, and we do occasionally experience some success. By your logic, wouldn't an effort to do the same with guns be beneficial?

[EstimatedProphet]

39. Actually, no

Because the real issue isn't guns. The real issue is that people now believe it is acceptable, maybe even desirable, to kill each other. We need to address the causes of violence first, because simply taking away the weapons won't solve the reason why people think the weapons are a solution.

[spin]

63. I agree...

I find it hard to watch action movies or many TV programs because of the unnecessary violence. Rap music that advocates shooting cops or mistreating women disturbs me. I stopped playing "first person shooter" video games because I felt I was being programed to kill.

And I own handguns, enjoy shooting and have a concealed carry permit and I carry. I go out of my way to treat everybody with respect and always try to avoid confrontation. I will walk away from a fight (if I can) even if it makes me look like a coward. The absolute last thing I would do was to use my weapon. If there was no other choice, and my life or the life of someone else was in emanate danger I would not hesitate to use deadly force. I try to be a responsible gun owner.

But I feel that the media is leading people into using violent behavior as the first choice solution in any disturbing situation. While I can't advocate censorship, I wish all forms of media would should some responsibility.

[G_j]

64. I agree with you

the images of gun violence as a 'problem solver' are overwhelming.
it is a serious disconnect..

[area51]

29. Guns

Guns can help protect you and your family against an attack by a foam-at-the-mouth member of the republinazi party.

[whatchamacallit]

34. The gun thing is weird

What compels people to want to own a gun? Is it fear, or is it something else? I sense some folks are turned on by instruments of destruction, but don't know it, or want to admit it. Maybe I'm weird because I don't want one.

[slackmaster]

66. I like them because they are beautiful examples of manufacturing and metallurgy

Firearms in general represent some of the best technology available at the time they were made, whenever that was.

Properly cared for, they retain value and become more interesting as time goes by, like an antique car or piece of furniture.

They're also kind of fun to shoot.

[Unvanguard]

36. ...

"Try to understand this at any rate: if violence began this very evening and if exploitation and oppression had never existed on the earth, perhaps the slogans of non-violence might end the quarrel. But if the whole regime, even your non-violent ideas, are conditioned by a thousand-year-old oppression, your passivity serves only to place you in the ranks of the oppressors." - Jean-Paul Sartre

[Jack_DeLeon]

38. Actually you have it wrong, People Suck...

lots of fucked up people in this world.

We would all be better off if they just offed themselves without taking innocent people with them.

[bobbolink]

43. Some days it just feels hopeless, does it not?

We KNOW that violence stems from poverty, and from lack of nurtuance in childhood.

BUT... what do we do with that...???

...........

..............

..............

...........

......crickets..............

.............

..............

................

so, here's a bit of my own violence, albeit verbal...

:nuke:

[LWolf]

49. Yes.

People are more interested in fighting over guns than they are in evolving into a society that doesn't need them. :(

[G_j]

53. that is ironic

and worse, it doessn't offer the human race much hope. :-(

[LWolf]

54. It is.

I have to hold on to some hope, though, that we will continue to evolve into a more enlightened species. We just don't seem to be as far up that path as we like to think we are.

[G_j]

57. I still actually believe in the critical mass paradigm

(or the hundredth monkey for that matter) that is why we need to keep advocating peace, love and sanity.

[LWolf]

58. I honestly believe that the more time we spend

immersed in the general insanity that passes for our world today, the more attuned we become to it, and the less to peace, love, and sanity.

That's probably why I don't do much tv and radio, and never do news or talk shows; it's just another way to bring it into my home.

Still, we can't hole up and hide out, expecting the world to evolve without us. We have to BE that peace, love, and sanity in the midst of what is not, and that's the challenge of this lifetime.

Thank you for reminding me of that.

:hug:

[G_j]

59. it is

I know that thought forms are real, and the ethers are filled with fear. Someone else may think I'm crazy,
but I know it effects me and everyone I know.
Much on TV manifests those nightmare energies, all born of humanities thoughts.
It feeds itself, it feeds itself until it manifests on the material plane, so yes, protect yourself and nourish the the richness of peace within and the "good mind" that is our birth-rite.

[LWolf]

60. I don't think you're crazy,

but then, you knew that. ;)

[Raydawg1234]

55. If we didn't have guns, we would just use bows and arrows

[doc03]

61. Well actually the bullet is propelled out the barrel by

expanding gases so in reality they blow.:bounce: