another school shooting in U.S. of A. :(

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bagwan

A buddy of mine , in a kind of uncomfortable way , told me yesterday that the bushmaster was the rifle he was thinking of getting his wife for Christmas .
They are originally from North Carolina , and live here with thier daughter to be safe .

They live about five miles from me .

They hunt . I have some of the venison in my freezer .

For them , it isn't a feeling of overt oppression by a horribly restrictive government , but rather , a feeling of safety , due to still being armed , but in a society that doesn't condone weapons designed for killing humans .
They simply feel much less likely to greet a handgun on the street or at thier door .

We're redneck enough in my country to have had the government scrap a really expensive gun registry program due to public outcry . And , but for Quebec , all provinces have destroyed the records they did manage to compile .



Hell , I played "army" when I was a kid , and i was a ruthless foe , taking no prisoners .

And , there were a few "wackos" back then as well .

But , rarely were they so efficient . They didn't have the right tools .

---

they have tried a full stop registry program in my state... expensive, ineffective and probably the largest argument was an unacceptable level of government intrusion.. They also tried to serialize ammunition.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nigelred5

It is at a gun club I'd like to point out.. Not at a shopping mall.

---

Does it matter where it is - not really the correct environment for children, is it?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SGWilko

Does it matter where it is - not really the correct environment for children, is it?

---

Children learning about guns, their safe operation and use, is not a bad thing.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SGWilko

I'd never buy my wife a gun - it'd be the death of me!

It is a very confusing and, dare I say primative message that this thread has given me of the USA. It seems a little less extreme across the border in Canada, but the same mindset is there too.

Would there be the same public outcry now to a registry in light of recent events?

---

Everybody has the freedom to have that "mindset" , certainly .
You can own a gun .

A gun gives one a real sense of power , and is a real thrill to shoot .
The higher the destructive power in your hands , the more thrill .

That's the reality of it .

I think you'd be surprised at how long the line-ups would be if there was a chance for the average Brit to try his/her hand at just firing an automatic weapon if there was a free day at a shooting range in downtown London .

The shooting range is the only place you can fire a handgun in Canada legally , unless you're a cop , and rifles are generally bought to suit the furry animal , rather than the naked ape .

I don't hunt , but , at one time , I was responsible for groundhog control on the farm .
They can be a wily foe , but the skill in placing the perfect shot where the earthpig tumbled down the hole , never to be seen again , became the object .
It was a job , and the rifle was the tool .
I was twelve , and capable of picking off animals two feet tall at long range with an open sight bolt action Win Cooey .22 . I was a twelve year old sniper .

I live in a place where I trust my neighbour , and he/she trusts me .

And , I don't own a gun .

So , maybe it is a "mindset" , but not a particularly paranoid one .

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nigelred5

Our country's freedom from a tyrannical government was earned through private possession of firearms ... a fact that was not lost by the writers of the constitution and the bill of rights of our country. One that was so important to our founders that is spelled out and guaranteed not to be infringed in the document that rules our country. That right is second only to the right to free expression.

---

Would it be impolite to point out that it was the Brits which caused us to come to that conclusion in the first place? :D :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Starter

Children learning about guns, their safe operation and use, is not a bad thing.

---

Minors are not permitted in gun clubs around here :s

I started waterfowl hunting at 8 with a .410 shotgun. I can still drop a canvasback with one of those little hummers. I agree with Starter. Teaching firearm safety is a way of life in my environment, regardless of any public safety concerns. My son started hunting squirrels with me around 9. He's not keen on standing in 40 degree water hunting ducks, but I haven't been to the gun range in 3 years that he wasn't with me. He's a beast shooting clays with a .410. We eat everythign we kill. Haven't had to kill an intruder yet. I don't plan to aim to kill. I'm really not into the thought of having to eat a person ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Starter

Would it be impolite to point out that it was the Brits which caused us to come to that conclusion in the first place? :D :D

---

Not in my opinion ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Starter

Would it be impolite to point out that it was the Brits which caused us to come to that conclusion in the first place? :D :D

---

They were Brits, too. ;) Not me, though. I can't trace anyone in the US before 1850.

Quote:

---

Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do.
Justice Potter Stewart

---

In the immediate wake of the massacre in Connecticut of twenty children aged six or seven years old as well as six members of the school's faculty, there were those, The Usual Suspects (those here and elsewhere), who began to instantly beat the drums about their "rights" under the Second Amendment to bear arms. Their tone-deafness and alligator tears would usually elicit a response that one had nothing but contempt for such folks, but in this case they are beneath contempt.