40 reasons FOR gun control

[DAN-MAN]

This post was suppose to be a joke. Apparently, it's gotten a little out of proportion...

Daniel.

[MEDIK418]

Amen to that. I guess feelings run pretty deep on this particular subject even after all the years it's been haggled over. It ws a good post, I laughed my arse off when I read it.

[silver_pilate]

Yes, the orignial intent was a joke, but when you bring up something as hotly contested as this subject is, you're bound to spark discussion. I don't see that as out of proportion.

The bottom line of the whole matter is this: some people want to limit ownership/availability/use of firearms. They do this by passing laws restricting guns or making it too expensive or too much of a hassle to get them. Unfortunately, the only people who are affected by these laws are the people who abide by laws. As I'm sure we all realize, criminals don't abide by the laws. There are countless sources of illeagal firearms for criminals to use. Therefore, these laws don't have any impact on the criminals, just the law abiding citizens who happen to enjoy owning and using firearms.

Also, if you completely ban firearms, again, you only affect those who obey the laws. Even if every gun in America was destroyed, crime is not going to stop. Murder rates aren't going to go down. People killed each other with rocks, sticks, and knives long before anyone ever thought of gun powder. Crime is a result of something within the person committing the act.

Also, more restrictions on ownership and use of guns is not needed. We already have ample laws to address the misuse of weapons. The problem is that they either aren't being enforced, or they are impossible to enforce.

I think it paramount for parents to restrict the use of weapons of any sort to supervised occasions until the kid demonstrates that he/she should be treated otherwise. That is a judgment call of the parents. Kids will be kids, however, and it is important to reasonably restrict access to weapons in the home. I find it tragic that kids die when they get a hold of a gun and mis-use it. I for one was introduced to guns at a very early age and taught their proper use, destructive capacity, and safe handling. My children will be treated the same.

A gun is dangerous only in the hands of someone who doesn't know how to use one properly or someone bent on using it improperly.

As for the carry permits, the instances you mentioned were failures of the system as far as I can see. In Texas, you can't get a concealed permit if you have a felony. Here is the law on the matter in my state:



To be eligible for a license to carry a concealed handgun, a person must meet the following requirements:

(1) an applicant must have been a resident of this state for the six-month period preceding the date of application;

(2) the applicant must be at least 21 years of age;

(3) the applicant must not have been convicted of a felony. An offense is considered a felony if the offense is so designated by law or if confinement for one year or more in a penitentiary is affixed to the offense as a possible punishment;

(4) the applicant must not be currently charged with the commission of a Class A or Class B misdemeanor or an offense under Texas Penal Code, §42.01, or of a felony under an information or indictment;

(5) the applicant must not be a fugitive from justice for a felony or a Class A or Class B misdemeanor;

(6) the applicant must not be chemically dependent;

(7) the applicant must not be of unsound mind;

(8) the applicant must not, in the five years preceding the date of application, have been convicted of a Class A or Class B misdemeanor or an offense under Texas Penal Code, §42.01. An offense is considered a Class A or Class B misdemeanor if the offense is not a felony and confinement in a jail other than a state jail felony facility is affixed as a possible punishment;

(9) the applicant must be fully qualified under applicable federal and state law to purchase a handgun;

(10) the applicant must not have been finally determined to be delinquent in making a child support payment administered or collected by the attorney general, unless the applicant has since discharged the outstanding delinquency;

(11) the applicant must not have been finally determined to be delinquent in the payment of a tax or other money collected by the comptroller, state treasurer, tax collector of a political subdivision of the state, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, or any other agency or subdivision of the state, unless the applicant has since discharged the outstanding delinquency;

(12) the applicant must not have been finally determined to be in default on a loan made under the Education Code, Chapter 57, unless the applicant has since discharged the outstanding delinquency;

(13) the applicant must not be currently restricted by or subject to a court order that restrains the applicant from injuring, harassing, stalking, or threatening the applicants' spouse or intimate partner, or the child of the applicant, the applicant's spouse, or intimate partner. This paragraph includes a protective order issued under the Family Code, §3.58 or §3.581, or Family Code, Chapter 71. This paragraph does not include any restraining order or protective order solely affecting property interests;

(14) the applicant must not, in the ten years preceding the date of application, have been adjudicated as having engaged in delinquent conduct violating a penal law of the grade of felony; and

(15) the applicant must not have been made any material misrepresentation, or failed to disclose any material fact, in a request for application materials or in an application for a license to carry a concealed handgun.

Hope this clarifies some of our positions.

--nathan