Let me start by saying I am not anti-gun.
My dad, my grandpa, my uncles, and my brothers are hunters; I grew up around guns. I even learned to shoot one when I was a kid.
I don’t believe in banning firearms or revoking our right to bear arms.
I do believe that there has to be firmer control over guns though.
It is a proven fact that the states with stricter gun control laws have fewer deaths related to gun violence.
There are people who can argue all day long that “guns don’t kill people; people kill people,” but the truth is people kill each other much easier and in a much more reactionary manner when they have a gun.
It is another fact that although the United States is unusually violent for a first world country, especially the South. The least violent is the northeast — yes, where New York City is located. In fact, according the American Bar Association, we have eight times as many gun-related deaths than our economic counterparts.
But when Bob Costas spoke about the tragedy of Jovan Belcher killing his girlfriend and then killing himself, he wasn’t calling for an end to the Second Amendment.
He wasn’t even really talking about tighter gun control, although he later admitted he believes we need it.
No, he was talking about this country’s fascination with guns.
From cowboys with their pistols to mafia bosses with their tommy guns, America loves a guy with a gun. We glorify “bad guys” that shoot things up.
We talk about this “right to bear arms” as if we all need to exercise the right because you never know who might be ready to shank you on your weekly trip to the grocery store.
There are those who have tried to argue that if Belcher’s girlfriend had been armed, maybe she wouldn’t be dead. I find this hard to believe. It’s not like she was expecting it. Even if she DID have a gun somewhere in the house, how is she going to get it after she had been shot dead out of nowhere by the person she is supposed to be able to trust most in this world — the father of her child?
I am not sure what it is that is so alluring about owning a gun. And why does it seem that these men who could punch a homie out, need to also pack heat?
I have to ask, is being in the NFL really that life-threatening that carrying a weapon is seen as a necessity?
Like I said, I get having guns. Locked up. In a safe. Either for hunting or purely as a collectible. But why conceal and carry?
The Harvard School of Public Health found that high income nations + more guns = more homicides.
Even with all the facts, with all the tragedies, gun control is not popular. According to Gallup, in 1990 78% polled were in favor of making gun laws stricter, whereas of 2010, only 44% were in favor of tighter laws.
Bob Costas posted this in his closing paragraph on Real Clear Politics on Wednesday, December 5 in response to the backlash of his statements during Sunday Nigh Footbal:
Tony Dungy, one of the most respected in all of sports, on our program on Sunday night said that one year when he coached the Colts, he had 80 players before they cut the roster down. 80 players in training camp. He said, ‘How many of you guys own a gun?’ And roughly 65 hands went up. Even if all those guns were obtained legally, you can’t have 65 guys in their 20s and 30s, aggressive young men, subject to impulses without something bad happening. And I posed this question. I didn’t have time to pose it Sunday night but I’ll pose it here. Give me one example of an athlete. I know it has happened in society. But give me one example of a professional athlete who by virtue of his having a gun took a dangerous situation and turned it around for the better. I can’t think of a single one. But sadly, I can think of dozens whereby virtue of having a gun, a professional athlete wound up in a tragic situation. source
Yes, Bob. I sadly and completely agree with you.
It’s interesting how every person who agrees with limited the 2nd Amendment generally begins their statement with “I’m not anti-gun, but…”
It’s clear you need some gun education. Feel free to check out http://www.corneredcat.com, http://www.glocksandheels.com Perhaps it would answer questions as to why many people chose to concealed carry. You know the old saying, “When seconds count, police are only minutes away.”
But the beauty of this country is that you don’t have to own a gun. You don’t have to carry one. Just don’t try to keep me from doing so. And I doubt you’d want to put a sign in your yard or a shirt on your back that told the public that you weren’t carrying. And while you may choose to keep your guns locked up where you can’t get to them in the case of a car jacking, home robbery, attempted rape, or attempted kidnapping, I’ll go ahead and keep mine with me to protect me and mine.
And I do want to say, I’m sorry if I sound a bit defensive. I feel so strongly that women should protect themselves that it makes me sad and nervous for someone to argue otherwise. I understand this is a super hot topic and that there are always going to be disagreements.
I just think the real issues lie in our gang culture, our incredibly violent video games and movies that children allow to play and watch for hours at a time, the overcrowded jail system, the lack of education on mental illness, etc. I think we need to stop blaming the inanimate object and start blaming the root of the problems.
This argument would be hold more weight if you sited credited sources instead of blogs.
Hm. I just posted a long reply with a list of sources, but it wasn’t published and doesn’t say “Waiting for Moderation,” anymore. Hopefully you saw it, at the least. If you really are interested in learning about the armed citizen, they are a great place to start.
I’ll try one more time:
GunCite.com
GunFacts.info
Dave Kopel’s list of gun-related articles and journals
Eugene Volkoh’s Sources on the Second Amendment
Clayton Cramer’s Civillian Self-Defense Blog
NRA-ILA List of Gun Issues
JustFacts.com
RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
The Bias Against Guns by John Lott
The Seven Myths of Gun Control by Richard Poe
CONSEQUENCES OF GUN CONTROL IN OTHER COUNTRIES:
(Note: Some of these web pages are no longer available from their original URL, but can still be accessed by using the WayBack Machine.)
Historic Firearms Destroyed in Australia
http://www.theage.com.au/handheld/articles/2003/07/28/1059244557795.htm
England: Knife sale records to curb crime
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=001788143438155&rtmo=Q90zQawR&atmo=YYYYYYYp&pg=/et/99/7/4/nife04.html
After Gun Control in Australia: Sword Control
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,7234997%255E1702,00.html
Great Britain: Gun Control’s Twisted Outcome
http://www.reason.com/0211/fe.jm.gun.shtml
England: Knives Act 1997
http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1997/1997021.htm
Scotland: Knife Amnesty Success
http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/campaigns/2001/02feb/010203knif.shtm
Australia: Ban On Swords, Bows
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/08/28/1030508072424.html
I agree. The end.
This is such a tricky thing for me. I’m all for if you wanna have a gun, awesome. Have one. But don’t be stupid about it. I know someone who keeps his gun in the waistband of his jeans. Not secured to anything. Freaked me out thinking that any second it was going to fall down his legs and accidentally go off and shoot me.
I’m all for self-defense, but statistically, what our the odds of us being raped? Or kidnapped? And are we REALLY that much safer with a gun?
Look, I have my reasons for not owning a gun, and others have their reasons for owning one. But be educated. Respect your weapon. Don’t get all trigger happy if I or someone else happens to walk by you in a way that you don’t find “safe.” You wanna keep it near you in case of an emergency? Cool. Keep it in your nightstand. LOCKED. So your children don’t find it. And educate them early so they learn respect for the weapon, too.
As for the situation with the football player, it’s totally unfortunate. But I can almost promise you he has that CTE (brain injury/degeneration from continual head trauma). He just so happened to have a gun near him when his brain decided to choose that moment to completely melt down. If he didn’t have a gun? Maybe he would have used his hands. Although now I’m getting off the topic of guns, but I think in this case, we really need to look at why he melted down. The fact that he had a gun made it even more tragic, but, like I said, maybe he would have used his hands to get the job done. We’ll never know.
In conclusion, I don’t get why people own guns. I don’t want one. I don’t feel “unprotected” without one. But if you want one? Just don’t let me see it.
I’m with you on a few points, Nicci. I absolutely believe guns should be kept out of the hands of children and that children should be thoroughly educated at a young age of the dangers. I also think anyone carrying a gun in their waistband without a holster securing it is someone being reckless and dangerous.
I, however, do carry a gun in my waist band. Secured in a holster. Out of sight of everyone around me and away from the hands of my children or others. It’s nice and secure and in my control at all times.
I also think anyone who is going to choose to carry (or own, for that matter) a gun should receive training. Lots of training. I suggest training above all else to anyone who asks me about owning a gun. I have had extensive professional training as well as hours each week on the range. I know the law front and back. I promote safety, knowledge, training, and practice to all people I speak to.
As for this:
“I’m all for self-defense, but statistically, what our the odds of us being raped? Or kidnapped? And are we REALLY that much safer with a gun?”
Here’s the likelihood of being a victim of assault as some point in your life: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/bjs/104274.pdf
And if you aren’t trained in practical pistol classes and defense classes, if you don’t know the law, and if you aren’t willing to pull the trigger if you absolutely have to, then no, you aren’t safer. You’re better off carrying pepper spray or a taser gun. Or complying and hoping to God that someone will have mercy on you.
If you can answer yes to training, yes to knowledge of law, and yes to being able to pull the trigger as a last result, then yes, I do believe you are safer.
But that’s just my two cents 😉
See, that’s the thing. I have been assaulted. And a gun wouldn’t have solved anything because it’s not like it was a stranger or even a situation in which my gun potentially would have been by me. So I personally can’t get behind that argument. But that’s MY two cents.
I can see you’re very well educated and trained when it comes to gun ownership, and that’s awesome, really! It’s not people like you I’m worried about with guns. It’s those that have guns just for the sake of having one and not treating them with the respect they deserve, you know?