Are we too emotionally unstable for everybody to be armed?

fuzzybuddy said:
My question is: are we too emotionally unstable to have anybody, and everybody to be armed with a weapon.
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Probably, clearly there are some people who should never have a weapon of any kind. The problem comes in who would decide and how they would decide who is who. No good answer to that.

So I think its either keep muddling along as we are or totally outlaw, don't think the latter would fly politically.
 

JonSR77 said:
I am sorry you had that experience.

Generally, I would not recommend indicating any security issues online.

I would advise you to edit your post and delete the reference to where that weapon is kept...
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It's legal and locked away. And a woman RVing alone has to keep surroundings in mind; a lot of solo female RVers legally carry. My state issued permit allows me to actually carry it on my person (which I don't) in all but 15 states. When traveling through those states, there are provisions for travelers (usually locking gun and ammo separately) while in state. Even in that case, I didn't really think the guy would've attempted to break in, but it was nice to know I wasn't a sitting duck should he have tried.
 
AnnieA said:
It's legal and locked away. And a woman RVing alone has to keep surroundings in mind; a lot of solo female RVers legally carry. Even in that case, I didn't really think the guy would've attempted to break in, but it was nice to know I wasn't a sitting duck should he have tried.
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well, glad you are ok. That is for sure. And sorry you had that experience. When I was a kid, I hitchhiked across the country. Ran into many dangerous situations. I had a knife for camping, but no firearm. It was ridiculously unsafe. Miracle that I am alive.

Apparently, God likes the stupid people very much.
 

AnnieA said:
It's legal and locked away. And a woman RVing alone has to keep surroundings in mind; a lot of solo female RVers legally carry. My state issued permit allows me to actually carry it on my person (which I don't) in all but 15 states. When traveling through those states, there are provisions for travelers (usually locking gun and ammo separately) while in state. Even in that case, I didn't really think the guy would've attempted to break in, but it was nice to know I wasn't a sitting duck should he have tried.
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Exactly what anti-gun people don't want to think about. An unarmed person is a sitting duck; especially an elderly person. That's why criminals often target them.
 
"
“You can make laws against weapons but they will be observed only by those who don't intend to use them anyway. The lawless can always smuggle or steal or even make a gun.” ... Louis L'Amour

Louis makes an important point. Our #1 consideration in selecting where we live now was a very low crime rate. I don't currently own a gun because I don't need one, but I drive through Richmond, across the Bay, and almost every home has bars on the windows. Those poor people probably sleep with a gun by the bed. Richmond is unfortunately typical of many neighborhoods in the Bay Area, and across the country. BTW -- For those considering a gun for home defense, a 20 gauge short barreled shotgun loaded with bird shot may be a better choice than a pistol or rifle. Bullets can pass though walls and kill a neighbor.
 
JonSR77 said:
As far as weaponry goes, if folks want a handgun and shotgun for home defense...fine. If folks want a couple of hunting rifles? Fine.

If folks want to go a little farther and have a few handguns around the house and a couple of shotguns...fine.

But I draw the line at AR-15 type military weapons. I don't think any private home needs those.

Also, everyone who owns a gun should be required, by law, to take a reasonably extensive firearms course. (Unless they already have police or military training). They have to submit to a psych evaluation. They can't have a felony conviction. If they have kids, they have to show proof of purchase of a gun safe. And, they have to get re-certified every few years.

If folks do all that, then yeah, every home can have a gun.

Tons of folks in Canada have guns. Tons. But they have an entirely different culture around guns.

We have too many lunatics down here. Has to be properly regulated.

All the NRA cares about is helping their friends in the gun industry make the most amount of money possible. They were even caught, on tape, after Sandy Hook, planning their PR response. Just businessmen gone nuts in pursuit of money. Has exactly zero to do with the US Constitution or freedom. Has to do with a handful of millionaires trying to make as much money as possible.

I mean, take the argument further. Is everyone entitled to own hand grenades? mortars? bazookas? At some point, society has to draw the line. And I think normal weaponry...handguns, shotguns and hunting rifles...that is a good place to draw the line.
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The problem with "drawing the line" with certain types of firearms is mainly that a law-abiding citizen deserves all the edge he can get in a situation where the criminal already has the edge by usually being the first to attack. And criminals don't draw the line at any type of weapon they use, so neither should a victim. How would you propose to draw the line so criminals don't have access to "AR15-type military assault weapons?"
Rats sometimes run in packs, so a higher-capacity firearm may be needed. Examples: (note how many rounds were fired by the suspects who survived) You really think a 6-shot revolver would do in this situation?



 
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Are we too emotionally unstable for everybody to be armed?
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Here's my take:

The majority of unstable gun users are male, mostly younger. I believe most of them are looking to enhance their weak masculine self image. They didn't have sufficient positive activities growing up to achieve that, rather- spent much time in fantasy, in their own minds or in video gaming. Unhappy, unrewarded, disconnected from REAL masculine influences, they turn to guns as a source of feeling powerful, and yea that does work.
Weeding them out from gun ownership without penalizing responsible citizens is THE sixty-four thousand dollar question.
 
jimintoronto said:
Here in Canada firearms licensing is pretty strict, especially for easily concealed hand guns. Being licensed to posses a hand gun here is a long and detailed process that involves Police background investigations, including a in person home visit by Police officers. If any adult family member objects to the application for a hand gun permit, or if the applicant has a prior criminal conviction, the application will be denied . If a person does qualify for a hand gun permit, they can ONLY fire it at an approved gun range. The hand gun owner can ONLY transport their hand gun directly to the range and then directly home again. It must be stored unloaded, with a trigger lock on it, and it must be stored in a locked gun safe, with the ammunition stored in a different locked safe. No one in Canada can carry a hand gun in public with a few specific exceptions, such as on duty Police officers, on duty armored cash truck guards, and members of the Canadian Armed Forces, while on duty. In Canada, off duty Police are unarmed. About 7,000 people in Canada have a "wilderness hand gun permit " that allows them to own and carry a hand gun while working in the far north, as trappers, hunting guides, or as members of a exploration crew working on mining or oil projects.

Rifles and shotguns are legally owned by millions of Canadians. They have to go through the application process I mentioned above. A hunter safety course is required before applying , and the background check is also required.
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US also has an application process as well as a mandatory wait-time. Scroll down a bit for individual state processes as well:

https://firearms.uslegal.com/purchase-of-firearms/
 
Why do you need "protection"? it's guys with guns. But most people killed by firearms are suicides. And the vast majority of other firearm related deaths, the victim is known by the shooter. So that means if your best buds are not international drug cartel members, odds are cartels aren't going to get you. Can you kill someone with a knife? Yup. But how many drive by knifings have you hear of? And how many school knifings have killed 20+?
I don't realistically expect firearms to be turned into toasters in my lifetime. But I'm quite sure it will happen. In my opinion, firearms only offer fear and deaths. There's the big bugaboo about gun totin' criminals and a helpless terrified, citizenry. Getting rid of firearms isn't going to get rids of criminals. In nations with strict gun control, people can go to church without being shot at,, they can go to the movies without being shot at, they can go to a concert without being shot at. Yes, those nations still have criminals, but people aren't killing themselves and other with firearms.
And yes, I'm totally biased.
 
JonSR77 said:
well, glad you are ok. That is for sure. And sorry you had that experience.
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Thanks and it wasn't that bad because I knew I could protect myself. I've had the van less than two years and learned from that incident. Campground maps don't show elevation so I had no way of knowing the sites further apart (which I prefer) were on a steep hill in a curve. It was also off season so there was no one else within sight or hearing. I should've left once I saw there was only one other rig in the vicinity. But I didn't and the guy came over just as I was finishing up hooking to utilities. The utility connections were out of sight from his site which meant he came around behind my van ...that freaked me out. At that point I had electricity, sewer hooked up and was just finishing up filling my fresh water tank. After our chat, I went inside and locked up. From now on, I'll leave if I'm ever that remote again.
 
The violence we see today is the direct result of socioeconomics, work stress, piss-poor mental health services, sub-culture, the environment, and the lack of affordable housing.

I firmly believe that processed food (food pollution) - the diet of average people in lower-middle-class and below - has a lot to do with it too.
 
Murrmurr said:
It doesn't, though. Criminals in Mexico are quite happy to sell illegal firearms to US criminals. They smuggle them in just like they do Fentanyl, weed, cocaine, and meth.
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...which is kind of ironic, considering that a lot of those firearms were originally smuggled out of the U.S. and sold.

@Murrmurr ,I noticed on the news that yesterday there was a shooting in your town, 6 dead and some wounded?
 
Nathan said:
...which is kind of ironic, considering that a lot of those firearms were originally smuggled out of the U.S. and sold.

@Murrmurr ,I noticed on the news that yesterday there was a shooting in your town, 6 dead and some wounded?
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Yes. It's been all over the news, believed to be gang related. I live in SW Sac. This happened in Downtown Sac, around 12 miles away.
 
Perhaps there should be a limit to the number of firearms one person can own, and registration — at least for the AR-style rifles so we can track the owners, and if they're doing something suspicious, we (the police) can pounce on them before anybody gets hurt (other than the AR-style rifle owner).

I doubt anything like that is going to happen in our lifetime, though.
 
Who knows who are the real crazies anymore? A so called "normal" person goes off the "normal" spectrum all the time. It could be you at some point, too.

Just seek quality help right now.
 

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