Would like as many opinions on this as possible :)

[kozak6]

These days, with Google only a click away (even on your phone!!!), it has never been easier to be informed. If anything, it takes willful ignorance or sheer laziness not to be.

The lawn service we use? The electrician we picked? The blender we bought at Walmart? The dishwasher we bought at Lowe's? The firearms we bought at Academy?

It's not that hard to pull up Yelp or Angie's List. It's not that hard to take a peek at The Wirecutter or The Sweet Home. It's not that hard to pull up some product reviews.

I am not a rich man, so if I am going to spend hundreds of dollars on landscaping service, dishwasher, or a firearm, I am going to spend at least a few minutes searching to make sure I get a good value, reliable product, or good service within my budget.

And if it turns out that the improper purchase of use of such a thing can be a federal felony, how can someone take it upon themself not to be informed? I mean, that's pretty gosh darn serious.

At some point, one will need to pull their head out of the sand and at least pretend to be a grown-up.

 

[Chris_B]

As a practical matter, even experts in their fields are occasionally wrong.

As a legal matter, although lawyers argue opinions and laws may be complex, the bottom line is that laws need not makes sense and ignorance is not a defense.

 

[TomNJVA]

In some areas, being "under-informed" bears few consequences. In other areas it can be disastrous (think food handling, dispensing medicines, piloting aircraft, etc.). Firearm laws are one where you better know what you are doing. One slip up in this area can send you to jail, and I'm too old for jail.

Before buying my first handgun I read extensively on federal, state, county, and town laws, statutes, and ordinances. I joined gun forums, asked questions, especially about laws, and talked to my LGS owner. I was fully aware of the five day rule for multiple gun purchases and intentionally spaced two purchases by six days to avoid it.

There are a lot of people in this country that really hate (fear) guns and do their best to regulate them out of existence. Over time this has resulted in an obstacle course of thousands of laws that we must navigate. Don't expect others to come to you with advice - you have to go to them and ask. Fortunately there is a wealth of information on the Internet, and this site is the best!

TomVA

 

[Painterman121212]

Evidently, it's just going to be impossible for people to voice their opinion's without having to go on and display a superiority complex.. while trying to belittle and make the other look inferior.

You would do well not to... Geez, really?

You all don't know absolutely anything about me, so to make an absurd connection that because John Doe has been a member of this forum for 10 years and I am new, means John knows more about things than me, and as such it's automatically assumed that he's a teacher and I should be a learning the pupil, well, it's laughably absurd. A stupendously stupid assumption.

Normally I try to stimulate the thinking minds of individuals, but maybe I was wrong about this website. So far it seems to be people very much full of themselves and their own knowledge.

I am not incorrect about what intent means, in FACT, if you would take the time to thoroughly read what you posted as evidence to prove otherwise, you would see you did nothing more than to reaffirm my position.

As I am not an attorney neither are you so don't act as if your life's experiences, simply because you been a member of this forum a few years longer than someone else, entitles you to anything other in life other than just that, you've been a member for a few years longer than anyone else.

But judging by the way this thread is already heading, it would appear that some are more interested in trying to get pats on the back about how they made that new guy look like an idiot, rather than just objectively post your point of view concerning the statement made.

Sorry, I can't stomach people thinking they are superior. Nothing but nothing is more frustrating than arrogance combined with ignorance. To be arrogant about subject matter you are ignorant about is one of the worst things in the world to me. And I've already seen it displayed by two or three posters.

Others understood the purpose of the thread and viewed their opinion without having to say anything about the person who wrote it... they were able to make comments on the subject matter and not the individual who wrote the subject matter.

That is how you debate something. When you start attacking individuals with your little remarks and your little slurs and your little comments you just become very very little to me. Which is probably what you are in the real life which is why you tried to become very big here.

It also seems to be part of the good old boy system. Hysterically and laughably I actually received a warning for my first thread, when it was very obvious that Theohazard was being a complete jerk and attacking me from every angle. I consistently responded respectfully until finally I just got aggravated with his being a kindergarten child and his remarks and I got the warning???

I think I'll take off and let you guys rant on and on amongst yourselves. Being able to say whatever it is you want to say, and then when someone gets frustrated in their response in an irritable fashion, give them a warning to kick him off the site. I guess that's how you all have stayed in charge for so long

A few people responded with some excellent replies but there appears to be three or four here that just think their crap doesn't stink!!! It does guys.

Bye you all! Administrators feel free to cancel my account which I'm sure was going to happen sooner or later with the biased way in which you go about doing things...

 

[olddav]

Crap!
Now I've got this stuff on my toe!
I guess that's what I get for dipping my toe in this thread!

 

[2ndsojourn]

"To be arrogant about subject matter you are ignorant about is one of the worst things in the world to me."

Dude,

Frank Ettin explained how the law is applied as it relates to the subject of intent. There's differences between what's commonly assumed and how the law works. You're being arrogant about the application of legal issues which you are ignorant about.

The opinions above have nothing to do with how long some of us have been members here, or how many posts someone has. We actually look forward to welcoming newcomers to these forums and the shooting world.

 

[Evan Thomas]

Generally speaking, what do you all think? Do you all agree or disagree that in today's complex world of gun laws, it's no longer acceptable to say "you should be informed"

I think the OP's question has been answered: it's more or less unanimous that it's the responsibility of every gun owner to be informed about the laws that affect them.

Asked and answered, so, closed.

 

[44 AMP]

So to respond to the very first reply, Mag44, to convince you, almost every single criminal law on the books, if not all (a criminal attorney I am NOT) contains a very important variable, and that is before a criminal law is broken, they have to prove INTENT.

I'm going to disagree with your point here (other than you are not a criminal attorney). While intent is something that matters, I think you are missing an important point about it.

Intent (and proof of such) matters, it matters what specific crime you may be charged with, but it does NOT matter in determining a crime was committed.

In other words, you can still be charged (and found guilty) if you did commit a crime, even though you did not intend to commit a crime. Intent only matters as to what crime you may be charged with, not whether or not you will be charged.

One example of this is the different laws covering the death of another person.

Different states use differing language for terms but in general, they all adhere to the same standard about this. If someone dies, as a result of your actions, and you intended it to happen you will be charged with some level of murder/homicide.

If someone dies as a result of your actions, and you did not intend for anyone to die, you will be charged with manslaughter. Not Murder.

Yes, there are specific cases where a lack of intent, or a lack of knowledge (ignorance) MAY allow for some leniency by the court, but that is dependent on the specific case and is NOT a general rule that can be applied to everything.

Stating that it is a general rule, applicable to everything is inaccurate, and misleading.

I hope you never wind up entangled with the legal system because of something no one, including yourself, ever informed you about. If you do, I believe you will find that the opinions you got here, which you apparently didn't care for, are pretty representative of the way the real world works.

You asked for opinions, and you got several. Disagreeing with the opinions is your prerogative, but doesn't invalidate those opinions, and taking your toys and going home will not change that.

Fare well.