In my opinion, it's not crooks with guns committing robberies, freaks shooting into crowds, sleazy politicians, ivory-tower intellecuals, it's idiots with guns that will make us lose our gun rights. Witness these three stories which appeared in my newspaper today:
It was reported to police that a woman in an arguing group of people had a gun. They asked for the gun, and she pulled it out, accidentally shooting herself in the process. No mention of a concealed weapons permit, and I doubt it. She will be charged with disorderly conduct.
A girl was shot to death while on a hayride. One of the actors, as a gravedigger, was supposed to fire his gun up into the air. Though he does not recall it, apparently he missed the sky and hit the girl. He had a liscense. Why he was too idiotic to use blanks, I have no idea.
A woman shot another woman to death in an incident of "road rage." One cut the other one off, and they played aggressive driver with each other for a while. Eventually they pulled off the road. One woman gets out of the car and approaches the other, who opens fire, killing her. Neither had criminal records. No mention of a carry liscense. She will probably plead "self-defense."
This is what they pro-controllers tell us: that the public is too stupid and ill-tempered to own guns. For every violent act by a career criminal or insane person, you have people deciding to own guns, or realizing their value, for protection against them...but no one ever came into the pro-gun camp because some stupid kid killed a friend "playing" with a weapon, or an idiot with no self-control murdered someone because they lost their temper. I can only recall two positive self-defense stories in this paper- ever.
It even makes me wonder if anything can be done. Can anything be done? How capable is the "public" of safe and effective gun use?
[This message has been edited by BTR (edited November 10, 1999).]
It was reported to police that a woman in an arguing group of people had a gun. They asked for the gun, and she pulled it out, accidentally shooting herself in the process. No mention of a concealed weapons permit, and I doubt it. She will be charged with disorderly conduct.
A girl was shot to death while on a hayride. One of the actors, as a gravedigger, was supposed to fire his gun up into the air. Though he does not recall it, apparently he missed the sky and hit the girl. He had a liscense. Why he was too idiotic to use blanks, I have no idea.
A woman shot another woman to death in an incident of "road rage." One cut the other one off, and they played aggressive driver with each other for a while. Eventually they pulled off the road. One woman gets out of the car and approaches the other, who opens fire, killing her. Neither had criminal records. No mention of a carry liscense. She will probably plead "self-defense."
This is what they pro-controllers tell us: that the public is too stupid and ill-tempered to own guns. For every violent act by a career criminal or insane person, you have people deciding to own guns, or realizing their value, for protection against them...but no one ever came into the pro-gun camp because some stupid kid killed a friend "playing" with a weapon, or an idiot with no self-control murdered someone because they lost their temper. I can only recall two positive self-defense stories in this paper- ever.
It even makes me wonder if anything can be done. Can anything be done? How capable is the "public" of safe and effective gun use?
[This message has been edited by BTR (edited November 10, 1999).]