Well... here in Mexico the use of guns and those kinds of weapons is strictly prohibited to all citizens... and yet people find a way to get guns and crimes are still commited...

there is so much corruption going on!! Drug dealers get access to heavy guns and arms somehow!

If a person really means to harm other people... they will find the way to do it =(

Everyone is potentially dangerous... the choice is made each individually

In other words, "Outlaw guns and only outlaws will have guns".

Kids are required to pass a driver education program before they are allowed to hold a driver's license. So why not require high school juniors/seniors to pass a firearm safety and awareness program before graduating? After successfully completing the program they could be given the option of purchasing a firearm of their choosing at a reduced price. By teaching kids the proper use of and respect for firearms, and instilling in them the responsibility that goes with owning a firearm. Within a decade or so we would have a significant portion of our adult population responsibly armed.

Weapons are tools. They are inanimate objects that pose absolutely no threat. A parked car is no threat to anyone. Even a car can be viewed as a useful tool for rapidly traveling between points. The computer you are using right now is simply another tool.

If you hit your thumb with a hammer, is it the hammer's fault? A drunk driver hits and kills a bicyclist. Is that the car's fault? A criminal shoots a store clerk during a robbery. Is that the gun's fault? No. In each case it is the person using the tool that is at fault.

There are people that will act irresponsibly. That is a simple fact. Is it not a responsibility to protect ourselves and others from those that endager us through their irreponsible actions?

Those that wish to deprive us of the freedom to own firearms are the same ones that have been slowly chipping away at individual freedoms for decades. They are those of the Left. The people to whom the words "personal responsibility" are as painful as holy water is to Dracula. These are the people that would see every aspect of our lives rigidly controlled. If they need not make any decisions for themselves, then they have nothing that they need be responsible for. And they would have the freedom to be responsible stripped from the rest of us.

They'll have to pry my gun from my cold, dead fingers first.

I agree with you MattV. However, one point I would like to make though is this. These gun laws that most democrats and very few republicans try to provide to limit purchases of guns may be too much. But as for current (I think) laws that prohibit citizens from owning anything from a submachine and up, I believe is reasonable. There is absolutely no need for anyone (hunting or not) to own a sub machine gun or even a machine gun. At the most I wouldn't mind if more people owned a pistol (or a derivative of such) or a shotgun (or a close derivative of the such).

The U.S. Supreme Court has banned the Washington D.C. gun ban in a ruling of 5-4.

Now guns cannot be banned in certain areas, but states can regulate what specifications:

Must be sane
Must be of age (ex: 18 or 21)
Must have no criminal record
Must have a cool down period (When you order a gun, you have about a week of 'cooling down' before getting it)
Etc.

Guns on their own are not a problem. It is certain types of people with the gun thats the problem.

Actually federal regulations say that you cannot have a history of mental illness and possess a firearm. Federal regulations also dictate that persons who have been convicted of a felony may not possess a firearm of any type. The conviction of a felony offense revokes several other rights as well such as the right to vote.

I don't think guns are necessary at all (except for hunting) and carrying a gun around for protection is an invitation for someone to shoot you. In what situation could you use a gun where a guy didn't already have one pointed at you? And what then, he'd shoot you?

Most people that carry for protection actually practice with their carry gun. Most people that carry for protection are very aware of the environment around them and attempt to avoid putting themselves in bad situations. If you carry just to be carrying then and you do get into a bad situation then you aren't going to be well prepared for it. If you carry with the intent of going out into the worst possible areas and looking for trouble then you aren't carrying for protection. People carry for protection in the case that something out of the ordinary occurs that puts them in a dangerous situation and then prepare themselves to come out of it the best that they can.



For instance, I am a woman. I used to work nights and work was a good hour from home. I traveled on interstates and on back country roads. I have a carry permit and I do carry. One night while on one of those back country roads after working even later than usual a pickup truck full of good ol' boys got behind me and started following me. I pulled my carry gun and laid it on the seat beside me. I made several quick turns to try to get away going back toward town and toward the sherrifs office and yes they followed. Had they decided to pull in front of me and blcok my path and try to get in the car then chances are they would have been very surprised to meet my .357 when they got to my car. I did make it a point to drive in such a manner that it would be very difficult for them to get in front of me. They did follow me almost all the way back to the sherrifs office. When I was a block away from the sherrif's office they turned off.