Comments on: Guns For Every One

By: Bryan

Bryan — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 04:21:44 +0000

CG, I opposed arming airline pilots for the same reason I oppose arming civilians in work locations – using a weapon is a serious job, requiring serious training, and serious practice. When they deploy the Guard to Iraq, the first thing that happens is training, because one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer is not enough to maintain the skills required to stay alive in a war zone.

In colonial times the militia was made up of people who generally used the necessary skills on at least a weekly basis. These are people who would be using the same weapons in the militia that they used on their homesteads.

If they need more police protection, pay for more police protection. the object should be fewer guns on school grounds, not more.

You can buy damn good body armor for what that kid paid for that Glock. If they’re worried, there are people selling it all over the country.

By: The CultureGhost

The CultureGhost — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 03:45:48 +0000

Today an instructor at my place of employment, a large community college, sent out an e-mail in which he put forth the “suggestion” that the thing might be preventable if a select group of teachers and administrators were armed. In direct violation of our e-mail privacy statement I posted the damn thing on my blog.

Nothing will come of his suggestion, after all I live in Northern California, but it still doesn’t sit well with me.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 00:57:55 +0000

At this point guns may be necessary to protect us from a different “George”. The system didn’t work, and needs to be fixed, with a mental health referral for possible suicidal tendencies, he shouldn’t have gotten through the system.

Based on what we now know about him, I’m afraid if he hadn’t gotten guns, he would have built a bomb. He was an intelligent person with an Internet connection and the instructions are everywhere.

After the sniper attacks in the Washington area a lot of people bought guns, so there are a lot of them setting drawers and stolen in burglaries.

I don’t know the answer, but a place to start is better mental health access.

By: cat daddy and dr squeeky

cat daddy and dr squeeky — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 22:44:06 +0000

Let me remind everybody that guns don’t kill people, people kill people….

If people didn’t have access to guns… it’d be a lot harder for people to kill people…

Has anybody checked the stock value of gun makers? That’s why the 2nd ammendment still protects us from pesky king George… or in case Canada, Cuba, or Mexico decide to take a crack at invading us…

By: Bryan

Bryan — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 21:02:54 +0000

Jams, those colonists who remained loyal to the Crown were called Tories by the colonists who wanted independence.

My understanding is that “tory” is derived from a word for Irish brigands, and “whig” from a term for Scottish brigands. Everyone seems to agree that politicians are brigands.

By: jams o donnell

jams o donnell — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 20:20:11 +0000

I cant add to teh discussion apart from to agree that the idea of armed students would have been the answer is pretty daft.

One side issue – tories in the revolutionary war? Leaving aside the modern use as a name for the Conservatives, I knew it was used in relation to irish “brigands” but who wher the toies in the US? was it used in relation to British loyalists?

By: Bryan

Bryan — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 17:28:28 +0000

Andante, the sooner you call, the sooner someone can respond. Those deputies don’t need all of those donuts, the exercise will do them good.

Terry, I can’t tell you how many suit coat linings I had destroyed by the hammer spur on my Colt 2-inch. Carrying a weapon is a PIA. Trying to get comfortable in a car, so the seat belt wasn’t jamming the thing into your side. Switching to a shoulder holster and then trying to get the leather dye out of your shirts in the summer. It’s not much better in uniform with the “Bat Belt,” something was always poking you.

Shotguns are better for home defense. Most people leave when they see one; they are hard to lose; they are difficult for kids use; they have shorter range…lots of advantages for shotguns.

Ellroon, we have a family story about an ancestor in the Tyron County Militia [upstate New York] who was captured by the Tories during the Revolutionary War. He escaped when they set a man to guard him with his own musket. The ancestor took off running, knowing the musket had a bad flint and couldn’t fire. My people have always owned guns, but we have not always been good about taking care of them. No point in sharpening the ax until you need it.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 17:06:32 +0000

Plain-clothes police officers get shot way too often at crime scenes, John. The addition of armed civilians and no identification of targets is a recipe for disaster. Warning shots were made illegal in New York back in the early 1970’s because civilians were getting hit by them. Some idiot with a .44 magnum could kill an innocent victim a football field away from the scene. There is a lot of time spent in the police academy teaching people when not to shoot.

When you have a lot of independent shooters firing away, who gets to call a cease fire?

By: Bryan

Bryan — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 16:47:05 +0000

Jill, the mental health problem needs to be worked out. Doctors can’t reveal patient information, so unless someone is legally committed to a mental hospital, there is no record of the problem. Cho was forced into an evaluation, but wasn’t committed so it wasn’t on his police records. He had to provide photo ID, proof of residency, and pass a criminal records check, which he did. If either of the people who complained about his stalking behavior had actually filed charges, he would have been denied in most jurisdictions.

In general women want the problem to stop, and if it’s stopped they don’t want the hassle of going to court. I understand, but it ties the hands of the police. You identify a creep and you want to do something, but without a formal legal complaint, you are limited. When you get a second complaint, you go through the entire procedure again.

I’m not saying the women involved were to blame, they didn’t know, and couldn’t legally be told about other problems. There are even stricter controls about what can be said about students, than the general population, and investigating a student usually involves getting a signed waiver or a court order.

There was no overt act of violence earlier. Without a legal complaint or an act of violence, there is very little the school or police were legally allowed to do. The fact that they referred him for the psych evaluation tells me that someone in the college police wanted him gone and was looking for ways to do it.

By: ellroon

ellroon — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 16:01:50 +0000

Well said, Bryan. You made me laugh with: Having a gun that you can’t or won’t use is stupid and could get you killed…with your own gun. You would be dead and embarrassed.

I hate to think how many people have been killed with their own guns. You have to have training, and as you so rightly said, the desire and ability to kill.

How many of us can go from normal citizen to killer like that in so many seconds?