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Saturday, July 28, 2012

Who's Afraid of Gun Control?




Fact:

Every day in America, thirty-three people are murdered with guns.

In Japan (where there are gun control laws) there were seven gun-related deaths in 2010. Seven. In a YEAR.

Here’s a quip floating around on bumper stickers (and facebook), “Guns don’t’ kill people. People kill people.” 

Here’s a new bumper sticker: people with assault weapons mass murder people. No one stands a chance against a maniac with an assault rifle.

I have two thoughts on this whole thing. First of all, reinstate the ban on assault weapons. Why should it be legal in this country for citizens to out-gun the police? Doesn’t make any kind of sense.

Second, and this is a very simple thing- make it as difficult to get a weapon as it is to get a drivers license. A person who intends to buy a gun should have to take a course in gun safety, then take a test. If they don’t pass, just as we don’t get a license, they don’t get the gun. And as we have our eyes tested, they should have their sanity tested, and a doctors note stating that they are of sound mind wouldn’t hurt. They should then have their fingerprints registered and their picture taken, height, weight, color of eyes all on record, to obtain a gun license.

Nobody screams “socialism” about our process to obtain drivers licenses, or contracter’s licenses, or scuba certification or anything else, so is this really such an outrageous idea? No one is lobbying congress over standing in line at the DMV.

We’ve let the NRA run rampant with freedom for far too long, and look where it's gotten us. We need to stand up and make our voices heard, so that our children can safely go to the movies, or go to meet a congresswoman without fear of being gunned down.

To sign the petition to reinstate a ban on assault weapons, click here.


10 comments:

  1. please ... run for president. (and yes good god yes i LOVE obama, it's just you'd make such a grand president.)
    i love you,

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Eh. Can I do it from home and in my pajamas?
      xo

      Delete
  2. Some sort of gun control its ok, no one sane cant deny that. but still you cant stop murders with gun control, criminals dont give a &&%& just watch latin america, lots of gun control and lots of people filled with AK47 bullets hanging from bridges

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  3. Interesting you cited Japan. Did you know that Switzerland has one of the highest militia gun ownership rates in the world. Everyone has assault rifles. And yet, they have one of the lowest murder rates anywhere. For some interesting, unbiased statistics... visit www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp

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  4. Look at what happened today??? I wish this issue would stop getting put on the back burner...

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  5. More regulation will not reduce deaths. You are more likely to die in a traffic accident yet no one is saying we need to get rid of cars. What if all firearms magically disappeared ? People would still be killing each other with knifes. Ok so then we prohibit knifes and we're all safe. Nope body parts are the next most popular murder weapon. Do we remove arms and legs from everyone because a few are violent ? So when do we take responsibility and place it on the person doing the violence. There are laws on the books lets enforce them first !

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  6. I agree with you that having a properly trained and licensed gun owner is good. I disagree with an assualt weapons ban. The 2nd Amendment was designed as a person's protection against an authoritarian government.

    One might say the founders didn't have assault weapons in mind when they wrote it. Well, yes, actually they did. The most advanced weapon of the day, the musket, was readily available to both the government and the citizenry. Go back farther, governments tried to ban the crossbow as being a brutal weapon that should not even be used in war.

    My point, gun ban = bad. Properly licensed, regulated, and trained populace = good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So if I understand your logic on this, allowing citizens to own assault weapons provides protection against authoritarian government? Maybe back in the 18th century when a group of musket wielding citizens had a decent chance against the military technology of the day, but taking up arms against the government today is a ridiculous notion. My husband is a U.S. Marine pilot; He flys an A-10. If you're not familiar with the aircraft, Google it. Legalizing automatic weapons provides zero protection against the U.S. military. Sorry.

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  7. I find it interesting that the things on this chart are in place and you have chosen to ignore that fact. Guns purchased legally (because we know criminals get their guns however and wherever they choose) are registered upon purchase. When getting a concealed carry, one must have training, as well as a written and practical test. There are health requirements. I'm not sure about insurance, but that's because I'm too young yet to go through the process. And, of course, you must renew your license frequently.

    Do you fellow countrymen a favor and don't purposely skew your points to push your (well-intentioned, yet uninformed) agenda.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for bringing up this argument. 40% of guns sold in America are sold through gun shows and internet, which require no background check. And unlike our registration for cars, there is no gun registry. That is a fact you can easily verify. Plus, gun legislation varies from state to state, which is why we would like to see federal legislation go into place. I'm not sure where you live or which laws you are referring to but they may be specific to only your state.

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I love hearing your point of view- thank you for taking the time to comment and be part of the conversation!
love,
Hollye